To: U. S. Department of Transportation

From: Jonathan Doud

Date: March 14th, 2015

Subject: Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act.

Dear Sir or Madam:

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (the Reform

Act), Jonathan Doud (the operator/applicant), planned operator of Small Unmanned Aircraft 

Systems (UAS) equipped to conduct aerial photography and survey for various industries hereby 

applies for an exemption from Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) to allow commercial

operation of his UAS, so long as such operations are conducted within and under the conditions

outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333.

As described more fully below, the requested exemption would permit the operation of

UAS by the applicant for commercial use that would provide the following benefits:

1. Operations would be performed in an area of operation limited in size suitable to the specific 

use, in advance of flight.

2. The flight would be planned in advance to minimize hazards to persons and property in the air 

and on the ground.

3. The operator would reasonably limit or control access to provide safety to those not involved 

in the operation.

4. Operation of a UAS would provide significant safety, environmental and other enhancements 

not possible by larger sized aircraft.

5. Provide a beneficial and currently unavailable service to government organizations and the 

general public that would serve the public interest.

Approval of this exemption would thereby enhance safety and fulfill the Secretary of 

Transportation's (the FAA Administrator) responsibilities to "...establish requirements for the 

safe operation of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system." Section 333(c) of the 

Reform Act.

It is possible to operate UAS so to not create a hazard to users of the National

Airspace System (NAS), the public or pose a threat to national security if done so safely and 

responsibly. The applicant has demonstrated their willingness to act safely and responsibly by 

not engaging in commercial UAS operations. 

AIRCRAFT AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

The applicant proposes that the exemption requested herein apply to civil aircraft that have the 

characteristics of UAS and that operate with the limitations listed herein.

These limitations provide for at least an equivalent or higher level of safety to operations under 

the current regulatory structure as the proposed operations represent a safety enhancement to the 

already safe aerial commercial photography and survey operations conducted with conventional 

aircraft.

The UAS's planned to be operated are rotorcraft and fixed wing aircraft, each weighing 55 or 

fewer pounds including payload. They would operate, under normal conditions, at a speed of no 
more than 50 knots. The principal construction material of these UAS craft would be foam 

and/or plastic. Operations will be performed by a qualified UAS PIC, as outlined below, to 

insure that the UAS will "not create a hazard to users of the national airspace system or the 

public." Given the small size of the UAS involved and the pre-planned environment within 

which they will operate, the applicant believes that these operations fall squarely within that zone 

of safety (an equivalent level of safety) in which Congress envisioned that the FAA must, by 

exemption, allow commercial operations of UAS to commence immediately. Also, operation in a 

researched (to include applicable NOTAM), pre-defined area will prevent the possibility of a 

national security issue. The operation of UAS by knowledgeable professionals with experience 

in the NAS will serve to enhance safety, add to the public benefit and reduce environmental 

impacts related to current methods of aerial photography and survey.

These limitations and conditions to which the operator, or its employees, acting as

UAS PIC agrees to be bound when conducting commercial operations under an FAA issued 

exemption:

Safety will be the first and foremost consideration in any UAS operation. Flights will be operated 

within line of sight of the PIC and/or an observer.

The UAS will weigh less than 55 lbs total. Flights will be operated in Class G airspace whenever 

possible. If operation in other airspace is required, the relevant controlling agency will be 

notified at least 24 hours prior to the operation and, if required, any necessary permission 

obtained.

Flights will be operated under visibility and cloud clearance requirements equivalent to Visual 

Flight Rules (VFR).

1. The UAS will at all times give way to any aircraft carrying persons.

2. Minimum crew for each operation will consist of the UAS PIC. An observer will be utilized if 

the UAS will be flown beyond line of sight of the PIC. The observer, if required and PIC will at 

all times be able to communicate by voice and/or text.

3. Prior to a UAS flight, an area of operation will be established. This area of operation will 

include a defined lateral and vertical area, where the UAS will operate. Safety procedures will be 

established for persons, property and applicable airspace within the area of operation.

4. Flight planning will include flight completion with at least 20% battery power remaining as 

measured by the UAS or appropriate timing.

5. If equipped, and appropriate for the operation, UAS aircraft will utilize GPS navigation, 

failsafe, return-to-home (RTH) and/or flight abort safety features.

6. A briefing will be conducted in regard to the planned UAS operations prior to operation at 

each new location. All personnel who will be performing duties within the boundaries of the area 

of operation will be present for this briefing.

7. All required permissions and permits will be obtained from appropriate state, county or city 

jurisdictions, including local law enforcement, fire, or other appropriate governmental agencies.

8. Written, to include electronic, and/or oral permission from the relevant property owners will 

be obtained prior to an operation.

9. The UAS pilot will be trained in advance for the safe operation of the UAS to be operated. 

This will include operation of the UAS both in normal and emergency modes of operation, and 

will include familiarization with the operation manual (or similar) if published by the UAS

manufacturer. Training will also include types of maneuvers to be performed and the safe 

operation in relation to persons, property and applicable airspace.
It is the applicant's belief that the size, speed, operating environment, limitations and level of 

applicant's experience in the NAS outlined provides an "equivalent level of safety" or better 

when operating a UAS for the public interest as outlined in Section 333 in the FAA 

Modernization and Reform Act of 2012. It is requested that the FAA issue an exemption to 

permit safe, legal, commercial UAS operation by the applicant as soon as possible.

Thank you for your consideration,

Jonathan Doud

6525 Appaloosa Ct

Klamath Falls, OR 97603

Appendix A

EXEMPTION REQUESTS AND EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

Jonathan Doud requests an exemption from the following regulations as well as any additional 

regulations that may technically apply to the operation of UAS's:

14 CFR Part21, Subpart H: Airworthiness Certificates

This part establishes the procedures for the issuance of an airworthiness certificate.

While the FAA continues to work to develop airworthiness standards for UAS, we request an 

experimental certificate be issued for the UAS's operated by the applicant under either or both of 

the following provisions:

21 .191 Experimental certificates.

Experimental certificates are issued for the following purposes:

(a) Research and development. Testing new aircraft design concepts, new aircraft equipment, 

new aircraft installations, new aircraft operating techniques, or new uses for aircraft.

(b) Showing compliance with regulations. Conducting flight tests and other operations to show 

compliance with the airworthiness regulations including flights to show compliance for issuance 

of type and supplemental type certificates, flights to substantiate major design changes, and 

flights to show compliance with the function and reliability requirements of the regulations.

Since the experimental certificate can be used for commercial purposes such as market surveys, 

sales demonstrations, and customer crew training, we would expect that an experimental 

certificate would permit our commercial purpose as well.

The aircraft will not carry persons or property and will only fly under strict operational 

requirements. Combined with the fact that any aircraft operated would be light weight and is 

constructed primarily out of foam or plastic, we propose that a UAS will be at least as safe, if not 

safer, than a conventionally certificated aircraft performing the same function. If an experimental 

airworthiness certificate is not appropriate for this application, then we request an exemption of 

14 CFR Part21, Subpart H, and the requirement for an airworthiness certificate in general, citing 

the equivalent level of safety outlined in the previous paragraph.

14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b) Civil Aircraft: Certifications required. The regulation provides that an 

airworthiness certificate, with the registration number assigned to the aircraft and a registration 

certificate must be aboard the aircraft.
Additionally, subparagraph (b) provides that the airworthiness certificate be "displayed at the 

cabin or cockpit entrance so that it is legible to passengers or crew." A UAS is too small to carry 

documentation, does not have an entrance, and is not capable of carrying passengers or crew. To 

obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.203, we propose that documents 

deemed appropriate for this aircraft by the FAA will be co-located with the crew at the ground 

control station and available for inspection upon request. ln order to identify the aircraft, we 

propose the use of the UAS' unique manufacturers serial number, and a contact telephone 

number be mounted on the UAS on a placard of reasonable size in relation to the UAS. In the 

event that a unique manufacturer’s serial number is not available, the previously mentioned 

placard will be affixed to the UAS consisting of the model name and number of the UAS, as well 

as a contact telephone number.

14 CFR 45.23 Display of marks; general and 45.29 Size of marks.

These regulations provide that each aircraft must display "N" and the aircraft's registration 

number in letters at least 3 inches high. Additionally, the aircraft must display the word 

"EXPERIMENTAL" in letters at least 2 inches high near the entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or 

pilot station. A UAS does not have an entrance in which the word

"EXPERIMENTAL" can be placed, and may not have a registration number assigned to

it by the FAA. We propose to achieve an equivalent level of safety by including the word 

"EXPERIMENTAL" on the top or side of the aircraft, in the form of a placard. The label will be 

of a size that will not overwhelm the aircraft, but will be reasonably readably to someone near 

the UAS. The placard outlined in the previous paragraph will provide sufficient identity should 

someone discover the aircraft on the ground.

14 CFR 91.9 Civil aircraft flight manual, marking, and placard requirements.

This regulation provides that no person may operate an aircraft unless a current, approved flight 

manual is in the aircraft. The intent of this requirement is to ensure that flight manual 

information is available to the aircrew while operating the aircraft. We request an exemption to 

this requirement since the UAS cannot carry such a manual, and if the UAS did carry such 

manual, it would be unavailable to the crew for review.

To obtain an equivalent level of safety and meet the intent of 91.9, we propose that a current, 

UAS operation manual or equivalent be available the crew at the ground station anytime the 

aircraft is in, or preparing for, flight.

14 CFR 91.109 Flight instruction; Simulated instrument flight and certain flight tests

The regulation provides that "No person may operate a civil aircraft that is being used for flight 

instruction unless that aircraft has fully functioning dual controls." The controls for a

UAS do not currently have a set of fully functioning dual controls. If a UAS pilot is being 

trained, the pilot performing the training would be directly supervising and could take over the 

controls from the pilot in training if the need arose. This would be similar to the technique of a 

"throw-over type" control wheel in some fixed wing aircraft. We feel that this technique meets 

the intent 91 .109 and provides an equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General.

The regulation provides that over sparsely populated areas the aircraft cannot be operated closer 

than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure. Since the typical mission of this UAS
would be photography or survey of persons, vessels, vehicles or structures it would be necessary

to operate closer than 500 feet to the items listed. Operations will only be flown over property or 

persons where permission has been obtained, and careful pre-planning has been performed. 

Further, UAS aircraft operate at a very slow airspeed, and a low mass, and do not need as much 

space to operate safely, as outlined in 91.119. We believe the slower speed, smaller mass and 

careful pre-planning would provide an equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR 9l.l21Altimeter settings.

The regulation provides that aircraft shall maintain cruising altitudes by reference to an altimeter 

setting available within 100 nautical miles of the aircraft. The UAS will normally be flying close 

to the ground, and in line of sight of the PIC or an observer.

This line of sight operation will provide separation from other aircraft, obstructions and terrain, 

and would override the use of an altimeter for such a purpose. We feel that this will provide an 

equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR 91.151 Fuel requirements for flight in VFR conditions.

The regulation provides that no person may begin a flight in an airplane under day-VFR 

conditions unless there is enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing and to fly after 

that for at least 30 minutes. We feel the intention of this paragraph it to provide a reasonable 

reserve of energy to plan for a safe landing should there be a delay in landing. The close 

proximity to the ground station, the ability for both rotorcraft and small fixed wing aircraft to 

land in a very small space and the built in energy level monitoring of the UAS we feel provide an 

equivalent level of safety if the flight is planned to be completed with 20% battery energy

remaining. We request an exemption to the word "fuel" and ask for an equivalent interpretation 

with the word "energy".

14 CFR Subpart E (91.401 -91.4171- Maintenance, Preventive Maintenance, and Alterations

The regulation provides that the operator is primarily responsible for maintaining the aircraft in 

an airworthy condition, including compliance with part 39 and 43. Paragraphs 91.407 and 91.409 

require that the aircraft be "approved for return to service by a person authorized under 43.7" 

after maintenance and inspection. It is our intention that the PIC perform maintenance and 

inspection of the aircraft and "be authorized to approve the aircraft for return to service."

Prior to every flight, the PIC will inspect the aircraft to ensure that it is in an airworthy condition. 

Any general maintenance procedures or replacement of consumable items outlined by the UAS

manufacturer, if applicable, will be complied with by the PIC. ln no circumstance will a UAS be 

operated in a condition that is deemed, or suspected to be, unsafe. If such a determination is 

reached, and the problem cannot be remedied to the satisfaction of the PIC, the UAS will not be 

operated until consulting with the manufacturer or one of its authorized dealers to complete 

necessary repairs. We feel that due to the size, construction, and simplicity of the aircraft, the 

PIC can ensure an equivalent level of safety.

8900.227 Paragraph 16(cXa) PIG Medical. and Paragraph 16(eX1) Observer Medical.

This policy provides that both the PIC and observer must have a valid FAA second-class medical 

certificate issued under part 67 in order to perform as a pilot or observer.

Requiring the crew to meet the same medical requirements as a commercial pilot carrying 

passengers in a large aircraft is an unnecessary burden.
We propose that the minimum medical requirements be vision corrected to 20/20 and a valid, 

state-issued driver's license. The risk of both the PIC and observer becoming incapacitated at the 

same time and suddenly is very low. Further, since the UAS is operating close to the ground, it 

could be brought in for landing in a very short time if incapacitation was suspected. Finally, most 

UAS's are equipped with an automatic return to home feature which would provide a final level 

of safety. We feel this would provide an equivalent level of safety.