Jan. 23, 2015

Ezra Grothe 10307 State Hwy 1 NE Thief River Falls, MN 56701

U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management System 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, DC 2059

Exemption Request Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act of 2012

Dear Sir or Madam,

In accordance with the FAA’s Guidelines for Submitting a Petition fo r Exemption under section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 , I Ezra Grothe, request exemption from the following sections of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations §§

91.119(c); 91.121; 91.151(a); 91.405(a); 91.407(a)(1); 91.409 (a)(1); 91.409(a)(2); 91.417(a) & (b);

In order to operate small unmanned aircraft system s (UAS) commercially in airspace regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the purposes of aerial photography and videography. These operations will be operated in a safe and careful manner. Operations will be performed only at the request of and with the authorization and permission of c lients or their authorized agents, 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. The conditions iden tified and proposed by myself are drawn from

references 1-3.

The FARs

I hereby seek exemption from the above me ntioned FARs for the following reasons;

91.119(c) Operations conducted closer than 500 feet to the ground may require that the UAS be operated closer than 500 feet to essential persons, or objects th at would not be possible without additional relief. The petitioner requests modification, waiver or exemption and clarification concerning the terms “congested areas” and “densely populated”. The petitione r requests waiver for this condition to allow reasonable and responsible operations in areas of subdivisions and neighbor hoods if required.

91.121 This is inapplicable since the UAS does not ha ve an altimeter and instead utilizes electronic GPS

with a barometric sensor for altitude information.

91.151(a) The UAS batteries provide approximately 25 minutes of powered flight. Information provided in the operating documents discusses procedures regard ing remaining battery power management. Those

documents contain a condition in which the PIC will initiate a landing procedure when battery remaining reaches a specified level. Given the limitations on proposed operations and the location of those proposed operations, a reduced minimum power reserve for fli ght in daytime VFR conditions is reasonable.

91.405(a); 91.407(a)(1); 91.409 (a)(1) & (2); 91.417(a) & (b) I hereby propose to inspect and ensure that

the UAS is in a condition for safe f light in accordance with the opera ting documents. Adherence to theoperating documents and with the conditions and limita tions specified, the requirements for maintenance, inspection, and recordkeeping, are sufficient to en sure that safety would not be adversely affected.

The UAS

The DJI Phantom 3 Professional is a small, reliable, and consumer grade rotorcraft in the quadcopter configuration with an advertised weight of 1280g. It has an advertised maximum speed of less than 35 mph and a maximum climb rate of less than 13 mph. It is powered by four electric motors with a distance between motors of less than 14 inches (350mm) It u tilizes an internal inertial measuring unit (IMU) with integrated barometric sensor augmented with global po sitioning system (GPS) to maintain its geospatial orientation and position. It is cont rolled primarily through an FCC certified radio control (RC) unit. Real time video and telemetry information is transmitted back to a ground control station allowing the operator to monitor battery level, GPS signal strength, altit ude (AGL), distance from operator, camera imagery, and control camera angle. It has failsafe modes of operation for either loss of RC or GPS signal. Altitude can be limited by the onboard flight controller and maximum altitude can be preprogrammed by the operator. Battery life limits flight times to approx imately 25 minutes. The onboard flight controller will warn the pilot via telemetry and external lighting cu es before reaching a low battery state. An automatic termination of flight and landing will be initiated when the battery reaches a predetermined low state.

More information is available at h ttp://www.dji.com/product/phantom-3/spec.

Risk mitigation

I have carefully reviewed FAA exemptions reference’s 1-3 Conditions and Limitations section and believe that the procedures specified therein are reas onable and will be utilized in order to manage and mitigate risk and ensure public safety. A preflight checklist will be developed and employed to ensure

that the UAS airworthiness will be verified be fore launch. Airworthiness will be maintained by performance of routine inspections before each flight, maintaining flight and maintenance logs to record time on failure-prone components. In a manner similar to reference 3, I request that I be allowed to operate within 5 miles of an airport provided that;

“The UAS may not operate in Class B, C, or D airspace without written approval from the FAA. The UA may not operate within 5 nautical miles of the geographic center of a nontowered airport as denoted on a current FAA-published aeronautical chart unless a letter of agreement with that airport’s management is obtained, and the op eration is conducted in accordance with a NOTAM as required by the operator’s COA. The letter of agreement with the ai rport management must be made available to the Administrator upon request.”

Operations within 5 miles of an airport are not antic ipated to be routine but a mechanism is requested to facilitate such activities to avoid requesting a ne w and separate exemption should the need arise. Operations within class B airspace are not request ed due to the lack of a mode C transponder.

Public interest

Use of the UAS in lieu of a manned aircraft would e nhance safety and reduce the environmental impact as compared to similar operations c onducted with manned aircraft of greater proportions, carrying a crew and flammable fuel. Additionally, use of the UAS in order to facilitate commerc e could lead to economic growth. Operations for this petition will enable servi ce for property owners or their designees seeking an enhanced perspective for character istics, amenities, and benefits of their desired photographic subjects that cannot be displayed through ground level videogr aphy/photography. Aerial photography is a valuable marketing tool that can lead to increased commerce and enhance personal photography. I will provide clients with photographic data for these purposes on a ‘fo r hire’ basis acting as an independent contractor.A visual observer will be utilized. Liability insurance will be obtained commensurate with the granting of this request for exemption. Flight data including UA flight time, total operation time, incident, accident, and details concerning any devia tions from normal operations will be available to FAA for use in collecting data regarding the use of UAS as part of th is application. This data may be submitted to FAA via traditional means, e.g. COA Monthly Reports, or other means as required.

Conclusion

I am requesting this exemption for the purposes of “aerial photography and videography,”. My own

research shows a demand for these services exists in sev eral markets. Currently, I have refrained from commercial use of the UAS, with due accordance to all regulations. The primary purpose of seeking this exemption is to obtain the capability to offer services while remaining in compliance. I have more than 8 years of experience in the radio control model aircraft hobby, 2 years as a General Class amateur radio operator, and am pursuing an electrical engineering degree.

Respectfully submitted,

Ezra D. Grothe

Ezra D. Grothe