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 for 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 systems (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 clients 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 identified and proposed by myself are drawn from 

references 1-3. 

The FARs 

I hereby seek exemption from the above mentioned 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 that 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 petitioner requests waiver for this condition to allow 

reasonable and responsible operations in areas of subdivisions and neighborhoods if required. 

91.121 This is inapplicable since the UAS does not have 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 regarding 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 flight 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 flight in accordance with the operating documents. Adherence to the 
operating documents and with the conditions and limitations specified, the requirements for maintenance, 

inspection, and recordkeeping, are sufficient to ensure 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 utilizes an internal inertial measuring unit (IMU) with 

integrated barometric sensor augmented with global positioning system (GPS) to maintain its geospatial 

orientation and position. It is controlled 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, altitude (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 approximately 25 minutes. The onboard flight controller will 

warn the pilot via telemetry and external lighting cues 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 http://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 reasonable 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 before 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 operation is conducted in accordance with a NOTAM as required by the 

operator’s COA. The letter of agreement with the airport management must be made available to the 

Administrator upon request.” 

 Operations within 5 miles of an airport are not anticipated to be routine but a mechanism is requested to 

facilitate such activities to avoid requesting a new and separate exemption should the need arise. 

Operations within class B airspace are not requested due to the lack of a mode C transponder. 

Public interest 

Use of the UAS in lieu of a manned aircraft would enhance safety and reduce the environmental impact as 

compared to similar operations conducted with manned aircraft of greater proportions, carrying a crew 

and flammable fuel. Additionally, use of the UAS in order to facilitate commerce could lead to economic 

growth. Operations for this petition will enable service for property owners or their designees seeking an 

enhanced perspective for characteristics, amenities, and benefits of their desired photographic subjects 

that cannot be displayed through ground level videography/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 ‘for 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 deviations from normal operations will be available to FAA for use in 

collecting data regarding the use of UAS as part of this 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 several 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