1

Henry H. Perritt, Jr.

Attorney at Law

1131 Carol Lane

Glencoe, IL 60022

hperritt@gmail.com

(312) 504-5001

19 November 2014

Hon. Michael Huerta

Administrator

Federal Aviation Administration

U. S. Department of Transportation

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

Washington, DC 20590

Re: Exemption Request under Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act and Part 11 of the

Federal Aviation Regulations from certain parts of the FARs.

Dear Administrator Huerta:

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

Act) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Hoovy LLC, a California limited liability company, CA

Secretary of State # 201428310042, hereby applies for an exemption from the listed

Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARs”) to allow it to operate a small Unmanned 

Aircraft System (“sUAS”) under the conditions and limitations set forth in this Petition.

The requested exemption would permit the operation of small, unmanned and 

relatively inexpensive sUAS under controlled conditions in airspace that (1) is limited,

(2) is predetermined, and (3) would provide safety enhancements to the already safe 

aerial advertising operations using manned helicopters and airplanes in the Los 

Angeles area. Approval of this exemption would thereby enhance safety and fulfill the

FAA Administrator’s responsibilities to “...establish requirements for the safe operation 

of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system.” Section 333(c) of the Reform 

Act.
2

The name and address of the applicant is:

Hoovy LLC

Attn: Henry H. Perritt, Jr., counsel for Petitioner

Telephone: (312) 504-5001

Email: hperritt@gmail.com

Address: 1131 Carol Lane, Glencoe, IL 60022

Regulations from which the exemption is requested:

14 CFR Part 21

14 C.F.R. § 45.23(b)

14 CFR § 61.3

14 C.F.R. § 91.7 (a)

14 CFR § 91.9 (b) (2)

14 C.F.R. § 91.103

14 C.F.R. § 91.109

14 C.F. R. § 91.119

14 C.F.R. § 91.121

14 CFR § 91.151 (a)

14 CFR § 91.203 (a) & (b)

14 CFR § 91.205(b) 

14 CFR § 91.215 

14 CFR § 91.405 (a)

14 CFR § 407 (a) (1)

14 CFR § 409 (a) (2)

14 CFR § 417 (a) & (b)
3

Appendix 1 describes the FARs from which an exemption is requested and summarizes 

the justification for each requested exemption. 

The Petition is submitted to fulfill Congress’ goal under Section 333(a) through (c) of the 

Reform Act, which directs the Secretary of Transportation to consider whether certain 

unmanned aircraft systems may operate safely in the national airspace system (NAS) 

before completion of the rulemaking required under Section 332 of the Reform Act. In 

making this determination, the Administrator must determine which types of UASs do 

not create a hazard to users of the NAS or the public or pose a threat to national security 

in light of the following:

• The UAS’s size, weight, speed, and operational capability;

• Operation of the UAS in close proximity to airports and populated areas; and

• Operation of the UAS within visual line of sight of the operator.

Reform Act § 333 (a). 

If the Administrator determines that such vehicles “may operate safely in the national 

airspace system, the Secretary shall establish requirements for the safe operation of such 

aircraft in the national airspace system.” Id. § 333(c).

The Secretary has delegated his aviation authority to the Administrator of the FAA.

The Federal Aviation Act expressly grants the FAA the authority to grant exemptions 

from its regulatory requirements for civil aircraft, a term defined under §40101 of the 

Act, which includes sUASs. The Administrator may grant an exemption from a 

requirement of a regulation prescribed under subsection (a) or (b) of this section or any 

sections 44702-44716 of the Federal Aviation Act if Administrator finds the exemption 

in the public interest. 49 U.S.C. § 44701(f) See also 49 USC § 44711(a); 49 USC § 44704; 14 

CFR §91.203 (a) (1).

The Petitioner is a startup company, Hoovy LLC, with local business contacts that seek 

new methods for advertising their businesses. The founder of the company received an 

MBA from USC Marshall School and has vast experience in aerospace and in launching 

companies in the Los Angeles area. Prior to starting Hoovy LLC, the founder launched 

Gametime, a startup mobile ticket app, in the Los Angeles area. Under his supervision 

the team grew to 20 people, engaged in a number of promotional campaigns using 
4

various advertising methods, and ultimately tripled its revenue. Prior to Gametime, the 

founder worked at Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) in developing its supplier 

network and establishing operations processes. The founder grew up in Los Angeles 

and has a strong familiarity with the geographic area and is a productive member of a 

local community. Additionally, the founder has a strong interest in UASs and has been 

recreationally flying them for approximately 1.5 years, amassing over 100 hours of 

flight time. 

The Petitioner has formulated a business plan for an enterprise that will offer 

advertising services to businesses in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, taking the 

form of banners towed by small unmanned aircraft (“sUAS” or “microdrones”). 

Customers will include local businesses such as restaurants, bars, event planning 

companies, and other mom-and-pop shops who rely on local community to grow their 

business. 

Under the plan, the microdrones will be DJI Inspires, DJI Phantom 2s or DJI Phantom 2 

Visions, flying 2 foot by 5 foot banners. They will operate below 400 feet above ground 

level and never within 3 miles from an airport. They will operate only within the line of 

sight of the operator and will not operate in populated areas. Flights will be remote 

from noise sensitive areas such as parks, schools, hospitals, and churches. Flights will 

be only conducted in permissible weather – rain, snow, or winds above 12 mph will 

terminate the flights. Additionally, flights will occur only in pre-assigned areas over 

open terrain that goes along the freeways and never above the freeways themselves (See 

Appendix 2). The microdrones will be operated by experienced professionals who have 

considerable experience flying microdrones. Prior to operating the drone, every 

operator must go through the Petitioner‘s training program, comprising four full days 

on safety and regulations, hands-on training with a smaller drone, and finally hands-on 

training with the Phantom 2. 

Safety will be the paramount concern in defining flight profiles.

The Petitioner has been advised by counsel that its business plan is not now permissible 

unless it obtains special permission from the FAA. Many potential competitors of 

Petitioner are actively flying sUAS, notwithstanding the FAA’s stated prohibition. 

Petitioner also notes and has read the congressional mandate in sections 332 and 333 of 

the FAA Revitalization and Reform Act of 2012 that the FAA move quickly to 
5

accommodate the economic and societal benefits that can result from widespread 

deployment of sUAS technology. Accordingly, Petitioner applies for authorization 

under the Federal Aviation Act and the FARs to undertake the following activities for 

commercial purposes. Unless the Petition is granted, Petitioner will be at a significant 

competitive advantage if it, as it prefers, complies with FAA policy.

Vehicle

The Petitioner will fly one or more DJI Phantom 2s, DJI Phantom 2 Visions equipped 

with a three-axis gimbal and GoPro camera, and eventually, DJI Inspires.

These vehicles have built in capability to limit the height they fly above the ground, to 

limit the radius of the distance they fly from the operator, and to exclude them from 

class B, C, and D airspace. The vehicles also have the built-in capability to return to the 

launching point if the wireless control link is interrupted or if the operator attempts to 

exceed any of the height, radius, or airspace limitations programmed into them.

The vehicle weighs about five pounds empty and has a maximum gross weight of 

approximately twenty pounds. It has a top speed of about 30 knots. It has four fixedpitch rotors, thrust from which is varied by changing RPM. It is powered by a lithium 

polymer battery.

Flight profiles

The petitioner will program the Phantom so that it will not fly more than 400 feet above 

ground level, or more than 1500 feet away from its operator. Operators will carefully 

preflight the vehicle before each mission to assure that its compass and GPS system are 

properly calibrated and that the return-to-home feature, altitude, and radius limitations 

work.

It will operate it on aerial advertising missions only over largely unpopulated areas 

where the potential of uncontrolled descent to cause injury or damage is low.

It will not operate it in controlled airspace. In the unlikely event that a manned aircraft 

flies below 400 feet AGL where the Petitioner is operating its Phantom, the operator will 

keep both the vehicle and manned aircraft in sight and avoid the manned aircraft.
6

More particularly, the Petitioner will fly the Phantom only over the areas in

Metropolitan Los Angeles specified in Appendix 2.

It is important to note that the Petitioner does not intend to use the Go Pro camera on 

the Phantom 2 Vision for recording or photography purposes. The only reason that the 

camera is attached to the drone is because it comes pre-assembled from the 

manufacturer. Therefore the privacy issue that is a concern in the drone industry is not 

applicable in this situation.

Public interest

Granting the petition would be in the public interest because:

1. The Congress of the United States has determined that early accommodation of 

sUAS into the National Airspace System advances the public interest. The 

Committee Report leading the House to adopt H.R. 658 said: 

"The successful integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the 

National Airspace System (NAS) can support more than 23,000 high-paying jobs 

in the United States. . . . The absence of a plan to integrate UASs into the NAS is a 

barrier to such job creation . . . ."1

Granting the Petition represents a step toward such integration, in the absence of 

a comprehensive regulatory regime for sUAS, and thus would serve the 

Congressional goal and the public interest.

2. Granting the Petition will facilitate the creation, display, and public distribution 

of advertising, long recognized as advancing the public interest. They are 

activities that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution seeks to 

promote and to protect from governmental restrictions.

Advertising falls well within the First Amendment’s protections. "Advertising, 

however tasteless and excessive it sometimes may seem, is nonetheless 

 

1

 H. R. Rep. 112-29 on H.R. 658, 112th Cong., 1st Sess. at 116. The House-Senate 

Conference Committee on the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 

recommended amendments to H.R. 658 in lieu of amendments adopted by the Senate. 

Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 658, H.R. Rep. 112-381, 112th Cong., 2d Sess., at 

p. 1 (Feb. 1, 2012).
7

dissemination of information as to who is producing and selling what product, 

for what reason, and at what price. So long as we preserve a predominantly free 

enterprise economy, the allocation of our resources in large measure will be 

made through numerous private economic decisions. It is a matter of public 

interest that those decisions, in the aggregate, be intelligent and well informed. 

To this end, the free flow of commercial information is indispensable."2

3. Granting the Petition will enable new forms of advertising, enabling the public to 

know about and to understand new products and services, an activity essential 

to the effective functioning of markets, and therefore similarly within the core of 

First Amendment protections, according to Virginia State Board of Pharmacy.

4. Granting the Petition will allow local companies to spread awareness about their 

business more cost effectively and efficiently, allowing them to grow their 

businesses, create employment opportunities, thereby benefitting the 

community. 

5. Granting the Petition will enable Petitioner to demonstrate the commercial 

viability of creating advertising with new aeronautical technology, thereby 

improving the efficiency of markets. 

The rules from which Petitioner seeks exemption artificially and irrationally limit 

the effective use of new technologies to expand advertising and improve the 

efficiency of markets, thereby subverting the public interest.

6. Granting the Petition will fulfill the FAA’s own declaration that encouraging 

new aviation technologies advances the public interest. The FAA itself has 

recognized the public interest in its role of "Encouraging and developing civil 

aeronautics, including new aviation technology."3 Granting the Petition will 

enhance FAA fulfillment of that commitment, thereby serving the public interest. 

Air commerce flourishes in the United States because of the rapid pace of 

innovation in aeronautical and associated technologies, followed by their 

commercialization and their introduction into the marketplace. The drone 

technology that the Petitioner uses exemplifies the latest innovative leap forward 

 

2

 Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc., 425 U.S. 

748, 765 (1976).

3

 FAA, Safety: The Foundation of Everything We Do, 

http://www.faa.gov/about/safety_efficiency/.
8

in aeronautical technology. Preventing it from using this in air commerce 

subverts achievement of the goal.

7. Granting the Petition will fulfill the Congressional determination that integrating 

sUAS technology into the NAS serves the public interest. Section 330 of the FAA 

Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, specifically recognizes the advantages to 

air commerce obtainable from the deployment of sUAS technologies. It 

mandated several steps by the FAA to accelerate the availability of these 

technologies in the National Airspace System, thereby representing a 

congressional determination that the public interest is served by making these 

technologies more widely available at the earliest practicable date. The Petition 

represents a way for the FAA to move incrementally, while still satisfying its 

congressional mandate and meeting its obligation to enhance the public interest 

by making new technologies available by allowing the use of sUAS technologies 

in a manner that protects the public and the rest of the aviation community from 

significant risk.

The commercial activities by Petitioner proposed in the Petition represent 

contributions to new forms of air commerce, thereby fulfilling the FAA’s 

statutory mandate under the 2012 Act.

8. Granting the Petition will enhance aviation safety, thereby advancing the public 

interest. The Petitioner has committed itself in the Petition to safety practices that 

reduce or eliminate hazards to aircraft in the National Airspace System and to 

persons and property on the ground. Many others are flying sUAS without 

regard to these hazards. Granting the Petition will offer the Petitioner up as an 

example of how the FAA is willing to accommodate the new technology when it 

is constrained by appropriate limitations to enhance safety. It will also allow the 

Petitioner to be a role model for safe commercial sUAS operations.

Users of the National Airspace System are confronted by mushrooming threats 

from sUAS flown in defiance of the FAA’s ban. Unless the FAA shows some 

flexibility to accommodate lawful and safe operation of sUAS for legitimate 

commercial purposes, the level of defiance will increase, intensifying the hazards 

to manned aircraft and to persons and property on the ground.
9

The Petitioner's proposed operations satisfy the criteria provided in Section 333 of the 

Reform Act relating to size, weight, speed, operating capabilities, proximity to airports 

and populated areas and operation within visual line of sight, and national security. 

The Petition justifies grant of the requested exemptions to allow the Petitioner to engage 

in aerial advertising with its microdrones.

Respectfully submitted,

Henry H. Perritt, Jr.

Counsel for Petitioner
10

Appendix 1

FAR section Subject Justification

14 CFR § 45.23(b) Requirement to display 

registration number on 

vehicle

Insufficient space on 

vehicle

14 CFR Part 21 Aircraft certification 

requirements and 

procedures

Designed for manned 

aircraft; not suitable for 

off-the-shelf sUAS

14 CFR § 61.3 Requirement for pilot 

certificate

Part 61 requirements 

designed for manned 

aircraft, not sUAS; 

petition describes 

training for sUAS 

operator

14 CFR § 91.7 (a) Airworthiness 

requirement

Designed for manned 

aircraft; not suitable for 

off-the-shelf sUAS

14 CFR § 91.9 (b) (2) Requirement for manual 

to be available in the 

cockpit

No one aboard to read 

manual

14 CFR § 91.103(b) Requirement for crew 

members to be onboard

Unmanned vehicle

14 CFR § 91.109 Requirement for dual 

controls during flight 

instruction

No one aboard to 

operate controls

14 CFR § 91.119 Minimum altitudes for 

safe flight

Safety requires 

operation below these 

altitudes

14 CFR § 91.121 Altimeter settings No one aboard to read 

altimeter

14 CFR § 91.151(a) Fuel requirements Vehicle does not use 

fuel

14 CFR § 91.203 (a) & (b) Requirement for 

registration and 

airworthiness 

certificates to be 

onboard

No one aboard to read 

certificates

14 CFR § 91.205(b) Cockpit instruments No one aboard to read 
11

requirement instruments

14 CFR § 91.215 Transponder 

requirement

Vehicle has insufficient 

useful load; will be 

operated below ATC 

radar coverage

14 CFR § 91.405 (a) Inspection requirements Designed for manned 

aircraft; not suitable for 

off-the-shelf sUAS

14 CFR § 91.407(a) (1) Inspection approval 

requirements

Designed for manned 

aircraft; not suitable for 

off-the-shelf sUAS

14 CFR § 91.409 (a) (2) Airworthiness 

inspection

Designed for manned 

aircraft; not suitable for 

off-the-shelf sUAS

14 CFR § 91.417 (a) & (b) Maintenance records 

requirements

Designed for manned 

aircraft; not suitable for 

off-the-shelf sUAS
12

Appendix 2

Location 1

The Petitioner intends to fly the UAV(s) over, and well clear of, the 450 ft by 50ft stretch of plants and 

grass that grows along the Santa Monica Fwy E 10 (see below). The Petitioner intends to fly 

approximately 80 ft above the ground or about 25-50 ft above the tallest plant. The surface of the 

proposed area provides sufficient space to ensure that the UAV would never have to fly above the 

freeway and would always fly above an uninhabited piece of land. 

Location 2

The Petitioner intends to fly the UAV(s) over, and well clear of, the 150ft by 60ft stretch of plants and 

dirt along the Harbor Fwy N 110 (see below). The Petitioner intends to fly approximately 80 ft above 

ground or about 25-50 ft above the tallest plant. The surface of the proposed area provides sufficient 

space to ensure that the UAV would never have to fly above the freeway and would always fly above an 

uninhabited piece of land. 
13

Location 3

The Petitioner intends to fly the UAV(s) over, and well clear of, the 250ft by 75ft stretch of plants and 

dirt along the Harbor Fwy S 101 (see below). The Petitioner intends to fly approximately 80 ft above 

ground or about 25-50 ft above the tallest plant. The surface of the proposed area provides sufficient 

space to ensure that the UAV would never have to fly above the freeway and would always fly above an 

uninhabited piece of land. 

Location 4
14

The Petitioner intends to fly the UAV(s) over, and well clear of, the 200ft by 50ft stretch of plants and 

dirt along the Harbor Fwy S 101 (see below). The Petitioner intends to fly approximately 80 ft above 

ground or about 25-50 ft above the tallest plant. The surface of the proposed area provides sufficient 

space to ensure that the UAV would never have to fly above the freeway and would always fly above an 

uninhabited piece of land. 

Location 5

The Petitioner intends to fly the UAV(s) over, and well clear of, the 200ft by 50ft stretch of plants and 

dirt along the Harbor Fwy S 101 and Fwy N 101 (see below). The Petitioner intends to fly approximately 

100 ft above ground or about 25-50 ft above the tallest plant. The surface of the proposed area 

provides sufficient space to ensure that the UAV would never have to fly above the freeway and would 

always fly above an uninhabited piece of land. 
15

Map of all 5 locations