10/23/2015 

U. S. Department of Transportation 

Docket Management System

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

Re: 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) and 14 C.F.R. Part 11, Elevate UAS LLC, a small family owned business and 

operator of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), hereby applies for an exemption 

from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations (“FARs”) to allow pre-planned, controlled 

commercial operation of its sUAS, so long as such operations are conducted within and 

under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) as required by § 333.

Elevate UAS LLC will provide on-demand commercial sUAS operations for public and 

private sector clients for the following applications below: 

Aerial Videography & Photography/Mapping

Real Estate

Agriculture Survey 

Forestry Photography/Mapping

Gravel, Mining and other Extraction Resource Photography/Mapping

Construction Mapping/Inspection

Infrastructure Inspection

Scientific Research

Environmental Assessment

These operations will only be conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein 

or as may be established by the FAA as required by Section 333. As detailed below, the 

requested exemption would permit the operation of sUAS under controlled conditions in 

airspace that is 1) limited 2) predetermined 3) controlled and 4) would provide safety and

enhancements to clients’ business operations. Approval of this exemption would thereby 

enhance safety and fulfill the Secretary of Transportation’s (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. 
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The name and address of the applicant is: 

Elevate UAS LLC

1554 Walnut St Eugene, OR 97403

Phone 541-521-6670

Colgan Smith, CEO

Email: csmith@ElevateUAS.com

Regulations from which the exemption is requested: 

14 CFR 21; 45.23 (b)

14 CFR 61.133 (a) & (b)

14 CFR 91.7 (a) 

14 CFR 91.9 (b) (2) 

14 CFR 91.109 (a)

14 CFR 91.119 (c)

14 CFR 91.121 

14 CFR 91.151 (a) 

14 CFR 91.203 (a) & (b) 

14 CFR 91.405 (a) 

14 CFR 91.407 (a) (1) 

14 CFR 91.409 (a)(1) & (2) 

14 CFR 91.417 (a) & (b)

I. FAA EXEMPTION AUTHORITY 

Section 333(b) of the Reform Act looks to ensure that any and all sUAS operations in the 

National Airspace System (NAS) do not create a hazard to the user, the public, or are a 

threat to national security. In making this determination, the Secretary will consider the 

specifications of the sUAS (including the size, weight, speed and operational capability) 

as well as the population of the surrounding area during flight, proximity to airports, and 

other safety protocol such as having the Pilot (PIC) be within Visual Line of Sight 

(VLOS) at all times.

Elevate UAS LLC requests permission to operate a very lightweight sUAS of 1280 grams

(under 3 pounds) that has a maximum speed of 16 meters/second (less than 32 knots) at 

altitudes lower than 400 feet AGL. Flights will be limited to 20 minutes, be pre-
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determined and have verbal or written consent from landowners. Elevate UAS LLC will 

only operate in safe conditions as outlined in the Mission Plan Worksheet (see Appendix, 

Exhibit I), and the PIC will maintain VLOS at all times. Given the safety features of the 

proposed sUAS and the restricted and safe environment in which operations will occur, 

as well as the strong equivalent level of safety surrounding the proposed exemptions, 

Elevate UAS LLC requests permission to conduct commercial operations that will be of 

significant public benefit. 

Limitations and conditions for operation will achieve an equivalent or higher level of 

safety. Elevate UAS LLC will adhere to limitations and conditions in conducting its 

commercial operations including:

• The sUAS will be less than 20 pounds including payload.

• The sUAS will not be operated at a speed exceeding 32 knots.

• A pre-flight inspection will take place prior to each flight to ensure safe 

conditions, and if the conditions are deemed unsafe, then the flight will not take 

place (see Appendix, Exhibit II).

• Flights will have a maximum flight time of 20 minutes. The sUAS calculates

battery reserve in real time and returns to the ground station with 20% battery 

power reserve if that occurs before the 20-minute flight time.

• Flights will be operated with a radio frequency of 2.400-2.483 GHz.

• Flights will never exceed 400 feet AGL.

• The designated flight area will be at least 500 feet from nonparticipating persons, 

vehicles, vessels, or structures unless approval is granted prior to flight.

• Flights will only take place during the daytime.

• Each operation will consist of the sUAS Pilot (PIC) and Visual Observer (VO), as 

required, who will keep the sUAS within visual line of sight (VLOS) at all times.

• The sUAS will only operate within a planned flight profile, unless conditions 

warrant a different path due to changing conditions and environment.

• All flights will be conducted within set guidelines of weather constraints.

• All flights will be conducted 5NM outside of designed airport reference point 

(ARP) as indicated in the current FAA Airport/Facility Directory (AFD).

• PIC will possess an active private pilot license or higher, approved by the FAA,

and an active U.S. driver’s license. The PIC will also have logged a minimum of 

five hours operating the make/model of the sUAS within the previous 90 days. 

PIC will submit a PIC application (see Appendix, Exhibit VII) before operating a 

sUAS for commercial purposes.

• Prior to each flight, a briefing will be conducted in regard to the planned sUAS

operation. Attendance will be mandatory for personnel who will be performing 

duties within the boundaries of the safety perimeter.

• PIC will abort a flight if there are unexpected obstacles or emergencies.

• Necessary written or verbal permissions and permits will be obtained from 

property owner or authorized representative, territorial, state, county or 

city jurisdictions, including local law enforcement, fire, or other appropriate 

governmental agencies.
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• The sUAS Pilot will receive up-to-date information on the sUAS they are 

operating.

• The sUAS will not be operated by the PIC from any moving device or vehicle.

• The applicant will obtain a Certificate of Waiver or Authorization (COA) from 

the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) prior to conducting operations in the NAS.

• Any incident, accident or boundary transgression as determined by the COA will 

be reported within 24 hours to the FAA’s UAS Integration Office (AFS-80) and 

all accidents will be reported to the National Transportation Safety Board 

(NTSB).

II. THE PROPOSED sUAS

The DJI Phantom 3 Advanced is a popular quad-copter with a weight of 1280 grams, or

just over 2.8 pounds, including the battery and propellers. The DJI Phantom 3 Advanced 

comes equipped with a lightweight high definition camera. The maximum speed is 16 

meters/second, which is just over 31 knots. Battery life limits flights to approximately 23 

minutes under ideal conditions. To maintain geospatial orientation, the sUAS utilizes an 

internal inertial measuring unit (IMU) with an integrated barometric sensor augmented 

with global positioning system (GPS). The PIC obtains real time video and telemetry 

information at the ground control station in order to monitor battery level, GPS signal 

strength, altitude (AGL), distance from PIC, camera imagery and control camera angle.

The DJI Phantom 3 Advanced has several autopilot safety features that include “AutoTakeoff” whereby a single button initiates motors, lifting the sUAS to a pre-specified 

maximum height set by the PIC where it will hover until directed. The “Auto-Return 

Home” button can be used whenever there is a GPS signal, and the sUAS recalls where 

the flight began and returns on command. The “Failsafe” feature returns the sUAS to the 

original takeoff site and lands safely when the Intelligent Battery Signal is low or there is

loss of communication with the PIC. In addition, the Intelligent Battery Signal has builtin sensors and bright LEDs that update the battery status in real-time. The sUAS

continuously calculates distance and amount of power needed to return to the ground 

station, and does so if it reaches a critically low battery level. The Phantom 3 Advanced 

is also equipped with a vision positioning system, which uses ultrasonic signals to detect 

the ground surface at heights between 0.3 and 3 meters. The “No Fly Zone” feature, put 

forth by the sUAS manufacturer DJI, ensures the sUAS does not fly within restricted 

flight areas. These safety features greatly reduce the danger of human error. The area of 

operation will be controlled and restricted, and all flights will be planned and coordinated 

in advance as set forth in the Mission Plan Worksheet (see Appendix, Exhibit I).

III. PUBLIC INTEREST

The integration of sUAS for aerial survey, mapping, inspection, photography and 

videography will provide a service that industries are either using currently with 

traditional aircraft or seeking to use but cannot afford. By utilizing sUAS versus manned 

aircraft, there is increased public safety through the light-physical nature of the sUAS that 

reduces damage in the case of accidents and through a reduction in carbon emissions and 
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noise pollution. For those currently unable to use traditional aircraft due to the high cost, 

sUAS will provide a service never available before that can help businesses be more 

efficient and successful.

Elevate UAS LLC will use sUAS that are battery powered, lightweight, fly close to the 

ground and kept within visual line of sight (VLOS), and therefore, provides a safer 

alternative to manned aircraft that are much heavier, include risk to the operator and carry

large amounts of combustible fuel. This alternative provides a great benefit to the public 

and those around the operations as the potential collateral damage to life and property in 

the air and on the ground is much smaller.

Moreover, the sUAS is battery powered and releases zero carbon emissions as opposed to

traditional manned aircraft, which carry liquid fuel that is combusted and emitted directly 

to the atmosphere. Elevate UAS LLC uses a sUAS with a rechargeable lithium ion 

battery rather than burning fossil fuels, thus greatly reducing the environmental impact of

aerial imaging and data collection. Noise pollution is also greatly reduced when using a

sUAS, as it is propelled by small battery powered electric motors as opposed to an 

internal combustion engine. 

Not only will the use of sUAS increase safety and reduce environmental impact, but it 

will also create an affordable option for companies to collect and analyze data that has 

never been available before. Where aerial data collection used to only be available to a 

few, this technology will enable all companies of every size the ability to collect and 

analyze pertinent information that will ultimately provide more jobs, increase the quality 

of work and lead to greater technological innovations within multiple and diverse 

industries.

IV. SPECIFIC REGULATIONS

14 C.F.R. § 45.23(b) - Display of Marks; general

The regulation requires: When marks include only the Roman capital letter “N” and the 

registration number is displayed on limited, restricted or light-sport category aircraft or

experimental or provisionally certificated aircraft, the operator must also display on that 

aircraft near each entrance to the cabin, cockpit, or pilot station, in letters not less than 2 

inches nor more than 6 inches high, the words “limited,” “restricted,” “light-sport,” 

“experimental,” or “provisional,” as applicable.

As the sUAS will have no cabin, cockpit, or pilot station, Elevate UAS LLC is unable to 

display these marks, and therefore requests exemption from this regulation. Due to the 

size of the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced, 2 inch lettering is not possible. In order to provide 

an equivalent level of safety, Elevate UAS LLC requests permission to have the sUAS

marked “Experimental” on its fuselage where the identification can be viewed clearly in 

lettering as large as practical. 

14 C.F.R. § 61.133(a)&(b) - Commercial pilot privileges and limitations
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These sections indicate that no person with a private pilot license may act in command of 

an aircraft for compensation or hire. Elevate UAS LLC requests exemption from having a 

commercial license as the proposed operations can match an equivalent level of safety 

with a FAA Certificated Private Pilot. This is due to the fact that there is inherently less

risk in operating a sUAS as it will not carry a pilot, passengers or cargo, will not have 

explosive or flammable material and will weigh less than 20 pounds including payload.

14 C.F.R. § 91.7(a) – Civil Aircraft Airworthiness

The regulation requires that no person may operate a civil aircraft unless it is in airworthy 

condition. However, there is no airworthiness certificate issued for the aircraft. Given the 

specifications for the sUAS requested for exemption, including the small size and 

restricted nature of flights, an equivalent level of safety will be achieved by continued 

compliance with the DJI manuals prior to flight without having an airworthiness 

certificate.

14 C.F.R. § 91. 9(b)(2) – Civil Aircraft Flight Manual Requirements

This regulation indicates that: No person may operate a U.S.-registered civil aircraft—... 

unless there is available in the aircraft a current, approved Airplane or Rotorcraft Flight 

Manual or the manual provided. 

Due to the size and configuration of the sUAS, it is incapable of carrying a flight manual 

on the aircraft. As the PIC will be on the ground, an equivalent level of safety will be 

achieved with the flight manual kept at the ground control point where the Pilot has 

immediate access to it.

14 C.F.R. § 91.109(a) – Flight Instruction 

This regulation provides that: No person may operate a civil aircraft (except a manned 

free balloon) that is being used for flight instruction unless that aircraft has fully 

functioning dual controls.

The sUAS does not have fully functioning dual controls by design. Flight control for the 

sUAS is conducted through the use of a control box that communicates with the aircraft. 

The equivalent level of safety will be achieved with proper training prior to commercial 

operations, which is appropriate given the size and speed of the sUAS and the fact that no 

persons will be aboard the aircraft.

14 C.F.R. § 91.119(c) – Minimum Safe Altitudes

This regulation gives minimum flight altitudes for aircrafts. Specifically, part (c), which 

refers to areas other than congested areas, indicates that: Except when necessary for 

takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes...An 

altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. 

In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, 

vehicle, or structure.
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Elevate UAS LLC will comply with the exemptions for sUAS flight that stipulate the 

maximum flight altitude is 400 feet AGL, which make this regulation impossible to 

observe. The lightweight nature of the sUAS, the approval and knowledge by landowners 

that flight will be occurring in a pre-defined flight area and the fact that there are no 

persons on board make it much less of a risk to fly at lower altitudes, and provide an 

equivalent level of safety.

14 C.F.R. § 91.121 – Altimeter Settings

This regulation requires that: each person operating an aircraft shall maintain the cruising 

altitude or flight level of that aircraft...by reference to an altimeter that is set “to the 

elevation of the departure airport or an appropriate altimeter setting available before 

departure.”

The sUAS does not have a barometric altimeter, but instead utilizes a GPS altitude, 

making it necessary to have an exemption for flight. An equivalent level of safety will be 

achieved by the operator, pursuant to the manufacturer’s flight manual and Pre-flight 

Checklist (see Appendix, Exhibits IX and II), by using live flight monitoring that will 

read the elevation of the pre-flight launch site as well as AGL elevation on the Aircraft 

Status Indicator to confirm the altitude.

14 C.F.R. § 91.151(a) – Fuel Requirements

This requirement stipulates that: No person may begin a flight in an airplane under VFR 

conditions unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions) there is enough fuel 

to fly to the first point of intended landing and, assuming normal cruising speed...During 

the day, to fly after that for at least 30 minutes.

As the sUAS under consideration is battery operated and not powered by fuel, an 

exemption is needed. An equivalent level of safety is achieved through the safety 

features of the DJI Phantom 3 Advanced. These include the “Failsafe” feature that 

returns the sUAS to the original takeoff site and lands safely when the Intelligent Battery 

Signal is low, as well as the built-in sensors of the Intelligent Battery Signal that update 

the battery status in real-time, continuously calculating distance and amount of power 

needed to return to the ground station, which it does if it reaches critically low battery 

level. These safety features, as well as limiting flights to 20 minutes, will ensure that the 

sUAS has enough battery power to land safely during each flight.

14 C.F.R. § 91.203(a)&(b) – Civil Aircraft: Certifications Required 

The regulation provides in pertinent part: Except as provided in § 91.715, no person may 

operate a civil aircraft unless it has within it the following: An appropriate and current 

airworthiness certificate. . . . No person may operate a civil aircraft unless the 

airworthiness certificate required by paragraph (a) of this section or a special flight 

authorization issued under §91.715 is displayed at the cabin or cockpit entrance so that it 

is legible to passengers or crew.
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As sUAS do not have a cabin or cockpit entrance, there are no passengers or crew to view 

the certificate. Given the small size of the sUAS and its general composition, there is no 

ability to carry certification or other documents aboard the aircraft. An equivalent level of 

safety will be achieved by having these documents at the ground control point where the 

Pilot has immediate access to them.

14 CFR § 91.405(a), 407(a)(1), 409(a)(1)&(2), 417(a)&(b) – Maintenance, Inspections

These regulations require that each aircraft operator or owner “shall have that aircraft 

inspected as prescribed in subpart E of this part and shall between required inspections, 

except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, have discrepancies repaired as 

prescribed in part 43 of this chapter”..., and others shall inspect or maintain the aircraft in 

compliance with Part 43. As these sections and Part 43 apply only to aircraft with an 

airworthiness certificate, and the sUAS being requested for use does not have an 

airworthiness certificate, Elevate UAS LLC respectfully requests exemption from these 

regulations.

The operator of the sUAS will perform or have maintenance performed on the aircrafts 

pursuant to the flight manual and operating handbook (see Appendix, Exhibit IX). If 

maintenance, alteration or repair is required, a functional test fight will be performed and 

recorded to ensure the sUAS is in good working condition before flight in order to 

achieve an equivalent level of safety (see Appendix, Exhibit VI).

Given the small size of the sUAS, the fact that no persons will be onboard, operation will 

occur in restricted and pre-approved areas, and the relative simplicity of the sUAS

components compared to other aircrafts, Elevate UAS LLC believes an equivalent level 

of safety is met through pre-flight inspections which will occur before each flight and 

through following the sUAS manufacturer’s maintenance, overhaul, replacement, 

inspection and life limit requirements for the aircraft and its components.

V. CONCLUSION

Approval of exemptions allowing commercial operations of sUAS will reduce safety 

risks from manned aircraft operations, eliminate carbon emissions and noise pollution 

and be cost effective for businesses across industries. There is an equivalent level of 

safety met through the lightweight, low-flying, controlled and pre-determined nature of 

the sUAS and through other legal and safety procedures directed by the FAA, UAS 

manufacturer and common sense. Due to the strong equivalent level of safety and clear 

public good, Elevate UAS LLC respectfully requests exemption and permission to safely 

operate a sUAS in the NAS for commercial purposes. 

Respectfully, 

Colgan B. Smith

Elevate UAS LLC