UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

WASHINGTON, DC

Regulatory Docket No. _______________

IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR EXEMPTION OF

TITLE 14 OF THE CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR) FOR:

NATHAN A. HARNESS

Submitted on January 23, 2016
1. This document outlines a Petition for Exemption of Title 14 of the Code of Federal

Regulations (14 CFR) for the purpose of operating a small Unmanned Aircraft System

(sUAS), pursuant to the exemption criteria in 14 CFR § 11.81, and under special

provision of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA), Section 333­

  	   	 .

PETITIONER/OPERATOR

2. Mr. Nathan A. Harness, a United States citizen, is hereafter referred to as the

OPERATOR and Petitioner.

3. The OPERATOR’s mailing address:

2217 WINPOST LANE

APEX, NC 27502

Email: 7600onair@gmail.com

4. The OPERATOR holds a Private Pilot license with Single­Engine Land rating, dated

3/29/2006.

5. The OPERATOR holds a valid United States Drivers License (DL) with current

endorsement.

6. The OPERATOR holds a Professional Engineer (PE) license in North Carolina and South

Carolina. The OPERATOR practices in the Electrical Engineering field and holds a

Bachelor of Science degree, with a concentration in Microelectronics. Since the sUAS

referred to herein is all electric, the background of the OPERATOR is relevant to

operating, programming, testing, maintaining or otherwise safely controlling the sUAS.

7. This exemption is intended to apply to any business or commercial interests of the

OPERATOR.

8. The OPERATOR is the only Pilot In Control (PIC) for which this exemption applies.

OPERATIONS

7. This exemption applies to operations of a DJI Phantom 3 unmanned aircraft (UA) and

any equivalent model released during the duration of this exemption, that has the same or

greater safety features and capabilities of the DJI Phantom 3, and with a gross all­up

weight (AUW) not exceeding 55 pounds. The said sUAS has many fail­safe systems for

safe operation.

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8. The unmanned aircraft (UA) will be registered with the FAA where required by law. The

UA will display the registration number on the fuselage/airframe.

9. The intended uses of the Operations are listed under the Public Interest section (39­41).

10. Safe operations by the OPERATOR will be the priority of every operation and

deemed vital to life, health, and the personal property of the general public and the

OPERATOR.

11. An equivalent level of safety will be maintained relative to full scale manned

aircraft operations as set forth in 14 CFR regulations (where applicable).

12. The proposed operations, operational parameters, and maintenance and inspections

utilized by the OPERATOR to achieve an equivalent level of safety with the sUAS

are outlined below (13­38):

13. Operations are not for the purpose of closed­set motion picture and television

filming.

14. The unmanned aircraft (UA) will not be operated at a speed exceeding 87 knots (100

miles per hour), based on groundspeed.

15. The UA will be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet above ground level

(AGL), and below 200 feet for the blanket Certificate of Authorization (COA).

16. The UA will be operated within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the OPERATOR at all

times. The OPERATOR will not use any vision aids other than corrective lenses.

17. All operations will utilize a visual observer (VO). The UA will be operated within the

visual line of sight (VLOS) of the OPERATOR and VO at all times. The VO will be

instructed on his/her responsibilities and the mission objectives prior to each flight, and

will maintain constant verbal communication without the use of electronics. Where

available, more than one VO will be utilized.

18. The OPERATOR will maintain and inspect the UAS to ensure that it is in a condition

for safe operation. If the required maintenance is beyond the capabilities of the

OPERATOR, the manfucturer and/or a skilled technician will be consulted.

19. Prior to each flight, the OPERATOR will conduct a pre­flight inspection, based on the

manufacturer’s recommendations, and determine whether the sUAS is in a condition

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for safe flight. If the inspection reveals a condition that adversely affects the safe

operation of the sUAS, the aircraft will not be operated until the necessary maintenance

has been performed and the sUAS passes a re­inspection.

20. The OPERATOR will follow the sUAS manufacturer’s maintenance, overhaul,

replacement, inspection, and life limit requirements for the aircraft and aircraft

components.

21. The OPERATOR will comply with all the manufacturer's safety bulletins.

22. The OPERATOR will have a copy of the manufacturer’s instruction and operating

manual along with the sUAS. All operating documents will be accessible at the site of

operations.

23. The OPERATOR will maintain the following distances from airport facilities, using the

location referenced in the current FAA Airport/Facility Directory (AFD):

a. 5 nautical miles (NM) from an airport having an operational control tower; or

b. 3 NM from an airport with a published instrument flight procedure, but not an

operational tower; or

c. 2 NM from an airport without a published instrument flight procedure or an

operational tower; or

d. 2 NM from a heliport with a published instrument flight procedure.

24. Protective geo­fencing from the sUAS manufacturer will be utilized where it complies

with the distances listed in (23).

25. Upon loss of communications, the UA will automatically return to its flight origination

coordinates or another programmed point within the private or controlled­access

property.

26. The OPERATOR will abort the flight in the event of unpredicted obstacles or

emergencies.

27. The OPERATOR will not begin a flight unless there is enough available power for the

UA to conduct the intended operation and to operate after that for at least 5 minutes, or

25% of full battery capacity, or reserves as recommended by the manufacturer,

whichever is greater.

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28. The UA will remain clear of all manned aviation operations and activities at all times

during the UA flight.

29. The sUAS will not be used by the OPERATOR from any moving vehicle or platform.

30. All Flight operations will be conducted at least 500 feet from all nonparticipating

persons, vessels, vehicles, and structures unless:

a. Barriers or structures are present that sufficiently protect nonparticipating

persons from the UA and/or debris in the event of an accident. The

OPERATOR will ensure that nonparticipating persons remain under such

protection; Or:

b. The owner/controller of any vessels, vehicles, or structures has granted

permission for operating closer to those objects and the OPERATOR has

made a safety assessment of the risk of operating closer to those objects and

determined that it does not present an undue hazard.

31. In the unlikely event of an incident or accident, the event will be reported to the FAA's

UAS Integration Office within 24 hours. Accidents will also be reported to the National

Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

32. All operations will be conducted over private or controlled­access property with

permission from the property owner or authorized representative.

33. Where proposed operations do not fall within the parameters of the blanket COA at

the time of operation, an Air Traffic Organization (ATO) Certificate of Waiver or

Authorization (COA) will be obtained.

34. The OPERATOR will check weather conditions prior to each operation to ensure

winds and other meteorological conditions do not exceed the capabilities of the UA

system.

35. The UA will not be operated less than 500 feet below or less than 2,000 feet

horizontally from a cloud or when visibility is less than 3 statute miles from the

OPERATOR.

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36. The OPERATOR will not conduct any night operations as defined in 14 CFR § 1.1; all

operations will be daytime under visual meteorological conditions (VMC) as defined in

14 CFR § 91.155.

37. The OPERATOR will utilize a pre­flight checklist to include:

a. visual observer debriefing (17);

b. complete sUAS system checks (19),

c. the takeoff and landing checklist (22) provided by the manufacturer,

d. the emergency procedures (22) provided by the manufacturer;

e. the battery (27),

f. property owner signoffs (32),

g. and weather (34­36).

38. The OPERATOR will not perform any flight for hire or commercial purposes until

having acquired demonstrable competency of control in all phases of flight

operations, and emergency procedures, in the said model used for hire.

OPERATOR qualification flight hours and currency will be logged in a manner

consistent with 14 CFR § 61.51(b)­ Ŝ

PUBLIC INTEREST

39. Collecting aerial data is in the public interest. Providing this data more cost­effectively

for the proposed operations (40) is in the public interest.

40. The proposed operations by the OPERATOR include public interests of:

a. Construction documentation;

b. Utility system inspections;

c. Industrial plant inspections;

d. Real estate survey and documentation;

e. Agricultural inspections and survey;

f. Special event coverage.

41. Statement of Petition: I, the OPERATOR, will not operate the unmanned aircraft (UA) in

a reckless manner. I will assess the safest manner to accomplish a mission objective. I

will follow all the manufacturer’s recommendations and maintain currency with the

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manufacturer's safety bulletins. I will yield right­of­way to full scale aircraft and

maintain visual contact at all times with the UA. I will follow the pre­flight checklist

and all other criteria outlined herein. I will abort the flight with any unforeseen

hazardous events or emergencies. I will only fly over private property with permission of

the title holder or property manager. I will maintain currency with new legislation and

proposed rulemaking by the FAA. The FAA has granted petitions similar in all respects

to that presented herein, therefore, I request this petition be granted without delay.

CFR REGULATIONS

42. No exemption is requested for Pilot in Command Certificates, 14 CFR § 113, Private

pilot privileges and limitations: Pilot in command (4).

43. The OPERATOR, having come to an understanding of Code of Federal Regulations

(CFR) applicable to the sUAS, requests exemption and seeks relief from the following 14

CFR sections as outlined in (44­59), having found that they are either:

a. unduly burdensome to the sUAS application; or

b. impossible with current technology or limitations of the proposed sUAS; or

c. not relative to the application of the sUAS; or

d. a combination of subparts (a­c).

44. 14 CFR § 21:  Ş  Ś

45. 14 CFR § 45.23:   Ś Ś

46. 14 CFR § 45.27 (a):   Ś Ş Ŝ

47. 14 CFR § 61.23 (a): Operations requiring a medical certificate.

48. 14 CFR § 61.133:     Ŝ

49. 14 CFR § 91.9 (b)(2):    ř ř  

Ŝ

50. 14 CFR § 91.103 (b)(2):  Ŝ

51. 14 CFR § 91.105: 	   Ŝ

52. 14 CFR § 91.109: 	 Ś    

  Ŝ

53. 14 CFR § 91.119:   ś 
Ŝ

54. 14 CFR § 91.121:  Ŝ

55. 14 CFR § 91.151 (b): 	     	 Ŝ

56. 14 CFR § 91.405:  Ŝ

57. 14 CFR § 91.407:   ř  ř

ř  Ŝ

58. 14 CFR § 91.409: Ŝ

59. 14 CFR § 91.417:  Ŝ

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60. This concludes the Petition for Exemption of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations

(14 CFR) for the proposed UA operations by the OPERATOR.

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