Electronic Submission

February 10 , 2016

U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Operations West Building Ground Floor, Room W12

- 140 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Dear Sir or Madam:

Pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernizat ion and Reform Act of 2012 (herein referred to

a s FMRA) and 14 CFR Part 11, BKP Ventures, I nc. (herein referred to as BKP Ventures ) hereby applies for an exemption from the listed Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) to allow commercial operation of UAS for the ac quisition of aerial data, so long as such operations are conducted within and under the conditions outlined herein or as may be established by the FAA.

As detailed in this document and the attached Appendix of UAS, the requested exemption would permit the operation of UAS under controlled conditions in the United States. Approval of this exemption would thereby enhance safety and fulfill the Secretary of Transportation’s responsibilities to “...establish requirements for the safe operation of such aircraft systems in the national airspace system.” Section 333(c) Reform Act.

The name and address of the applicant is:

BKP Ventures

, Inc.

Brian K. Phill i ps CEO

2064 Herschel St

Unit 103

Jacksonville, FL 32204

Tel: 650

- 427

- 9610

Email: brian@bkpventures.comRegulations from which the exemption is requested:

14 CFR Part 21 14 CFR 45.23(b) 14 CFR 61.113(a) & (b) 14 CFR 91.7(a) 14 CFR 91.9(b)(2)

14 CFR 91.103

14 CFR 91.109

14 CFR 91.119

14 CFR 91.121 14 CFR 91.151(a) 14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b) 14 CFR 91 .405(a) 14 CFR 407(a)(1) 14 CFR 409(a)(2) 14 CFR 417(a) & (b)

AUTHORITY FOR EXEMPTIONS

The Federal Aviation Act expressly grants the FAA authority to issue exemptions. This statutory authority includes exempting civil aircraft, as the term is defined u nder §40101 of the Act, including UAS, from the requirement that all civil aircraft must have a current airworthiness

certificate.

The Administrator may grant an exemption from a requirement of a regulation prescribed under subsection (a) or (b) of this s ection or any sections §44702

- 44716 of this title if the Administrator finds the exemption in the public interest. 49 USC §44701(f). See also 49 USC §44711(a); 49 USC §44704; 14 CFR 91.203(a)(1).

Section 333(b) of the Reform Act assists the Secretary in d etermining whether UAS may operate in the national airspace system without creating a hazard to the user, the public, or a threat to national security. In making this determination, the Secretary must consider:

• The UAS’ size, weight, speed and operatio nal capability;

• Whether the UAS operates within the visual line of sight of the operator;

• Whether the UAS operates outside of highly populated areas and away from close proximity to airports.

Reform Act 333(a). If the Secretary determines that a UAS “ 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).

BACKGROUND ON BKP VENTURES

BKP Ventures is attempting to become o ne of the world’s lea ding aerial imagery and analysis companies. BKP Ventures provides on

- demand, customizable solutions utilizing UAS to deliver specific, low risk, and cost effective actionable data to clients. BKP Ventures was founded specifically to help clients avoid the capital expense and operating risks of establishing their owndrone programs and to purchase drone support in a way which better fits their operations and cost profiles.

BKP Ventures believes in a risk

- based and technology agnostic approach to operations in the national airspace . Approval for any operation should be based on an analysis of the specific risks associated with the fully integrated solution, rather than the individual components.

The business model is predicated on identifying requirements, developing the bu siness case, and demonstrating the Return on Investment (ROI) from UAS for enterprise clients in a number of

industries. Drone s as a Service is a custom integrated solution made up of seven different

components.

UAS AND OPERATIONAL DESCRIPTION

BKP Ventures seeks to commercially operate a variety of UAS weighing less than 55 pounds including payload in the United States for the purpose of acquiring aerial data. The Appendix attached to this exemption petition lists the aircraft that BKP Ventures contemplates operating. In addition, BKP Ventures requests that it be granted permission to operate those aircraft already approved in previous Section 333 exemption petitions.

As the operator of these aircraft, BKP Ventures is committed to the following conditions and limitations on its operatio ns. BKP Ventures understands that failure to comply will be grounds

for the immediate suspension or rescission any exemption granted.

1. Operations are limited to the UAS listed in the Appendix and those UAS previously approved by the Secretary when weighing les s than 55 pounds including payload.

2. Operations for the purpose of closed

- set motion picture and television filming are not contemplated.

3. The aircraft will not be operated at a speed exceeding 87 knots (100 miles per hour). In no

case will the ai rcraft be operated at airspeeds greater than the maximum aircraft operating airspeed recommended by the aircraft manufacturer.

4. The aircraft will be operated at an altitude of no more than 400 feet above ground level (AGL). Altitude must be reported in feet AGL.

5. The aircraft will be operated within visual line of sight (VLOS) of the Pilot in Command (PIC) at all times. This requires the PIC to be able to use human vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses, as specified on the PIC’s U.S. driver’s license.

6. All operations will utilize a visual observer (VO). The aircraft will be operated within the visual line of sight (VLOS) of the PIC and VO at all times.7. All operating documents needed to operate the UAS and will be accessib le during UAS operations and made available to the Administrator upon request. The operator will also present updated and revised documents if it petitions for extension or amendment.

8. Any UAS that has undergone maintenance or alterations that affect t he UAS operation or flight characteristics, e.g. replacement of a flight critical component, will undergo a functional test flight prior to conducting further operations.

9. BKP Ventures is responsible for maintaining and inspecting the UAS to ensure that it is in a condition for safe operation.

10. Prior to each flight, the PIC will conduct a pre

- flight inspection and determine the UAS is in a condition for safe flight.

11. BKP Ventures will follow the UAS manufacturer’s maintenance, overhaul, r eplacement, inspectio n, and life limit requirements for the aircraft and aircraft components.

12. Each UAS operated under this exemption will comply with all manufacturer safety bulletins.

13. The PIC will hold a UAS flight training certificate, in some cases training dire ctly from the aircraft manufacturer, and a valid U.S. driver’s license issued by a state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, a territory, a possession, or the Federal government.

14. BKP Ventures will not permit any PIC to operate unless the PIC demonstrate s the ability to safely operate the UAS in a manner consistent with how the UAS will be operated to acquire

aerial data, including evasive and emergency maneuvers and maintaining appropriate distances from persons, vessels, vehicles and structures. PIC qua lification flight hours and currency will be logged in a manner consistent with 14 CFR § 61.51(b). BKP Ventures will operate flights for the

purposes of training BKP Ventures PICs and VOs (training, proficiency, and experience

building) and determining the PIC’s ability t o safely operate the U AS.

15. UAS operations will not be conducted during night, as defined in 14 CFR § 1.1. All operations will be conducted under visual meteorological conditions (VMC).

16. The aircraft will not operate within 5 nautical miles of an airport reference point (ARP) as denoted in the current FAA Airport/Facility Directory (AFD) or for airports not denoted with an ARP, the center of the airport symbol as denoted on the current FAA

- published aeronautical chart, unless a letter of agreement with that airport’s management is obtained or otherwise permitted by a COA.

17. The aircraft 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 PIC.

18. If the UAS loses communications or loses its GPS signal, the aircraft will return to a pre

determined location.19. The PIC will abort the flight in the event of unpredicted obstacles or emergencies.

20. The PIC will be prohibited from beginning a flight unless (considering wind and forecast weather conditions) there is enough available power or fuel for the aircraft to conduct the intended operation and to operate after that for at least five minutes or with the reserve power or fuel recommended by the manufacturer if greater.

21. All operations shall be conducted in accordance with an ATO

- issued COA if the blanket COA does not cover the intended operation.

22. All aircraft operated will be identified by serial number, registered in accordance w ith 14 CFR part 47, and have identification ! (N

- Number) markings in accordance with 14 CFR part 45, Subpart C. Markings will be as large as practicable.

23. Documents used by BKP Ven tures to ensure the safe operation and flight of the UAS and any documents requi red under 14 CFR §§ 91.9 and 91.203 will be available to the PIC at the Ground Control Station of the UAS any time the aircraft is operating.

24. The aircraft will remain clear and give way to all manned aviation operations and activities at

all times.

25. The UAS may be operated by the PIC from a moving device or vehicle; however, specific requests will be made via subsequent COA.

26. 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 aircraft or debris in the event of an accident; or

b. The owner/controller/operator of any vessels, vehicles or structures has granted pe rmission for operating closer to those objects and the PIC has made an assessment of the risk of operating closer to those objects and determined that it does not present an undue hazard.

27. The PIC, VO, operator trainees or essential persons will not be considered nonparticipating persons under this exemption.

28. All operations conducted over private or controlled

- access property will be conducted with the permission from the property owner/controller or authorized representative. Permission from

pr operty owner/controller or authorized representative will be obtained for each flight to be

conducted.

29. Any incident, accident, or flight operation that transgresses the lateral or vertical boundaries of the operational area as defined by the applicab le COA will be reported to the FAA's UAS Integration Office (AFS

- 80) within 24 hours. Accidents must be reported to the NationalTransportation Safety Board (NTSB) per instructions contained on the NTSB Web site: www.ntsb.gov.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC R EGULATIONS

14 CFR Part 21, Subpart H: Airworthiness certificates

Subpart H, establishes the procedural requirements for the issuance of airworthiness certificates as required by FAR §91.203(a)(1). Given the size and limited operating area associated wit h the aircraft to be utilized by BKP Ventures , an exemption from Part 21 Subpart H meets the requirements of an equivalent level of safety under Part 11 and Section 333 of the Reform Act. The Federal Aviation Act (49 USC §44701(f)) and Section 333 of the Reform Ac t both authorize the FAA to exempt aircraft from the requirement for an airworthiness certificate, upon consideration of the size, weight, speed, operational capability and proximity to airports and populated areas of the particular UAS. In all cases, an a nalysis of these criteria demonstrates that the UAS operated without an airworthiness certificate, in the restricted environment and under the conditions proposed, will be at least as safe, or safer, than a conventional aircraft operating

with an airworthi ness certificate without the restrictions and conditions proposed.

14 CFR 45.23(b): Marking of the aircraft

This regulation requires that certain experimental, provisionally certified aircraft, or light sport category aircraft to be marked with letters between 2 inches and 6 inches high “limited”, “restricted,” “light

- sport,” “experimental,” or “provisional,” near each entrance to a cabin, cockpit or pilot station. Even though the UAS will have no airworthiness certificate, an exemption may be needed as the UAS will have no entrance to the cabin, cockpit or pilot station on which the word “Experimental” can be placed. Given the size of the UAS, 2 inch lettering may be impossible. BKP Ventures will mark the UAS as practicable.

14 CFR 61.113(a) & (b): Private pilo t privileges and limitations: Pilot in command

Sections 61.113(a) and (b) limit private pilots to non

- commercial operations. Because the UAS will not carry a pilot or passengers, the proposed operations can achieve the equivalent level of safety of curre nt operations by requiring the pilot operating the aircraft to have completed a UAS flight

- training course. Unlike a conventional aircraft that carries the pilot and passengers, the UAS is remotely controlled. The area of operation is controlled and restri cted, and all flights are planned and coordinated in advance. The risks associated with the operation of the UAS are so

diminished from the level of risk associated with commercial operations contemplated by Part 61

when drafted, that allowing operations o f the UAS as requested exceeds the present level of safety achieved by 14 CFR 61.113(a) and (b).

14 CFR 91.7(a): Civil aircraft airworthiness

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

condition. As ther e will be no airworthiness certificate issued for the aircraft BKP Ventures contemplates operating, should this exemption be granted, no FAA regulatory standard will existfor determining airworthiness. Given the size of the aircraft and the operational restrictio ns put on the aircraft, an equivalent level of safety will be provided.

14 CFR 91.9(b)(2): Civil aircraft flight manual, marking and placard requirements

The UAS, given its size and configuration has no ability or place to carry such a flight manual on

t he aircraft, not only because there is no pilot on board, but because there is no room or capacity to carry such an item on the aircraft. The equivalent level of safety will be maintained by keeping the Operating Manuals at the ground control point where t he pilot flying the UAS will have

immediate access to it.

14 CFR 91.103: Preflight action

This regulation requires each pilot in command take certain actions before flight to ensure the safety of flight. An exemption is needed from this requirement, as t he pilot will take separate preflight actions, including checking for weather conditions, checking flight battery or fuel requirements, checking takeoff and landing distances, and all other actions in the Operating

Manual and safety checklists. These actio ns will provide an equivalent level of safety.

14 CFR 91.109: Flight instruction

Section 91.103 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 f unctioning dual controls. By design, UAS do not have fully functional d ual controls. Flight control is

a ccomplished through the use of a control box that communicates with the aircraft via radio communications. The equivalent level of safety is provided by the fact that neither a pilot nor passengers will be carried in the aircraft, the ability to control the UAS via radio signals from the controller and by the size and speed of the aircraft.

14 CFR 91.119: Minimum safe altitudes

Section 91.119 establishe s safe altitudes for operation of civil aircraft. The UAS will never operate at altitude higher than 400 AGL and all operations will occur during daylight hours under Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) only.

The equivalent level of safety will be achi eved given the size, weight and speed of the UAS as well as the location where it is operated. No fl ight will be taken without the permission of the property owner. Because advance notice to the property owner and any onsite personnel, as well as the preca utions outlined below, all affected individuals will be aware of the planned flight operations.

Flight operations will be conducted at least 500 feet from all non

- participating persons (persons other than the pilot in command (PIC) or visual observer (VO) ), vessels, vehicles and structures, unless operations do not present an undue hazard.The UAS will remain within visual line of sight of the PIC or VO. Flight operations will be conducted at least 5 miles from an airport. The PIC or VO will provide notif ication to the local Flight Standards District Office and airport controller of all operations within 5 miles of an airport. The FAA will have advance notice of all operations through the filing of notices

- to

airmen.

Compared to flight operations with ai rcraft or rotorcraft weighing far more than the UAS proposed herein, any risk associated with our operations is far less than those presently presented with helicopters and other conventional aircraft operating at or below 500 feet AGL. In addition,

the lo w

- altitude operations of the UAS will ensure separation between these UAS operations and the operations of conventional aircraft that must comply with Section 91.119.

14 CFR 91.121: Altimeter Settings

This regulation requires each person operating the ai rcraft to maintain cruising altitude by reference to an altimeter that is set “...to the elevation of the departure airport or an appropriate altimeter setting available before departure.” As the UAS may not have a barometric altimeter,

but instead a GPS a ltitude read out, an exemption may be needed. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by the PIC confirming the altitude of the launch site shown on the GPS altitude indicator before flight.

14 CFR 91.151(a): Fuel requirements for flight in VFR co nditions

Section 91.151(a) outlines fuel requirements for beginning a flight in VFR conditions. Relief from Section 91.151(a)(1) is requested to the extent required to allow flights of a variety of UAS during daylight hours in visual flight rules (VFR) c onditions to continue until 90 percent of remaining battery power or fuel reserves remain. BKP Ventures seeks the requested relief because without an exemption from Section 91.151(a)(1), the flight time duration of the selected

aircraft will be reduced and severel y constrain the practicality of any aerial acquisition of data

that BKP Ventures proposes to conduct pursuant to this Petition.

The technical specifications of the proposed UAS, their Operations Manuals, and BKP Ventures’ proposed operating limitations, ensure that BKP Ventures will safely operate the selected aircraft during daylight hours in VFR conditions until 90 percent of remaining battery power or fuel

reserves remain.

14 CFR 91.203(a) & (b): Carrying civil aircraft certification and registration

The UAS has no cabin, c ockpit or pilot station and is operated without an onboard pilot. Therefore, there is no ability or place to carry certification and registration documents or to display them on the UAS. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved by keeping these

docum ents at the ground control point where the pilot flying the UAS will have immediate access to them, to the extent they are applicable to the UAS.

14 CFR 91.405(a); 407(a)(1); 409(a)(2); 417(a) & (b): Maintenance inspectionsThese regulations require th at an 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 o f this chapter...,” and others shall inspect or maintain the aircraft in compliance with Part 43.

Given that these sections and Part 43 apply only to aircraft with an airworthiness certificate, these sections will not apply to BKP Ventures . Maintenance will be ac complished pursuant to the User Guide or Operating Manual. An equivalent level of safety will be achieved because these UASs are limited in size and will carry a small payload and operate only in restricted areas for limited periods of time. If mechanical issues arise, the UAS can land immediately and will be operating from no higher than 400 feet AGL. The PIC will ensure that the UAS is in working order prior to initiating flight, perform required maintenance and keep a log of any maintenance performed. Mo reover, the PIC is the person most familiar with the aircraft and best suited to

maintain the aircraft in an airworthy condition to provide the equivalent level of safety.

PUBLIC INTEREST

Approval of exemptions allowing commercial operations of UASs fo r aerial acquisition of data enhances safety while reducing risk. Manned aircraft in certain application such as pipeline monitoring create a greater risk because the aircraft are much larger and carry an onboard human pilot. In contrast, a UAS weighing 55 pounds or less will carry no passengers or crew and, therefore, will not expose them to the risks associated with manned aircraft flights. In addition, additional streams of aerial data will allow large commercial entities to make decisions about

how to b est deploy ground resources and ensure the safety and cost

- effectiveness of their

o perations.

EQUIVALENT LEVEL OF SAFETY

BKP Ventures proposes that the exemption requested herein apply to civil aircraft that have the characteristics and that operate within the l imitations listed herein. These limitations provide for at least an equivalent or even higher level of safety to operations under the current and proposed regulatory structure.

PRIVACY

All flights will occur over private or controlled access property wit h the property owner’s prior consent and knowledge. Images or video taken of individuals will have consented to being filmed or otherwise they will be made anonymous.

NATIONAL SECURITY

Given the small size of the UAS involved and the restricted environ ment within which they will operate, our petition presents no national security issue.

FEDERAL REGISTER SUMMARYDocket No.: No. FAA

- 2016

- ____ Petitioner: BKP Ventures , Inc. Part 21 and §§ 45.23(b), 61.113(a) and (b), 91.7(a), 91.9(b)(2), 91.103, 91.109, 91.119, 91.121, 91.151(a), 91.203(a) and (b), 91.405(a), 407(a)(1), 409(a)(2), 417(a) and (b) of Title 14, Code of the Federal Regulations (14 CFR). Description of Relief Sought: BKP Ventures is seeking an exemption to conduct commercial acquisition of aerial data using unmanned aircraft systems.

Based upon the foregoing, BKP Ventures requests that the FAA grant it the necessary exemptions under Section 333 of the FAA Reform Act as requested herein to allow for commercial operations of UAS within the United States.

Sincerely,

//SIGNED//

BKP V entures, Inc.

Brian K. Phill i ps

CEO

2064 Herschel St

Unit 103 Jacksonville, FL 32204

Tel: 650

- 427

- 9610

Email: brian@bkpventures.com