Mario F. Fabrizio April 29, 2015

290 Calamus Circle Medina, MN 55340 Cell (612) 360

- 9017

Email: mario@fabrizios.com

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 of 2012

Attachments: 1) Phantom 2 Vision+ User Manual V1.6

2 ) Flight Log

References: 1) FAA Exemption No. 11138, Regulatory Docket No. F AA20140481 in the matter of the petition of DOUGLAS TRUDEAU 2) FAA Exemption No. 11136, Regulatory Docket No. FAA

– 2014

– 0508 in the matter of the petition of ADVANCED AVIATION SOLUTIONS LLC 3) FAA Exemption No. 11080 Regulatory Docket No. FAA20140 355 in the matter of the petition of FLYING CAM INC 4) FAA Exemption No. 11437 Regulatory Docket No. FAA20150221 in the matter of the petition of MARCUS D MELHUS

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 Mario F. Fabrizio

, referred to hereafter as the petitioner, request exemption from the following sections of Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations §§

61.113(a) ; 61.113(b) ; 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, cinematography, videography, and other flight operations that could be performed safely and more cost effectively with the use of small UAS at low altitude within the U.S. national airspace system as compared to a manned aircraft. Operations will be in support of local fire departments and related emergency service agencies, focusing on pre

- incident planning and imaging that would form the basis for incident action plans in the event of a real emergency. Operations will be performed only at the request of and with the authorization and permission of clients (municipalities) or their authorized agents in order to improve incident pre

- planning and raise

awareness of the beneficial use s of small unmanned air systems for use within the fire service to improve their ability to respond in the event of a real incident.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 the petitioner are drawn from references 1

- 3.

The FARs The petitioner seeks exemption from the above mentioned FARs for the following

reasons ; 61.113(a) & (b) ; The petitioner requests relief in order to facilitate the utilization of an experienced UAS

operator with the a ddition of a trained observer. All pre

- flight inspection, maintenance and flight logs will be saved and made available to the FAA an d Secretary o f Transportation (SoT) for

review ; with the purpose of safely integrating civil UAS operation in the National Airspace System

. 91.119(c) As discussed in Exemption 11138 (DOUGLAS TRUDEAU), operations conducted closer than 500 feet to the ground may require that the UA 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

“ den sely populated ” . The petitioner requests waiver for this condition to allow reasonable and responsible operations in areas of subdivisions and neighborhoods if required. The petitioner will primarily operate the UAS between ground level and 2 00 feet

. The UAS will be operated over designated properties with the consent of the local municipality or their designated agent and while maintaining a safe distance from persons. The petitioner will compile flight data from the logs. This data may assist the FAA in development of regulations for commercial operations in low

- risk, controlled environments.

91.121 As discussed in Exemption 11138 (DOUGLAS TRUDEAU) is inapplicable since the

UAS does not have an altimeter and instead utilizes electroni c GPS with a barometric sensor for

altitude information. 91.151(a) As discussed in Exemption 11136 (ADVANCED AVIATION SOLUTIONS LLC) prior relief has been granted for manned aircraft to operate at less than the prescribed minimums, including Exemption Nos. 2689, 5745, and 10650. In addition, similar UAS specific relief has been granted in Exemption Nos. 8811, 10808, and 1 0673 for daytime, VFR conditions. The UAS provides battery power remaining in percent to the PIC. The UA 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, T he FAA found that a reduced minimum power reserve for flight in daytime VFR

conditions was reasonable. 91.405(a) ; 91.407(a)(1) ; 91.409 (a)(1) & (2) ; 91.417(a) & (b)

As discussed in Exemption 11138 (DOUGLAS TRUDEAU), The petitioner proposes to inspect and ensure that the UAS is in a condition for safe flight in accordance with the operatingdocuments. The FAA found that adherence to the petitioner ’ s operating documents and the

conditions and limitations specified, describing the requirements for maintenance , inspection, and recordkeeping, were sufficient to ensure that safety would not be adversely affected.

The UAS The DJI Phantom 2 vision plus is a highly successful consumer grade small rotorcraft in the quadcopter configuration with an advertised weight of less than 44 Ounces (1242g) designed primarily to carry aloft a high definition camera. It has an advertised maximum speed of less than 30 knots (15m/s) and a maximum climb rate of less than 1200 feet per minute (6 m/s). It is powered by four ele ctric 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 po sition. 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 and/or PIC to monitor battery level, GPS signal strength, a ltitude (AGL), distance from PIC, 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 PI C. 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 initiate d when the battery reaches a predetermined low state. It is anticipated that flights will usually last

less than 12 minutes. More information is available in attachment 1

.

Risk mitigation The petitioner has reviewed FAA exemptions reference ’ s 1

- 3 Conditi ons and Limitations section and believes 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 UA air worthiness 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. These

documents will be made availabl e to the FAA and SoT to assist in future implementation of safety standards and regulations. The petitioner will only operate the UAS over designated properties with the clients consent. Flight plans will be predetermined to limit the UAS s flight

time and limit safety concerns. The petitioner will take into account distance from persons and potential flight obstacles prior to operating the UAS. UAS operation will always be within

VLOS of the PIC and the observer.

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. With the ability to easily and cost effectively gain a perspective of complex and possibly high risk environments, fire departments can more effectively develop pre

- plans to mitigate an y situations that arise. Moreover, the abilityto periodically review building roof modifications and loads significantly improves situational

awareness and improves the safety of both firefighters and occupants. Additionally, effective use of this technology will allow smaller fire departments to maximize their resources on mitigating actual issues as o pposed to wasting precious time getting a “ big picture ” perspective

in a real incident. Operations for this petition will enable fire departments to gain an enhanced perspective for characteristics, exposures and hazards associated with a particular prope rty that cannot be gained through ground level inspection. Aerial surveying and inspections can increase planning efficiency, improve resource estimations , and reduce risks to personnel and property

. The petitioner will provide clients with photographic da ta for these purposes on a ‘ for hire ’ basis acting as an independent contractor. A visual observer will be utilized. Flight data including UA flight time, Control Unit operation time, incident, accident, and details concerning any deviations from normal op erations 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 or other means as required.

Conclusion The petitioner is requesting this exemption for the purposes of “ aerial photograph y, cinematography, videography , inspections and other flight operations ” . The reason for such a general and broad based request is that the petitioner wishes to provide services to fire departments and other emergency service providers that can only be provided through the quick deployment and cost effective operations provided by a UAS. It is believed that these services will allow clients to significantly improve their pre

- planning and situational awareness which in turn will lead to more efficient mitigation of incidents, thereby reducing property loss and improved the safety of both building occupants and emergency services personnel. The petitioner's business model is based on the id ea of offering ad hoc small UAS serv ices to clients

who wish to e mploy these services as a safe, effective, and legal option to enhance their operations. By providing this service to multiple clients, the petitioner can ensure adherence to standards and protocols and can develop and refine generally applicable safety guidelines and

processes. The petitioner has refrained from engaging in commercial use of the UAS. The primary purpose of seeking this exemption is to obtain the capability to o ffer th ose services while remaining in compliance. The petitioner has 4 years of experience in t he radio control

model aircraft hob by

. In addition, the petitioner has more than 8 years of general aviation ASEL experience and holds a current Commercial Pilo t certificate (3239714) with a instrument rating.

Respectfully submitted

Mario F. Fabrizio