HOGAN LOVELLS US LLP



### BEFORE THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

___________________________________________________

Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
,

Petitioner. Docket No. FAA

- 2015

- 3603

AMENDMENT TO PETITION OF SAMUEL ROBERTS NOBLE FOUNDATION FOR AN EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN FEDERAL AVIATION REGULATIONS TO PERMIT

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS (UAS) OPERATIONS

Lisa Ellman Patrick R. Rizzi Matthew J. Clark Hogan Lovells US LLP 555 13 th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20004 Phone: 202

- 637

- 8644 /

- 5659 Fax: 202

- 637

- 5910 

### lisa.ellman@hoganlovells.com patrick.rizzi@hoganlovells.com matt.clark@hoganlovells.com

COUNSEL FOR SAM UEL ROBERTS NOBLE FOUNDATION

DATE: October 29 , 2015HOGAN LOVELLS US LLP

- 1

- 1. THE AMENDMENT REQUEST

On June 30 , 2015, The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation (“Noble Foundation”) petitioned
the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”), pursuant to Section 333 of the FAA Modernizati on and
Reform Act of 2012 (“FMRA”) and 14 C.F.R. §§ 11.61(b), 11.63(a), and 11.81 , for an exemption from
certain sections of the Federal Aviation Regulations (“FAR”) so that the Noble Foundation could
commercially operate the PrecisionHawk Hawkeye Mk

- III U AS for ae rial data collection, including
aerial imaging, remote sensing, and aerial surveying in support of the Noble Foundation’s research
operations

. The Noble Foundation hereby amends its Petition for Exemption to allow operation of

three additional UA S vehicles

— the DJI Inspire 1, SenseFly eBee, and the Versadrones Heavy Lift
Octocopter (“Versadrones HLO”)

. In all other respects, the Noble Foundation’s June 30, 2015
Petition for Exemption remains the same.

For ease of use, this amendment sets forth the heading of the applicable section in the June
30, 2015 Petition for Exemption, followed by a description of changes to that section.

3.1 Conditions and limitations regarding the proposed UAS
In addition to the Hawkeye Mk

- III, the Noble Foundation al so seeks to operate the DJI
Inspire 1, SenseFly eBee, and the Versadrones HLO. Accordingly, the first paragraph in this section

is amended as follows:

The Noble Foundation intends to operate several small, lightweight UAS under the requested exemption , in cluding, the PrecisionHawk Hawkeye Mk

- III , DJI Inspire 1, SenseFly eBee, and the Versadrones HLO

. The Hawkeye Mk

- III is a miniature propeller fixed

- wing airplane built by PrecisionHawk that weighs less than six pounds. It has been approved previously by t he FAA in other exemptions, including the PrecisionHawk Exemption and Exemption No. 11309 (April 8, 2015; Docket FAA

- 2014

- 0946) (“ USAA Exemption ”). The DJI Inspire 1 and SenseFly eBee have also previously been approved by the FAA in other exemptions. See e.g. , Exemption No. 11310A (June 3, 2014 ; Docket FAA

- 2014

- 0608) (“ Colin Hinkle Amended Exemption ”) and Exemption No. 11239A (August 19, 2015; Docket FAA

2014

- 0838) ( Southern Company Services, Inc. Amended Exemption ”). The Versadrones HLO is substantially similar to UAS approved by the FAA in previously granted exemptions. 1

1 S ee also discussion on the Versadrones HLO in Section 2, infra

.HOGAN LOVELLS U S LLP

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- Consistent with the foregoing, the Noble Foundation amends Petition Limitation No. 3.1.1. t o
state the following:

3.1.1. Operations under the exemption will be limited to the Hawkeye Mk

- III , DJI Inspire 1, SenseFly eBee, and Versadrones HLO UAS. The UA will have a gross weight of not more than 55 pounds, including energy sources, equipment, and payload. Proposed operations of any other UAS will require a new petition or a petition t o amend this exemption. [ Aeryon Labs Exemption Limitation No. 1; PrecisionHawk Exemption Limitation No. 1 ; Colin Hinkle Amended Exemption Limitation No. 1; Southern Company Services, Inc. Amended Exemption Limitation No. 1].

3.4 Conditions and Limitations regarding the Noble Foundation manuals related to UAS operations
This section is amended to clarify that the Noble Foundation has , or prior to operation will

have, all the manufacturer manuals and checklists for the Hawkeye Mk

- III, DJI Inspire 1, SenseFl y

eBee
, and Versadrones HLO UAS (collectively, the “Manuals”).

5.3 The extent of relief south and the reasons relied is sought:

This section makes several references to operation of the Hawkeye Mk

- III. The Noble

Foundation amends this section t o also i nclude reference to the DJI Inspire 1, SenseFly eBee
, and
Versadrones HLO in each location where the Hawkeye Mk

- III is referenced.

5.4 Reasons why granting the request would be in the public interest:

This section is amended to clarify that operation of a ll the UAS models proposed by the

Petitioner is in the public interest. The third paragraph in this section is amended to read as follows:

Second, operation of the proposed UAS in this Petition would enable the Noble Foundation to enhance research efforts on how UAS may benefit agricultural productivity. This research will positively impact agriculture in local communities, as well as across the United States and around the world. The Noble Foundation’s research benefits consumers and the public by explo ring and improving production agriculture techniques, advancing science, and making the Foundation’s findings publicly available.
For these same reasons, the fifth paragraph in this section is amended to read as follows:HOGAN LOVELLS U S LLP

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- In sum, the ability to operate the proposed UAS will benefit the Noble Foundation's research and education programs tremendously, as well as the Noble Foundation’s ability to enhance agricultural production. The surveying and research operations proposed in this Petition would be far less risky, and more efficient, than if conducted with larger, faster, heavier, combustible fuel

- powered manned aircraft.

5.5 Reasons why granting the exemption would not adversely affect safety, or how the exemption would provide a level of safety at least eq ual to that provided by the rule from which exemption is sought:
This section is amended to explain how the Noble Foundation will ensure a level of safety
equal to or greater than the rule from which exemption is sought when operating the Hawkeye Mk

- III,
DJI Inspire 1, SenseFly eBee
, and Versadrones HLO UAS

. To that end, the second paragraph in

this section is amended to read as follows:

In general, the risks of any small UAS operation proposed in this Petition interfering with a manned aircraft would be minimized by numerous factors, including but not limited to:

 the low altitude at which the UAS would operate;

 the locations at which the UAS would operate (e.g., remote areas; private or controlled access property; away from airports);

 the small siz e, light weight, and relatively slow speed of the Hawkeye Mk

- III UAS , DJI Inspire 1, SenseFly eBee, and Versadrones HLO UAS ;

 the restriction on UAS operations to VMC and daytime conditions; and

 the requirement for the UA to be operated within the VLOS of the PIC and VO at all times.
Importantly, the Hawkeye Mk

- III
, DJI Inspire 1, SenseFly eBee
, and Versadrones HLO UAS have several other safety

- related protocols including continuous in

- flight diagnostics and monitoring, in

- the

- air flight path calculation s, auto

- pilot detection of lost GPS or insufficient satellites, loiter and return home capabilities, autonomous emergency recovery ability, emergency flight termination system, and manual override capabilities.
The fourth paragraph in section 5.5 is amend ed to read as follows:
The conditions and limitations proposed in this Petition (which have been acceptable for other summary grant exemptions) and the operational safety features of the proposed UAS provide substantial protection against interference wit h manned aircraft operations or with the safety of persons or property on the ground. For these reasons, granting an exemption from each section of the FAR from which relief is sought would not adversely affect safety, and would provide a level of safety a t least equal to, or greater than, that provided by the rule from which exemption is sought.HOGAN LOVELLS U S LLP

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- 2. THE PROPO SED AMENDMENT SHOULD BE GRANTED

Similar to the Hawkeye Mk

- III, the FAA is familiar with and has already determined that the
DJI Inspire 1 and SenseF ly eBee meet the requirements of Section 333 of the FMRA due to their
weight, speed and operational capabilities. See e.g., Exemption No. 11310A (June 3, 2014; Docket

FAA

- 2014

- 0608) (adding the DJI Inspire 1) (“Colin Hinkle Amended Exemption”); Exemption No.
11239A (August 19, 2015; Docket FAA

- 2014

- 0838) (adding the SenseFly eBee) (Southern
Company Services, Inc. Amended Exemption”).

The Versadrones HLO is substantially similar to UAS approved by the FAA in previously
granted exemptions. The Versadrones HLO is a small battery powered UAS with 8 brushless
motors configured in an octagon formation. The vehicle is composed primarily of plastic and carbon

fiber and its dimensions measure 1200mm x 1200mm x 400mm. The Versadrones HLO weights
4,000g (~8.8 lbs. ) and has a maximum takeoff weight of 16,000g (~35 lbs.). It operates on a
command and control frequency of 2.4 GHz and has a cruise speed of 44 mph (~38.2 kts). Similar
to the Hawkeye Mk

- III, DJI Inspire 1
, and SenseFly eBee, the Versadrones HLO also ha s the
capability to operate safely after experiencing certain in

- flight contingencies or failures and uses an

auto

- pilot system to mai ntain UAS stability and control. The UAS is also able to respond to a loss of

GPS or a lost

- link event with a precoordina ted, predictable, automated flight maneuver. Like the
Hawkeye Mk

- III, the safety features of the DJI Inspire 1, SenseFly eBee
, and Versadrones HLO
provide an equivalent level of safety compared to a manned aircraft performing a similar operation
and mitig ate the risk of co mmand and control link failures. 2

To the extent processing and consideration of this Petition may be slowed or delayed by the
request for authority to operate the Versadrones HLO UAS, the Noble Foundation respectfully
requests that the FAA move expeditiously to grant the Petition with respect to the other UAS models

2 Additional information on the specifications and operational capabilities of the Versadrones HLO is available here: htt p://versadrones.com/products/heavy

- lift

- octocopter/HOGAN LOVELLS U S LLP

- 5

- encompassed by this Amended Petition for Exemption, all of which previously have been designated
approved by the Secretary of th e Department of Transportation for operation u nder Section 333 and
designated by the FAA in previously granted Section 333 exemptions. The FAA has previously
followed this procedure. See
, e.g. , Exemption No. 12714 (July 27, 2015; Docket FAA

- 2015

- 1851)
(granting Section 333 exemption as to several UAS makes/models, but not others for which the FAA
had not completed its review).

3. PUBLICATION OF THIS AMENDED PETITION FOR EXEMPTION IS NOT NECESSARY
As this amendment only seeks to add three additional small UAS models that have already
been approved by t he FAA in prior grants of exemption, or are substantially similar in all material
respects to models previously approved by the FAA, no new precedent will be set. For this reason,

the Noble Foundation respectfully submits that good cause exists so that no tice does not need to be
published in the Federal Register for the requested amendment.

4. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Noble Foundation respectfully requests that the FAA refrain
from publishing a summary of this Petition in the Federal Register, and grant this Amended Petition
for Exemption without delay. If you have any questions, or need any additional information to
process this Amended Petition for Exemption, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned.

Respectfully s ubmitted,

Patrick R. Rizzi Lisa Ellman Matthew J. Clark 3 Hogan Lovells US LLP

Counsel for Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation

3 Matthew Clark is only licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia and his practice is limited consistent with Rule 49(c) of the D.C. Court of Appeals.