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Applied for night waiver

smaliden2

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I applied for a night waiver and 2 weeks later I got this letter back from the faa. I would like like to respond properly but am kind of confused as i thought my application was really complete, but I guess not! You guys have always been very helpful so any tips on how to properly respond to this letter would be appreciated as I do not want to have it denied. Thanks20190712_081138~2.jpeg
 
I applied for a night waiver and 2 weeks later I got this letter back from the faa. I would like like to respond properly but am kind of confused as i thought my application was really complete, but I guess not! You guys have always been very helpful so any tips on how to properly respond to this letter would be appreciated as I do not want to have it denied. ThanksView attachment 77410
My response is no help, but Holy Cow, their questions are like "Have you stopped beating your wife?" There is just no direct answer!
 
I do not have personal experience, but it might be enough to state that you are the RPIC and Responsible Person, have acquired and applied strobes to increase night VLOS on your AC, and provide the documented specifications from the strobe manufacturer specifying the range at which the strobes may be seen at night. If you make it sound technical enough it may pass their requirements.

The old saying goes, "if you cannot dazzle them with details, baffle them with bullsh**".
 
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Or use nolimitdronez , these draconian laws can not be reasoned within a proper time frame.
 
They are looking for a lot more then what you have listed. You would have to include such as strobe lights to be used with range, safety procedures for all persons involved, emergency actions in case of flyaway, training for yourself and assistants for low light level flights. PIC/VO training. I would like to suggest going to the FAA 107 waiver web pages and perusing: Part 107 Waivers Issued
Here you can review to get a good idea of what the FAA may be looking for.

Good luck! If you, or anyone else reading here, wish, please post a copy of your approved waiver requests that may be of assistance to others.
 
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Okay so I'm trying to write a response to the FAA about safety and things that could happen. My question is if I had a FlyAway how would I properly respond to that? What would I do? How do you guys think I should write up how I would handle a fly away at night?
 
Or use nolimitdronez , these draconian laws can not be reasoned within a proper time frame.
NLD has no option to let you fly at night. Nor does it allow you to do the right thing and fly legally if that is your aim.
I’m a big fan of NLD and wether it can do, but I use it to circumvent DJI short comings, not the law.
 
OK, Let's see!!! Since I do NOT have a waiver what would I seek to do in such an emergency. . .
If I am In Classed Airspace I would attempt to ensure the local tower is aware. I would provide my location as they would request, i.e., Grid/landmark location, and approximate distance from the AP center and in which direction going away from center. I would immediately dispatch the VO and other assistants to keep eyes on the stray child if possible. If necessary notify the local authorities. If it is not moving toooo fast, then you may be able to follow on foot and hopefully catch as it drops back to terra firma. Altitude, approximate speed, battery level. These are but a few considerations. Is the link gone completely, have you tried to restore???..You may be able to glean some data from here: https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/JO_7200.23A_Unmanned_Aircraft_Systems_(UAS).pdf
Put yourself in the Tower Ops shoes and ask yourself what data should YOU be aware of for a drone pilot's flyaway.
VOs and other persons assisting should not wait for instructions from you on what to do, they should be made aware before hand.

This is just for starters. I am sure other will be more helpful.
 
Well thanks for your input guys, to my surprise my night waiver was approved!!! They also changed my waiver request from 2 years to 4 years duration. I attached a copy of what I sent to them when they requested extra info in hopes that it will help someone else. thanks again
 

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  • NIGHT OPERATIONS EXTRA INFO.pdf
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