0701-EX-ST-2015

Filing overview

Special Temporary Authority application - Address

Attention:

Dr. Scot Refsland

City:

El Cerrito

E-Mail Address:

str@fgi.com

P.O. Box:

2578

State:

CA

Street Address:

7824 Eureka Ave

Zip Code:

94530

Special Temporary Authority application - Applicant Name

Name of Applicant:

Flying Grounds, Inc.

Special Temporary Authority application - Best Contact

First Name:

Scot

Last Name:

Refsland

Phone Number:

510-393-0969

Title:

CEO

Special Temporary Authority application - Certification

Applicant certification

Neither the applicant nor any other party to the application is subject to a denial of Federal benefits that includes FCC benefits pursuant to Section 5301 of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, 21 U.S.C. Section 862, because of a conviction for possession or distribution of a controlled substance. The applicant hereby waives any claim to the use of any particular frequency or electromagnetic spectrum as against the regulatory power of the United States because of the prvious use of the same, whether by license or otherwise, and requests authorization in accordance with this application. (See Section 304 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.) The applicant acknowledges that all statements made in this application and attached exhibits are considered material representations, and that all the exhibits part hereof and are incorporated herein as if set out in full in this application; undersigned certifies that all statements in this application are true, complete and correct to the best of his/her knowledge and belief and are made in good faith. Applicant certifies that construction of the station would NOT be an action which is likely to have a significant environmental effect. See the Commission's Rules, 47 CFR1.1301-1.1319.

Date:

2015-06-22 00:00:00.0

Signature of Applicant (Authorized person filing form):

Scot T Refsland, Ph.D.

Title of Applicant (if any):

CEO, Race Director, US Drone Nationals

Special Temporary Authority application - Explanation

Please explain in the area below why an STA is necessary:

We are organizing the Inaugural US National Drone Racing Championships at the California State Fair, July 15~17, 2015. This is a joint venture with the State of California Governors office California Expo and State Fair and Flying Grounds Inc, a production company. The event is officially sanctioned by the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). It has also been vetted by the FAA, and they are comfortable with the event from an airspace perspective. We are asking for an Experimental Special Temporary Authority for use of technologies within the 5.8Ghz spectrum. The Drone Races use “First Person View” (FPV) on a small quadcopter airframe, using a 5.8Ghz Video Transmitter. We would like to use these frequencies: Primary: 5658, 5695, 5732, 5769, 5806, 5843, 5880, 5917 Secondary: 5473, 5510, 5547, 5584, 5621 Currently these frequencies are already allocated for use, but the power output under FCC Part 15 is insufficient for safe and effective use. We would like to increase the power to 250mw or 600mw to provide stable video signal for the pilots. Furthermore, we would like to have an experimental license held directly by Flying Grounds and or the State of California State Fair in order to provide transmitters to the pilots directly so that each pilot does not have to obtain a HAM license.

Special Temporary Authority application - Information

Callsign:

WI9XSK

Class of Station:

MO

Nature of Service:

Experimental

Special Temporary Authority application - Initial values - Purpose of Operation

Please explain the purpose of operation:

As FPV/Drone racing is getting very rapidly popular in the US, we would like to experiment with a new a approach to larger scale group FPV flying. Currently the problem is most FPV pilots do not hold HAM licenses, and the allocated frequencies are restrictive to only having 3-4 pilots in the air at one time. We also have a mismatch of transmitter powers, and varying types of antennas. This creates a substantial safety issue for FPV flying due to serious multi-pathing issues. The system we are proposing is to provide diversity receivers with directional antennas pointing specifically at the field. Then we would supply each racer with a video transmitter pre-assigned to a frequency. With each transmitter at the same power output (we would experiment with 25mw, 250mw, 600mw), we can space each racer 37Mhz apart, and using Right-hand and Left-hand polarized antennas, we can get up to 6-8 racers in the air at one time, safely and efficiently with no multipathing issues. The Frequencies are 12Mhz off the top and bottom of the HAM frequencies, so other than the power output issue, most of the system is already compliant. The intended outcome of this system is to help define a better more organized approach to any organization wishing to hold FPV/Drone races in the future. This would include any official AMA race, State Fair races, the numerous Drone Racing leagues that are rapidly appearing all over the US. Even the FAA is now considering FPV Drone races at their airshows, and this would be a great case study to provide better information for these types of races. It is specifically intended to help define appropriate and acceptable use for organizations, and would not be used by an individual amateur/hobbyist radio controlled pilot (with or without a HAM license). Here is more information on the RaceBand system by ImmersionRC in use at a recent FPV Race in Chartres, France: http://dronenationals.com/raceband/. The President of FFAM (French Federation of Aero Models, the equivalent to the AMA in the US) was very supportive of this system as it was safe, efficient and was within all compliance of their RF rules.

Special Temporary Authority application - Manufacturer

Equipment 1 Experimental

No

Equipment 1 Manufacturer

ImmersionRC

Equipment 1 Model Number

Duo5800v4.1

Equipment 1 No. Of Units

8

Equipment 2 Experimental

No

Equipment 2 Manufacturer

ImmersionRC

Equipment 2 Model Number

5.8Ghz 25mW Vtx

Equipment 2 No. Of Units

18

Equipment 3 Experimental

No

Equipment 3 Manufacturer

ImmersionRC

Equipment 3 Model Number

5.8Ghz 600mWvtx

Equipment 3 No. Of Units

18

Equipment 4 Experimental

No

Equipment 4 Manufacturer

FatShark RC Vision Systems

Equipment 4 Model Number

5.8Ghz 250mWvtx

Equipment 4 No. Of Units

18

Equipment 5 Experimental

No

Equipment 5 Manufacturer

SpiroNet Antenna

Equipment 5 Model Number

RH-SMA

Equipment 5 No. Of Units

8

Equipment 6 Experimental

No

Equipment 6 Manufacturer

SpiroNet Antenna

Equipment 6 Model Number

LH-SMA

Equipment 6 No. Of Units

8

Equipment 7 Experimental

No

Equipment 7 Manufacturer

Circular Wireless

Equipment 7 Model Number

Heliaxial58

Equipment 7 No. Of Units

8

Special Temporary Authority application - Purpose of Operation

Please explain the purpose of operation:

FPV/Drone racing. As FPV/Drone racing is getting very rapidly popular in the US, we would like to experiment with a new a approach to larger scale group FPV flying. Currently the problem is most FPV pilots do not hold HAM licenses, and the allocated frequencies are restrictive to only having 3-4 pilots in the air at one time. We also have a mismatch of transmitter powers, and varying types of antennas. This creates a substantial safety issue for FPV flying due to serious multi-pathing issues. The system we are proposing is to provide diversity receivers with directional antennas pointing specifically at the field. Then we would supply each racer with a video transmitter pre-assigned to a frequency. With each transmitter at the same power output (we would experiment with 25mw, 250mw, 600mw), we can space each racer 37Mhz apart, and using Right-hand and Left-hand polarized antennas, we can get up to 6-8 racers in the air at one time, safely and efficiently with no multipathing issues. The Frequencies are 12Mhz off the top and bottom of the HAM frequencies, so other than the power output issue, most of the system is already compliant. The intended outcome of this system is to help define a better more organized approach to any organization wishing to hold FPV/Drone races in the future. This would include any official AMA race, State Fair races, the numerous Drone Racing leagues that are rapidly appearing all over the US. Even the FAA is now considering FPV Drone races at their airshows, and this would be a great case study to provide better information for these types of races. It is specifically intended to help define appropriate and acceptable use for organizations, and would not be used by an individual amateur/hobbyist radio controlled pilot (with or without a HAM license). Here is more information on the RaceBand system by ImmersionRC in use at a recent FPV Race in Chartres, France: http://dronenationals.com/raceband/. The President of FFAM (French Federation of Aero Models, the equivalent to the AMA in the US) was very supportive of this system as it was safe, efficient and was within all compliance of their RF rules.

Special Temporary Authority application - Requested Period of Operation

Operation End Date:

07/18/2015

Operation Start Date:

07/15/2015

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