Night waiver denied!

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So I really don't understand the FAA. I applied for a waiver to fly at night under my Part 107. I read their "performance standards" and addressed each point in my request. I included my use of a visual observer and my addition of anti-collision lights.

I also included my prior experience: 1300 hrs as a rotorcraft pilot, 1200 of this in Law Enforcement, 800+ as PIC, almost 700 hrs at night, more than half of that as PIC. We were based out of Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, the busiest airport in the world. I also had to contend with busy airspace over downtown Atlanta with all the EMS, GA and other helicopters, as well as 3 Class D airports, one of which was an Air Reserve base.

If I'm not qualified to fly my Phantom at night, who is? The big thing that ticks me off is that in the denial letter, they just say I left out info, didn't follow the "performance standards," and that I should reapply with that info included. BUT, they don't say what was wrong or left out. Really???? How am I supposed to fix something when you don't tell me what's wrong? Can you imagine a school teacher saying that to a student? This work is wrong, but you need to figure out what you missed...ridiculous.

To top it off, there's no contact info in the letter or email to ask the person who denied my waiver any questions about it.

I'm trying to figure out what my next step will be. Anyone have good results with their waiver request for night ops that can give some insight?

Thanks,

Yaniv
 
Have you reviewed the granted waivers to see what you can learn?

Maybe listing your other 'qualifications' put you in a higher expectation bracket sort-of-speak.

Performance standards are tricky as there's more than one way to meet them.
 
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I agree with N017RW. Take a look at the granted waivers for night flying and see if there are any points that they have included which you may have left out.
 
So I checked a few of the approved waivers, and they say similar things that I put in my request. Have a trained visual observer, recon the area in daylight if possible, understand the factors that affect flying at night. I addressed all those things in my submission.

I can't see what those people wrote when they submitted the waiver request, so I don't know if it's a phrasing issue, or something else.

Either way, they never called/emailed me for clarification of anything I wrote, and they didn't say what was missing, incorrect or incomplete. With no way to contact that person at the FAA, how am I supposed to correct a supposed mistake?
 
Don't take it personally. I guess that they feel that they aren't there to teach you how to "properly" request a waiver so they aren't going to call you or ask for further explanation or information much less make your case for you. Much easier for them to just deny it and move on. They don't care about the effect that it has on your life, just the effect it has on their job. Such is the realm of the unCivil service.
 
There are five items in the Performance Based Standards for a Daylight Waiver. Are you sure that you ticked off each one of them?
 
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I got mine approved recently. I also created a 20 question test derived from Chapter 17-Aeromedical Factors. I only created questions from the paragraphs that covered night flight.

I stated everyone involved in the operation would have to take the test and pass with a 90% and I would have the test on site if an inspector asked.

I also added a daytime inspection and handheld 2 way radio communication between the PIC and VO. I also specified that all operations would only take place in Class G airspace. Also, don't forget to describe what type and how your installation of drone light will improve the overall safety of the operation.

They also emailed me and asked for more information so I made a PDF of the test I created and sent it to them and clarified more on the how the safety of the op would be improved by following the task I outlined.

Message me if you'd like and I can go into further detail. Hope this helps.
 
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Nicely done.
 
I got mine approved recently. I also created a 20 question test derived from Chapter 17-Aeromedical Factors. I only created questions from the paragraphs that covered night flight.

I stated everyone involved in the operation would have to take the test and pass with a 90% and I would have the test on site if an inspector asked.

I also added a daytime inspection and handheld 2 way radio communication between the PIC and VO. I also specified that all operations would only take place in Class G airspace. Also, don't forget to describe what type and how your installation of drone light will improve the overall safety of the operation.

They also emailed me and asked for more information so I made a PDF of the test I created and sent it to them and clarified more on the how the safety of the op would be improved by following the task I outlined.

Message me if you'd like and I can go into further detail. Hope this helps.

I'll second this, the FAA emailed me also with a clarification question similar to this. Now I'm playing the waiting game to see what they say now...
 
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I guess they like you guys better than me, LOL. They never emailed or called me for clarification on anything.
 
Check your spam...my email went there
 
Well, it is a "holiday" weekend, so they may have hit the brakes until next week. Stay positive. Did they send you a verification email with the changes you proposed?
 
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Sure did on Jun 28, 2017, at 07:59 AM CT. Looks like they only approved four that day. Oh well, maybe Wednesday will be the day! Patience isn't one of my strong points haha.
 
Any luck Whiskey?
 
I guess they like you guys better than me, LOL. They never emailed or called me for clarification on anything.
Sounds like me. I submitted a waiver request in February that was for the same area and type of missions of a previous authorization. Got an acknowledgement at the end of March and nothing since, 100+ days and counting.
 
What are the dates that you put on your application for when you need the waiver? I noticed they have them in a queue and wait until you are 10-20 days out from when you need it approved before they look at them. At least that's what happened on both of mine.

I only say that because I submitted another waiver for operation over people dated for start on 30 June 2017. I submitted it in 3 May 2017. I just got a response letter dated and signed 3 July 2017. (Disapproved)
 
What are the dates that you put on your application for when you need the waiver? I noticed they have them in a queue and wait until you are 10-20 days out from when you need it approved before they look at them. At least that's what happened on both of mine.

I only say that because I submitted another waiver for operation over people dated for start on 30 June 2017. I submitted it in 3 May 2017. I just got a response letter dated and signed 3 July 2017. (Disapproved)
Don't remember for sure, but it should have been around 1june.
 

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