A drone light show is when multiple drones attached with LED lights are flown in a predetermined pattern to create an eye-catching visual display. Think Blue Angels air show type maneuvers, only performed by drones instead of fighter jets.
Drones, otherwise known as UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are a phenomenon that is taking the world by storm. With such a wide variety of options offering endless entertainment, it’s easy to see how they’re becoming such a hot item with consumers.
If you’re at all familiar with drones, you’re already aware of the fact that they're currently being used in many positive ways. From aiding in search and rescue missions and law enforcement activities to pure entertainment.
By providing a unique and new form of entertainment, drone light shows are becoming highly sought after throughout the world, and it’s no wonder why. If you’ve seen a drone light show, such as the one displayed by Intel at the 2018 Winter Olympics, it’s hard not to be impressed.
How Does it Work?
A drone light show is an amazing experience that provides plenty of thrill and excitement, appropriate for all ages. The night sky is brought to life in a manner similar to fireworks when the drones take to the air for their performance.
Choosing the flight patterns that you want the drones to perform is the easiest part, which, quite honestly seems to be a challenge in itself (albeit an enjoyable one).
However, programming each drone in the set to perform exactly the right maneuvers in sync with the rest of the fleet can get complicated. That being said, if you happen to have a healthy knowledge of drones and a good set of programming skills, you may find it a breeze to set up.
How to Put on a Drone Light Show
Putting on a drone light show sounds pretty awesome. Come on, what drone pilot wouldn’t want to partake in such a cool activity? For that matter, who wouldn’t enjoy kicking back and watching a fleet of drones dash around in sequence, dazzling brilliantly in the night sky? Good news- you don’t have to be a giant corporation with millions of dollars to put on a drone show. You can do so alone, or with a group of friends or fellow drone enthusiasts. All you have to do is follow the basic steps below:
Select a Drone
First, you need to select a drone. You’ll want to pick the most suitable craft possible. For a light show, it’ll need some of the best features available, such as built-in navigation, bright LED lights, an excellent remote control, and the ability to easily carry an attachment.
Scroll down to read about a handful of budget-friendly drone options available via Amazon.
Customize Your Drone with LED Lights
Once you’ve selected the drones for your show, it’s time to deck that puppy out. Maybe the drone you purchased already has some sort of built-in LED light system. However, if they don’t have flash, phaser, and strobe options, you may want to consider adding an attachment. Decide on the overall goals and presentation of your show, and then it will be easier to decide how to customize the drone.
Learn How to Program Your Drone
Depending on the depth of maneuvering and light-based entertainment your drone show is going to offer, you may benefit from a fully programmable drone. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to learn all of the ins and outs of your drone including how to program it to perform various functions, flight-patterns, and maneuvers.
Practice Piloting Your Drone with a Group
As with most things in life, practice makes perfect. Flying your drone in the presence of others is tricky, and it's a skill you will want to master before the show. While we’re aware that perfection isn’t a reality, you want to be at point of comfort and ease during the big show. If you are not already in a local Drone MeetUp or Facebook Community, start there. Meet up with fellow drone hobbyist, and practice flying together. We bet that you'll learn new things and even make a few friends.
Create a Coordinated Light Show
Once you have selected a drone, customized it with LEDs, practiced flying around others, met with a group of like-minded drone pilots, and practiced some more, the time has come to create the show. Work out all of the details, from how long the show will last, how many battery packs will be needed, and begin programming.
Invite Your Family and Friends- and the Public
After all of your hard work, it’s time to make others aware of your upcoming drone light show. Contact everyone you know: family, friends, co-workers, and other drone enthusiasts. Perhaps you plan to put on a drone light show for your child’s birthday party, or, you simply plan on putting on a free show at the local park. Whatever the case, whoever has the pleasure of watching is definitely going to be impressed, and will remember this unique opportunity to be a part of the audience.
Choosing the Best Drone for a Light Show
Not all drones and equal, and there are certain drones that make piloting a fleet for a drone light show much easier. Here are a few of our suggestions:
Teeggi SG906
The Teeggi SG906 drone comes with many important features that strengthen its ability to be flown in a drone light show. With a GPS positioning system, you can easily guide this drone to the exact placement required for your light show.
The Teeggi SG906 also comes with the altitude hold feature, which allows it to remain locked in space until commanded to come down or move from its location.
Both of these tools aid in the synchronization of your light show, and help things to go smoother and appear well put-together.
HUSBAN H501A+
The HUSBAN H501A+ is an optimal choice for a drone light show. Although similar to the Teeggi SG906 drone in many ways, this drone has a sleek black exterior, making it better able to blend into the night sky and making the lights appear brighter.
With a GPS positioning system, this drone is capable of flying in more complex fleet formations that occur higher in the sky, more than typically possible.
This drone also has the auto fly feature available only with the X-HUSBAN app. The app waypoint enables you to select a destination on-screen and the drone auto-pilots to that location.
Potensic T18
The Potensic T18 is a well-equipped drone with many capabilities that enhance its use for light shows.
This drone comes equipped with a GPS feature that enables it to automatically return to where it took off from when the signal is lost, or whenever it runs low on battery. This saves you the hassle of trying to find the drone in the dark if the light dies out.
The Potensic T18 also comes with waypoint flight, which is a quality attribute that allows you, once you have downloaded the app, to draw points on the map to which this drone will automatically fly from point to point in the order with which you placed them.
A huge benefit of the waypoint flight element is that it saves you from having to input complex geographical location points in the GPS navigational system, and instead enables you to easily pilot the drone in the formation of your choice.
Closing Thoughts
To put on a drone light show, there are two main requirements:
- A capable drone
- LED light attachments
Most drone light shows use single color lights that are placed on the bottom of the drone, however, when you're the artist of the event, you get to choose the colors and formation.
That said, before releasing your drone, or fleet of drones, to enact their coordinated dance in the sky, you must first attach an LED light attachment onto the drone. You should only attach one light onto each drone in the fleet no matter how tempting it is to cover them in multiple colorful bulbs.
Once you have your lights attached and your drones programmed, you’re ready to release them into the sky for the viewing pleasure of onlookers. Remember to obtain permission from the FAA, if such is required in your area.
Do you have any additional thoughts on how to put on a drone light show? Or, perhaps some insight on how a drone light show works best? We’d love for you to share with our audience in the comments section below.
