While the 4th of July has come and gone, summer time is peak fireworks season for most Americans (and even Canadians and Mexicans too)! As these beautiful explosives fill the night sky in North and Central America, I’m sure many of you reading this have either put your drones in the air to capture the magnificent displays or have at least considered it. While there is no doubt that capturing firework shows from an aerial perspective is just one of the many examples that drones are totally badass, it is crucial to properly plan for your operation before launching your drones — not only to ensure the safety of people in the area and your equipment, but also to produce the best possible results in your photos and videos!
Whether you fly a Mavic or FPV quads, here are 7 tips I have learned for flying your drones around fireworks…
1. Coordinate with Fireworks Personnel
The first and maybe most important tip is to get in contact with the people or organization responsible for putting on the fireworks display. Working with them not only ensures safe working conditions for their team and spectators during the show, but it also allows you to conduct your operations without having to worry about potential interactions with law enforcement or security.
Coordinating directly with fireworks personnel also allows you to work closely with them both figuratively and literally. Being able to launch, operate, and land your drones near their launching site will allow you to not only get closer to the action in the air, but it will also enable you to keep consistent communication with the fireworks team to ensure everything is going smoothly and to know what to expect as the show plays out.
Additionally, developing a working relationship with this team or organization may open doors for you in the future and create opportunities for more unique drone uses and even paid jobs.
Please do not confuse this for “asking for permission.” You are entitled to fly your drone in Class G airspace (and controlled airspace with LAANC) as long as you are operating your drones within Federal Aviation Administration regulations. You do not require approval from the fireworks team to fly around the outside of their show area, but getting their sign-off makes everything a hell of a lot easier.
2. Develop a “Runway” for Launching & Landing
I cannot stress the importance of this enough. Establish paths in which drones can safely launch and land without the fear of potential obstacles. Consider how difficult it can be to avoid obstacles while flying with perfect vision…now turn the lights off and consider how difficult it might be.
Take time to scan the area in which you will be launching and landing. Look for obstacles that may be difficult to identify at night such as telephone wires, antennae, flags, fencing, etc. Also keep in mind objects that might be less obviously difficult to circumvent such as buildings, trees, and other large and tall structures. Take note of these obstacles and objects and create your launching and landing lanes around them to avoid problems during flight.
Planning ahead and visiting the site ahead of the operation will allow you to establish those launch and landing patterns to keep your equipment in one piece when all is said-and-done.
3. Properly Equip Your Drones
The most important part of any flight is adherence to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. In this case, since we are flying at night, we are required to outfit our drones with anti-collision strobe lighting that is visible from 3 statute-miles away. While this is the only lighting you are required to have on your drone for a night operation, I highly recommend additional lighting such as hi-vis LED light strips or something similar (not to mention, it looks really dope too).
Additionally you will need to have a drone capable of broadcasting Remote ID (I know, it sucks, but to be up-to-regulation you need to have it). If you are flying a ready-to-fly drone like a DJI or Autel, you should be automatically compliant with remote ID regulations, but you should double-check with your manufacturer if you are unsure. If you are flying FPV it is unlikely your drone is automatically compliant with remote ID, so you will likely need to purchase a remote ID module like the Dronetag BS.
Those two components are necessary for compliant flights, but you may find other equipment that will improve the safety and/or quality of your flights around a fireworks display.
4. Utilize “Beacon” Lights for Easy Orientation
While we are on the topic of equipment, let’s talk about “beacon” lights and how they can assist in keeping you well-oriented during flights.
When I use the term “beacon,” I want you to imagine an extremely bright light that is visible from up to 400-feet above ground level that can help assist a pilot in understanding where they are in the airspace and within the area of flight operations.
In the case of ready-to-fly drone pilots (think Mavics, Phantoms, Airs, and Minis) “beacon” lighting can help establish a safe operation zone away from the threat of the projectile explosives hurdling upwards into the air as well as people surrounding said explosive projectiles viewing them for entertainment. They may also be used to guide a pilot through a particular flight path that ensures safe and legal operation of the drone in a low light setting.
When it comes to FPV pilots…you will quickly learn to appreciate just how helpful “beacon” lights can be during night flights. During my most recent flight through a fireworks show, I utilized a GVM studio light that had the brightness on its LEDs cranked up to 99 (the highest value possible). Not only did it give me a clear indicator as to where I needed to land in an otherwise pitch-black area, but it also gave me immediate access to my drone’s orientation in the darkness of night. No matter if my drone was upside-down or right-side-up, 20 feet or a mile away, I could always turn to the “beacon” and reorient my drone and the path of my flight.
Your “beacon” light does not have to be a studio light or anything particularly special or fancy. It just needs to be big and bright enough to deliver the intended effect of lighting your landing area and/or serving as a visual orientation tool for your drone.
5. Understand Wind Direction & Firework Flight Path
One thing you will notice the fireworks personnel discussing prior to beginning their show is wind speed and direction. It’s because once the firework leaves the projectile system, the aerodynamics and wind take over when it comes to the direction in which they will go.
You can assist them with this by utilizing apps like UAV Forecast and tools like digital wind speed meters. Not only is this valuable information for the fireworks team, but it will also help you to understand the conditions in which you are flying and what direction the fireworks being launched might tend to move. Critical to preventing your drone from experiencing an untimely demise.
6. Establish a Well-Lit Landing Zone Free of People
While the “beacon” light discussed in point four will assist in lighting your landing area, sometimes it might not be enough. It is important that when you set up your operation area that you take into account enough space and lighting to safely land your drone away from people uninvolved with the flight of the drone.
Drones like the DJI Mavic, Air, and Mini come equipped with landing lights on the underside of the drone that assist in lighting the intended landing area, but even still, this can leave room for error that could result in catastrophic consequences to your aircraft.
I established my operation area in a poorly lit corner of the fireworks launch pad, but before the flight began I also established a secondary landing area about 40 yards away. It was a section of sidewalk that would be free of people throughout the duration of the fireworks show and was well-lit thanks to the local high school’s exterior lighting. Having this landing zone gave me peace-of-mind knowing that no matter what happened, I’d have an area to land my drone in that would be safe and easy to navigate.
7. Use a Visual Observer (yes, even Mavic pilots)
Finally, one of the most oft broken rules in the drone flying game…use a visual observer, even if you fly a ready-to-fly drone like a Mavic. The fact is not everyone will need a visual observer, but they can be helpful even if they are not necessary.
Flying at night is no easy feat. Decreased visibility automatically makes the flight more unsafe than a standard daylight flight. Having a second or third (or more) set of eyes to assist you while you operate the drone around the fireworks display can help to prevent crashes and even a pilot breaking FAA regulations.
If you are flying FPV, you know the drill…I know it’s not cool and I know you never utilize visual observers anyway, but it is how you stay within regulation and ensure the FAA does not come breaking down your door. Plus landing an FPV is much more difficult at night and having a visual observer that can assist you with that will not only keep your drone in one piece (which means you can keep ripping through those pretty colors), but make your operation more efficient by reducing the time it would take to land the drone without visual assistance from a visual observer.
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