How do drone shows work? Inside the spectacles replacing traditional Fourth of July fireworks

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Allison Sylte
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With much of the American West experiencing at least some form of drought, it’s no surprise that many municipalities are replacing their traditional Fourth of July fireworks shows with a less hazardous option.

Drone shows provide a spectacle in the sky without the wildfire risk posed by sparks and potential debris. Yet choreographing tiny aircraft to fly in ornate patterns is no easy task.

“These are inherently safer options than fireworks, but they also involve programming a large number of drones to fly in very specific patterns, while relying on relatively new technology to pull it off,” said Chris Robertson, director of the Colorado State University Drone Center.

Ahead of Independence Day and all its festivities, SOURCE caught up with Robertson to learn more about how drone shows work, what happens if they go wrong and how to get involved with drones at CSU.

Read the full Q&A below.

SOURCE: To begin, talk us through the process of putting on a drone show. It seems like quite the production!

Robertson: Most drone shows start with a minimum of about 100 aircraft, but many will involve closer to 300 or 500. Each drone flies independently, and they’re equipped with LED lights that can change colors.

These use very specific hardware and software designs, so you can’t really use the drones for anything else besides light shows. Each of these has its own battery that lasts around 15-20 minutes, which is the duration of most shows. They also have a GPS that allows them to fly in very specific positions.

Drone show operators need a relatively large space to pull this off – we’re talking large parking lot or big grassy field. Ahead of the show, they’ll get the aircraft powered up and lined up in a grid pattern. The operator will have a base station with the computers and a separate GPS receiver to boost the drone’s accuracy. This device communicates with all the drones and tells them where they are so they can fly close to each other without colliding.

Prior to the show, a graphic designer will come up with the actual look of the visuals, and they’ll use specialized software to choreograph the lights and translate it into individual flight plans for each aircraft.

Think of the drones as pixels in the sky: They’ll turn their lights on and off at certain times, but they also have to be in a very specific place as they form different shapes.

Needless to say, it’s pretty complicated. We’ve let drone show operators use the Christman Airfield to practice before performing for the general public.

SOURCE: I know the Federal Aviation Administration has a lot of rules governing drones, like maximum height and the number of people operating an aircraft. Is there anything different about a drone show?

Robertson: Normally, it’s one pilot per drone, but that’s obviously not feasible when there are 500 of them in the air. Drone show operators can get very specialized waivers allowing them to use these programs to pilot the drones, and that reduces the staff needed to between five and 10 people. As you can imagine, part of the challenge is just unloading all of the drones, powering them up and arranging them for takeoff.

In addition, operators have to have some sort of safety plan in case something goes wrong. That usually means having a secure perimeter and ensuring no one is on the ground where a drone could fall. For context, the CSU Drone Center has helped provide this security for the various drone shows on campus.

In terms of height, drones are allowed to be between 100 and 400 feet off the ground, and drone shows usually stay in this range. It’s possible to get an FAA waiver, but 400 feet is pretty high up, and it means most shows are visible from quite far away.

SOURCE: You mentioned the need for a secure perimeter. What can go wrong with a drone show?

Robertson: It can start with something as simple as a drone failing to launch. That doesn’t impact the whole show, but if you think about the drones as pixels, you’ll definitely notice if there’s a little gap in the sky. I remember once seeing a 200-drone show that was missing an aircraft, and it was quite obvious.

Another thing that could happen is a drone malfunctions and falls out of the sky. Obviously, this technology isn’t perfect, and batteries do fail, so this could happen, and that’s why you need to ensure there’s no one in a particular fall radius. These drones are small – they’re only a couple of pounds – but they could still do damage after falling from such high distances. Outside of injuring people, a malfunctioning drone could interfere with the flight patterns of other drones, and that could impact the entire show.

Of course, the worst-case scenario is that the entire show fails, and you lose numerous drones. There are videos of that online, and it’s quite catastrophic.

Outside of mechanical failure, there’s always the risk of weather. Drones can only fly in certain wind conditions and visibility. Like any outdoor event, a drone show is always a risk, but unlike fireworks, fire is not a high concern. Batteries from a crashed drone can potentially ignite, but that possibility is far less than a pyrotechnic show.

SOURCE: In recent years, drone shows have become increasingly popular and are probably inspiring people to look at unmanned aircraft in unique ways – obviously, they’re an incredible tool that can be used for things beyond pretty light shows. Tell me about the CSU Drone Center’s work and how the public can get involved.

Robertson: The CSU Drone Center does a few main things: We help researchers access drones and use our aircraft for a wide range of research applications. Then, there’s our work in education. We train the community, CSU, first responders and others in flying drones as well as using them for mapping and modeling. We also operate Christman Airfield, which recently received $500,000 in federal funding for improvements as well as state infrastructure support to repave and upgrade the airport. This is largely due to its important role as a staging area for disaster relief and wildfire aviation training and response.

Finally, we work with students across disciplines at CSU to utilize drones in their careers and research. That could be mechanical engineering students who later go into the aerospace industry, computer science students who are building software, or natural resources students who use the drones to study different ecosystems.

We’ll connect with pretty much any student who wants to work with us and has a hunger and passion for drone technology.

Also, we host drone summer camps at CSU Spur that allow Denver students to pass the FAA Part 107 exam and be certified as drone pilots.