Light up the sky
Drone lightshows versus old-fashioned fireworks
We’ve been celebrating our nation’s birthday with fireworks since America’s first fourth of July celebration in 1777 (although the Chinese are credited with their invention as early as 800 A.D. and Henry VII had fireworks at his wedding in 1486, according to the Smithsonian).
The first fireworks were one color; additional colors were introduced in the 1830s. What has come along with fireworks, however, has been a level of danger—explosions and all that—as well as noisy disruptions that cause your pets to go nuts. Enter the drone. The first drone lightshow was on the River Danube in Austria in 2012. Since then, the practice has expanded across the world and in the United States a fine demonstration of a drone lightshow is at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh each year. But how is a drone lightshow presented? I reached out to my favorite drone expert, Matt Sloane of SkyfireAI (see “Catching the Bad Guys,” July 2025 AOPA Pilot).
Sloane is a pilot and a former CNN correspondent. He’s also well-traveled and a lot of fun. So, when I asked him about drone lightshows, he was happy to explain the science but—spoiler alert—my drone expert has never seen a drone lightshow! Kind of a bummer, but Sloane does know his stuff about drones.
“Some people confuse the lightshow process with ‘swarm’ technology, which is used in military applications,” he said. But unlike a swarm where each drone has a brain and a mission, the two-inch-size drones in a lightshow are “dumb” drones that only have one job to do. (Matt knows how to explain concepts to my brain.) A drone lightshow consists of synchronized, LED-illuminated, choreographed drones visually presenting a 3D image, logos, or animation.
A designer sets up the pattern or image the drones will project and loads it into a computer program. Each drone is assigned a location. On site, the crew will drop the drones into the field much like road crews drop cones from the back of their truck. Then when all the little guys are in place, the operator speaks to each of them and assigns them their GPS positions and altitude. They take off in a grid. They all launch at the same time. “Like a blanket,” Matt said.
Drone lightshows, unlike a fireworks display, require a waiver from the FAA. The agency reviews the safety plan and oversees the coordination for the airspace. Operators must also file a notam. Drone safety guidelines are on the FAA website.
Drone lightshows are expensive. A show of 500-plus drones can cost upwards of $200,000 to present. The Guinness World Record for the most drones airborne simultaneously is 22,580.
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