Preston Ward is the Chief Pilot of Sky Elements Drones, the leading provider of drone light shows around the U.S. His colleague, Rick Boss, recently invited me behind-the-scenes of his company’s Star Wars drone light show at the Oakland Coliseum as part of the team’s Star Wars Night. I got to chat with both of them about what goes into the job — and how they pull off such magnificent drone stunts.
There’s a giant recap post of the event here, including tons of photos. I also put a video on my YouTube channel featuring some of the behind-the-scenes highlights, which you can watch here:
And yes, you can read the Q&A with Rick Boss here, but not before you first read what Preston Ward has to say below. He’s got the coolest job on the planet:
Preston Ward
Drone Girl: I’m here with Preston. He’s the chief pilot for our show tonight. He’s going to tell us more about what’s in his hands. What is this?
Preston Ward: This is one of our light show drones. It’s just like any other drone you might see, except that it’s only got a light. It doesn’t have a camera. The other difference is that it’s got a very sophisticated GPS.
DG: Because it has to be way more accurate than, just, my normal camera drone.
PW: Absolutely. So this will get accurate down to 1 centimeter.
DG: How much does this thing weigh?
PW: This weighs about 2.5 lbs.
DG: So we’re standing in front of a stack of 500 drones right now. Why are they in this stack?
PW: They’re stacked just for ease of transportation. That’s how we move them from place to place. After this, they’ll get laid out in a grid format. That’s because our first frame in the animation for the show tonight is a grid. We’ll match that on the ground so they can fly up into the grid.
DG: So this show has just you as the chief pilot. But, there’s a fairly robust crew here, too. It’s not just you. So what are all these other people doing here to help staff the show?
PW: A lot of the crew is calibrating the drones. Every time we go to a new site, the drone has to be calibrated, so we go through the calibration process just like you would with any drone. Then, they lay out the grid and get it set up. From there, they’ll just wait until the show is done to pick them all up at the end of the night.
DG: Your show tonight is 500 drones, but you’ve done others with 1,000. Is it tougher to do a show with more drones involved because it’s more stuff to set up? Or is it mostly the same with more drones in a show?
PW: More drones simply means more people. Last week we had 1,000 drones so we had a crew of 30. For tonight’s show of 500 drones, we have a crew of 14. It took a lot longer to do the calibration for each one of those.
But actually flying a show, whether it’s 100 or 1,000 drones, it’s actually very similar. We’ve made a lot of improvements network to make it just as efficient to do a show that big.
DG: Okay, so you have pretty much the coolest job title being Chief Pilot. What is a day in your life like?
PW: I do a couple things, including managing our whole pilot core. We have 14 pilots who I’ve trained up to run shows for us. I also do shows like this one, and I’m traveling often for them. For instance, I recently started the day in Dallas, but then I flew out to LA, and then that night went home. I’ll be doing shows all over the country, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s been a wild ride.
DG: When you’re piloting the drone show tonight, what will you be doing?
PW: Once they’re all laid out, I’ll get them ready for the show. That means setting their geofence, updating their locations, giving them their individual flight paths and then looking for any errors or deviations in their headings or anything that could cause an issue.
After that, I set the time to the drones. That’s the big functionality of the software. It synchronizes all the clocks, so they know exactly when that show is supposed to start.
When they’re flying their preprogrammed paths, there are no sensors. They’re just relying on their GPS and their time program.
DG: How are you feeling when you’re operating as the Chief Pilot? Are you stressed? Is it fun?
PW: Initially I used to get stressed, especially for the first couple of shows. I mean, you’re just thinking about the sheer dollar amount with the drones in the air. 1,000 drones means $2.5 million in the sky at once.
But at this point, I’ve done so many of these. Anything that could go wrong, I’ve seen go wrong, so at this point it doesn’t get to me anymore. I’ve learned how to overcome issues, so at this point I just have fun and crack jokes with the crew.
DG: So what could possibly go wrong?
PW: The biggest thing that could go wrong is if they lose that signal from the sophisticated GPS. If that happens, then they’re not relying on the precise GPS. They’re only relying on a more standard GS that you might see in other drones. That translates to the images that the audience sees not being as precise.
DG: So the drones fly over this giant parking lot and they just stay here, right? They don’t actually fly over the stadium?
PW: Correct. They’re going to be over this big area that we have sectioned off and restricted, per FAA requirements.
DG: And speaking of the FAA, we are pretty close to Oakland International Airport. Tell me, what went on to get approvals to fly in restricted airspace?
PW: We did have to get authorization to fly drones here. Normally drones can’t fly here at all. We’ve worked closely with the MLB and the FAA to even get drones approved at all for shows like this, getting approval to use drones in post game activity.
DG: You’ve done so many drone shows. Which is your favorite?
PW: Mine was one we did a couple weeks ago with 1,002 drones. It set a Guiness World Record, and incorporated fireworks too.
And you can watch a virtual version of that record-breaking drone show right here:
Rick Boss is the leader of Sky Elements Drones, the leading provider of drone light shows around the U.S. He recently invited me behind-the-scenes of his company’s Star Wars drone light show at the Oakland Coliseum as part of the team’s Star Wars Night.
I’ve got a big recap of the event here, including tons of photos, which you can read and view here. There’s also a video on my YouTube channel featuring some of the highlights, right below:
But while that video has a few snippets of our Q&A, it doesn’t include all of it. Thus, I’ve decided to share our full Q&A in text form. In our behind-the-scenes interview, he shares how they manage to travel with all those drones, what the setup entails and more. So without further adieu, here’s that interview with Rick Boss!
Rick Boss of Sky Elements Drones
Drone Girl: What are we looking at behind us?
Rick Boss: Tonight we’re looking at 500 drones for a show that’s going to be Star Wars themed. What’s going on right now is the crew is setting up all the drones, calibrating the drones, and making sure we’re ready to go for tonight.
DG: And there’s actually a pretty decently sized crew. How many people do you have putting on this whole endeavor?
RB: Typically for a show the size we have about 15 to 18 people to get all the drones set up, but just one person flying the show.
DG: So these folks have been doing a lot of work calibrating the drones. Tell me, what all goes into the setup ahead of time?
RB: A lot of the work, well, most of the work, happens beforehand. So our creative team has spent probably about a hundred and fifty hours of programming just for this show. So much work goes on ahead of the show, and tonight it’s just setting up the drones to make sure everything works well today.
DG: As far as programming, what are we going to see?
RB: You’re going to see a lot of Star Wars.
DG: Do you think we’ll see Baby Yoda?
RB: There’s a good chance that Grogu is up there.
DG: Yes! Amazing! And so you do a bunch of these shows. Just before this you were at the Dodger’s Game. I hear you also did the Serena Williams baby gender reveal show.
RB: We did. We did the Serena Williams baby gender. We also did the Dodger’s show, which was 1,000 drones. For context, we’re doing 500 tonight. We have another Star Wars show coming up for FC Dallas with 1,000 drones.
DG: Oh my gosh, so you’re busy! How many shows are you doing each month or each week?
RB: We fly 5-6 shows every week, all over the country. So yes, we’re pretty busy. From Key West to Seattle, Washington to the Caribbean as well as Hawaii. We’re everywhere.
DG: So do you have a truck? How do you get drones to all these places?
RB: So right behind me is a truck trailer there. The trailer is the most common way we transport our drones. The primary reason for that is because of all those lithium batteries. It is otherwise just a pain to fly twitch them all over the country.
DG: Flying with drones — and perhaps more critically, flying with LiPo batteries — is complicated, so I’m not surprised to hear you say that.
RB: It’s especially tough when your shows are big.
DG: So on that note, how does the size of this show compare to most drone light shows?
RB: This is a medium-to-large show. Our average drone is about 300 drones. With 500 drones, that’s a nice sized show.
DG: How do I get my own personal drone light show, like what Serena got?
RB: *Laughs* You can call us, or visit our website at SkyElementsDrones.com, hit the request button and we’ll get you a quote.
DG: And I probably need to win the lottery to get some money to do that?
RB: The cost of a drone show is expensive still. It’s more than fireworks, that’s for sure. That said, the prices are always getting better. I mean, the price right now is half what it was a year and a half ago.
DG: It’s becoming more affordable, and it’s also more environmentally friendly — which I do like that aspect as well.
RB: No doubt about it. Particularly in some states where there is fire danger, that is a great benefit. There’s the fact that these are low noise. We’re not impacting the neighbors, we’re not impacting the pets, and it’s certainly we’re leaving no debris behind.
DG: And, we get far more custom, exact designs. I’m personally excited to see Baby Grogu tonight.
And just like that, you can watch their timelapsed version of the show right here:
You met Rick Boss, but one of the other geniuses powering Sky Elements is Preston Ward, who serves as the company’s chief pilot. Come back to The Drone Girl next week to read a similar Q&A, but with Preston!
What’s the best indoor drone for fire investigations? That’s the latest in our “Ask Drone Girl” series. If you have a question for Drone Girl, contact her here.
I am a member of a fire investigations task force. We were working through a problem involving best practices for collecting photo evidence inside of unstable fire buildings, and we thought a small drone for indoor use would be a good solution. There are concerns about signal loss, destruction of evidence, and battery life. Could you provide some guidance?
-Mike
The Elios 3 from Flyability might be the best indoor drone for fire inspections. Photo courtesy of Flyability.
Hey Mike,
This is a great question, and it is rather timely, as indoor drones just this year have become far more reliable and accessible. Depending on how advanced of equipment you’re seeking out, the best indoor drone for fire investigations might cost you less than $1,500.
As you noted, there are a few criteria that stand out when selecting an indoor drone. Among the biggest factors to consider are:
Small size (must be agile to fit through doorways or other tight spaces)
First person view (FPV) camera
Sensors to meet your needs (this could be a basic camera that collects imagery, or might be more advanced with something like a thermal camera or other sensor.
Long flight time (most indoor drones offer less than 10 minutes, which might not cut it)
We’ll break down the best indoor drones for fire investigations in greater detail later on, but of those on the market today, you really have two options. The good news is, they couldn’t be more different from each other. So once you define the parameters of what you need, the answer is clear. So with that, here are my two recommendations for the best indoor drone for fire investigations:
Flyability Elios 3: best if you want robust, enterprise applications
Both of these drones were specifically designed to fly indoors. On the physical side, they have some level of propeller guards (the Elios 3 has a full cage on all sides) which protect the drone should it hit a wall. Both offer more than 10 minutes of flight time, so you can get in and out of the building, while still leaving time to actually see what you intended to see inside. And both have cameras to not just capture data, but to allow for FPV flying to navigate even in areas you can’t physically see yourself — a situation you’d likely commonly encounter to avoid otherwise sending your own personnel through an unstable building.
The DJI Avata drone. Image courtesy of DJI.
With a starting price at less than $1,500, DJI Avata is ultra-accessible. You could likely walk into your local electronics retailer and buy one off the shelf today. Upon buying it off the shelf, you’ll have a drone that’s ready to fly once you’ve charged it up — and you don’t really need to be a pro to operate it either as it’s relatively easy to fly. It comes with FPV goggles (which are the VR-like goggles) that enable you to see what the drone is seeing, it can capture videos, and it can fly up to 18 minutes.
For the drone that is an ultra powerhouse, you’ll want the Flyability Elios 3 drone. Launched in May 2022, the Elios 3 is the world’s first collision-tolerant drone equipped with a LiDAR sensor for indoor 3D mapping. You’ll want this drone if you don’t need to simply see what’s inside those unstable buildings, but to truly understand it by way of mapping it and generating data that can reproduce 3D models. While the drone itself is pretty high-end, it’s not actually that difficult to fly. You’ll likely need just a day of training (and the training is critical almost entirely due to the fact that flying it incorrectly could be costly).
And what exactly does costly mean? Flyability doesn’t publicly share the prices of its drones, but you should expect it to be in the many, many thousands of dollars realm. Considering its predecessor, the Elios 2 Premium Package, was going for 39,000 Swiss Francs (more than $40,000), don’t expect the newer Elios 3 to be cheap.
Both drones are super different. One is low cost and accessible, while the other one unlocks opportunities for serious, enterprise use cases. Here’s a deeper dive into not just those two drones, but some key points you should know about flying drones indoors:
What you need to know about indoor drones
Particularly when flying drones indoors there are a few additional risks you need to be aware of that you wouldn’t necessarily encounter when flying drones outdoors?
Large drones can be challenging to fly indoors
It’s not just about the drone being too large to fit through doorways. Sometimes when large drones are confined to a small area, they can create their own ‘weather patterns’ that cause the drone to fly differently than expected.
Prop guards are important
When flying indoors, you’ll likely want some sort of indoor hull, like rotor or propeller guards. These are generally placed around the rotor spinning blades, and not only protect objects that the drone might hit (like walls or people) but also protects the propellers from breaking off (and thus causing the drone to crash) in the event they strike something.
The Parrot AR drone is an old-school model now, but its prop guard design is still relevant today. (Photo by FRANK PERRY/AFP via Getty Images)
Obstacle avoidance can be helpful, but it may not always work
Having an indoor positioning system or obstacle avoidance feature on your drone can be helpful to ensure the drone doesn’t crash. However, obstacle avoidance can sometimes prove to be completely useless in very tight spaces.
That’s because many drones with obstacle avoidance also have a minimum object detection range that can be something like 6 feet, meaning the drone absolutely will not fly closer than that distance. If you’re trying to fly into, say, a closet, that might not be possible. In fact, let’s say your drone offers 6 feet of detection on all sides, but the room is 12 feet across or smaller. It might not be able to operate in that room.
Most drones with obstacle avoidance enable you to turn it off so you can get into those tight spaces, but then realize that you’re flying sans the obstacle avoidance feature which can increase crash risk.
Know your flight control settings for indoor flying
When flying indoors, you’ll likely need to disable GPS and other visual positioning systems. Sometimes, drones have preset configurations for flying indoors (you may often see this listed as ATTI mode). But if not, you can adjust the settings yourself. Check the user manual of your own setup so you can adjust your drone and flight controller accordingly.
Why do I recommend disabling GPS for indoor drone flights? While GPS is a useful technology in allowing drones to navigate and hover in place, realize that GPS just often does not perform well indoors as signa can easily get lost.
Instead, be prepared to be able to fly your drone without GPS-aided stabilization, which means you need to be a confident pilot.
Do you need any sort of certification or license to fly drones indoors?
The short answer: no.
The long answer: drones operated solely indoors are not regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA defines ‘indoors’ as a “covered structure that prevents access to the national airspace system.”
That said, if your drone flight starts outdoors and then heads indoors (e.g. a drone starting on the lawn outside and then flying into a house), then technically you do need a drone pilots license — assuming your drone flight is for a commercial purpose as opposed to a hobby purpose.
Getting your drone pilot’s license is a requirement under the FAA’s Part 107, which states that anyone operating a drone commercially must hold a “remote pilot certificate with a small UAS rating.” In order to get that, you will need to pass an in-person written exam, which many people refer to as the “Part 107 test. Learn more about getting your Part 107 drone pilot’s license here.
The best indoor drones for fire inspections
So with that, let’s dive into the best picks of indoor drones you might consider using with your fire team.
Price:Starts at $629 (though that’s for just the standalone drone, so expect to pay $1,000+ for the controller and goggles)
Flight time: 18 minutes per battery
Camera? Yes; 1/1.7” CMOS sensor with 48 million effective pixels. Films at 4K/60fps and slow-motion footage at 2.7K/50/60/100/120fps.
The DJI Avata drone has high appeal as a cinematic drone that creates beautifully dizzying first person view footage. But while plenty of artists use it for photography and videography (after all, it’s considered the overall best indoor drone), this Cinewhoop-style FPV drone could have real enterprise use cases as well.
Released in summer 2022, the Avata was designed specifically with indoor drone flights in mind, able to navigate tight spaces thanks to its compact size at just 180×180 mm in width and length. Plus, built-in propeller guards eliminate the risk of scratching walls or other items inside, should you crash.
The Avata has built-in propeller guards.
While wind likely is a non-issue for you if you’re flying indoors, it does hold up in high winds given its Level 5 max wind resistance, which means it can fly in wind speeds ranging from 19 to 24 miles per hour (which is about the equivalent of winds that generate moderate waves at the beach).
Note that the DJI Avata does not have obstacle avoidance sensors (the only sensors it has are downward vision and precise hovering sensors). If obstacle avoidance is critical (though see my notes above on why it may not be), you’ll need another drone — perhaps even my upgrade pick below.
The Avata is an FPV drone, meaning it is designed to be flown with FPV goggles as well as the DJI RC Motion 2. It is also compatible with the DJI FPV Remote Controller 2, which you can buy for less than $200.
If a high-quality camera is important to you (which it may well be if you need more pixels to zoom in on specific areas, or the camera needs to perform well in low-light), then the Avata delivers. Here are some key specs:
1/1.7” CMOS sensor
48 million effective pixels
Films at 4K/60fps and slow-motion footage at 2.7K/50/60/100/120fps.
f/2.8 aperture
Ultra-wide-angle lens with a viewing angle of up to 155°
D-Cinelike color mode for a broader color palette that enables detailed chromatic adjustments
The Elios 3 from Flyability. Photo courtesy of Flyability.
The best indoor inspection drone for advanced use cases: Flyability Elios 3
Price: Contact Flyability Sales (but expect to spend tens of thousands of dollars
Flight time: Up to 12 minutes (without a payload), 9.1 minutes (with a LiDAR payload), or 8.2 minutes (with a maximum payload)
Camera? Yes; 1/2.3” CMOS sensor with a fully unobstructed 180° field of view to a 4K camera, plus a thermal camera, and a distance sensor.
The real reason you’d want this upgrade pick is not simply to see what’s inside the building, but to be able to make a full 3D map of it. The Elios 3’s key feature is a SLAM engine (that’s short for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) that can generate 3D models through a new software called Inspector 4.0. The Elio 3 drone has proven valuable for mapping areas that are out of reach or too dangerous for humans to enter, like sewers or caves. Exploring buildings damaged by fire might be a use case too.
The FlyAware SLAM Engine in action.
There’s also no safer drone to fly indoors. The Elios 3 relies on a combination of computer vision, LiDAR technology, and a powerful NVidia graphic engine to maintain centimeter accuracy when flying indoors, even if there is no GPS signal available. And it’s surrounded by a signature cage and is equipped with unique reversing motors, which can help it recover from flipping upside-down without crashing. It also has a P-44 compliant design, which is a rating to show it can fly in rugged, harsh environments without concerns of water splashes or dust — again something that might be critical if flying amidst ash.
While the Elios 3 is all-around a far more powerful drone than the Avata (and comes with a heftier price tag), there is one huge reason why the Avata is superior, beyond accessibility and affordability. That’s battery life. The Avata offers 18 minutes of flight time, while this one offers up to 12 minutes and that’s without a payload. 6 minutes might not seem like much, but when you consider the Avata entails 50% more flight time, that can be critical.
Picking the best indoor drone
Indoor drones have seen substantial improvements in their stabilization and control systems in recent years, now boasting sophisticated algorithms and onboard processors that enable them to maintain steady flight even in tight or cluttered spaces. As a result, the risk of unexpected crashes or unintended landings has been dramatically minimized, granting users greater confidence in operating these aerial machines indoors.
The Drone Girl, Sally French, flying the DJI Avata.
Furthermore, the integration of intelligent software has revolutionized indoor drone autonomy. These drones can now perform pre-programmed tasks with exceptional accuracy, eliminating the need for constant manual control. This increased autonomy significantly reduces the chances of human error during flights, making using indoor drone for fire inspections more reliable and less prone to accidents.
Of course, while battery technology is good, it’s still not great. Many indoor drones are capable of only a few minutes of flight time. My two picks offer at least 8 minutes (assuming the maximum payload).
The bottom line is: you have two real choices to make when it comes to the best indoor drone for fire inspections, and they are so different that it should be an easy choice. For a drone that simply shows you what’s inside the building, the DJI Avata is your best bet. But for a more advanced use case that has ultra safe flight and can even map what’s inside, you’ll want the Flyability Elios 3.
