I know this might be a huge risk to take, but has anyone ever flown a drone in or around fireworks? I've seen multiple videos and I want to try it!
Flying in fireworks.
- Thread starter Kelsei
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Personally, I am going to do it too and I really don't see the risk.
Keep the drone away from people and don't fly anywhere near the actual fireworks.
300 or 400 feet up and 1/4 or 1/2 mile away should be just fine.
Unless somebody knows something I don't. And if they do I am sure we will both hear from them!
Keep the drone away from people and don't fly anywhere near the actual fireworks.
300 or 400 feet up and 1/4 or 1/2 mile away should be just fine.
Unless somebody knows something I don't. And if they do I am sure we will both hear from them!
Perfect! Glad I'm not the only one willing to do this. I think it'll be awesome!
Thanks for the tips!
And you got that right! I'm sure we will. Lol
Thanks for the tips!
And you got that right! I'm sure we will. Lol
The group organizing the event will (should) set up a Safety Zone.... anything that comes into that safety zone will shut down all fireworks until this "intrusion" is removed. Just make sure you're not within that area and it should be fine.
Keep in mind that local ordinances can come into play if something feels your drone flights could create a safety issue and you'll be held accountable as such.
Keep in mind that local ordinances can come into play if something feels your drone flights could create a safety issue and you'll be held accountable as such.
Perfectly said by BigAl. If I may add some advise here. Don't hesitate to head down to the shoot site the day of the shoot about noon or so to talk to the display operator. Sometimes by then they may have safety tape or something set up to mark the safe area where they must stop any unauthorized person from entering. Please by no means continue past any safety tape. The reason is, there is a chance of an accidental discharge while the fireworks are being ematched and loaded in the tubes. These accidents are real, have happened and have killed firework personnel in the past. So, be aware that if you get to close, you will probably be met by someone very quickly asking who you are. They will have an negative attitude if you have went threw their safety tape. Anyway, attempt to get ahold of someone and ask for the display operator. Inform him (or her) of your intentions to fly and capture the show and ask if they could point you to the area that would be the safest to fly to and get the best shots. Squeeze in the point that you will not fly over the shoot site at anytime during the show. Hopefully, he or she will be respectful back to you and give you the information you need and help you out. He can then let the fire chief and police know that you will be in the area and you have a safe plan (they are all watching for safety issues). Believe me, we as display operators know that firework displays will continue to have more and more UAVs around them and a team effort would work out to everyone's advantage. I have been aggressively advocating the cooperation on both sides of the fence. At most displays, there usually is an area that could be considered by the authorities as a safe "drone zone" during the live display (some displays may not). And the whole reason for all this is just as Al said in his post. A display operator has the right (as a safety measure) to stop the show if a drone is in the safe area. If its you that stops the display, remember this. Cities and Towns pay ALOT of money for these events. Some are coria graphed to music which takes several hours alone. Interrupting their display will do nothing but have municipalities advocate for more and more regulation. I'm not going to get into a regulation issue with who can do what in this thread because its irrelevant to me. Bottom line is, if we all push for responsible common sense practice, the outcome will be better than if we don't.
If fling threw fireworks is what you want to do, contact me and we will arrange for this to happen safely on private property where there is absolutely no chance of an innocent person or someone's property (other than your bird) being injured or damaged. I have made this offer before and it still stands.
Enjoy your 4th of July, fly safe and responsible, encourage others to do the same and get those good vids and pictures posted up soon.
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I've flown near and directly above fireworks but never IN fireworks. The risk of getting struck by a flaming, sputtering ball of white hot chemicals is too great. I watched a few mortars, estimated their max altitude, then parked my Phantom about 100 ft above them. Got some great shots. These were neighbor/relative launched fireworks, not a professional show.
I bet the shots were awesome.
Pharm- if I may, I would like to use your post for educational proposes only and I'm in no way meaning to criticize your actions negatively. Obviously as Pharm stated- he did this at a private show and had the ability and or knowledge of the largest size firework being used. However, at a public display this might not work for anyone tiring it. Many times shows will begin and go several minutes where only 3 or 4 inch shells are shot and lets just go with their breaking height of 300 to 400 feet AGL. So after a few minutes of observing, I then decide I'm safe to fly over the display at 500 ft AGL. Then we finally get to the part of the show where there are 5 and 6 inch shells that now go 500 to 600 ft AGL and break. Not good.
I plan on it for the Neighbor hood fire works that are pretty good , not sure how close I will get , because they are going off all over the place . Have to pick & choose the best ones & go for them .
I think the problem at a large fireworks show would be anyone in charge seeing your Phantom (even if a safe distance away) will put the brakes on the show. Best if you can stay out of sight. Of course being in Canada, I would never fly at night.
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All great information! I hope everybody reads this.
My intention however is as I stated - I am going to fly my Phantom approximately 2 miles from the actual fireworks. I personally am not bold enough to try to fly at the fireworks site itself!
Before you ask, my memo for the fireworks camera settings:
Images:
ISO 100-200
Shutter speed 2 seconds or slower to give the "streaking" effect
Video:
ISO 400-800
Shutter speed 1/25 (PAL) or 1/30 (NTSC) seconds
Altitude 50-120m
Litchi orbit radius or path at least 500m from the launch area to keep the drone near the back or outside the area crowd zones
Display Fireworks Facts
Images:
ISO 100-200
Shutter speed 2 seconds or slower to give the "streaking" effect
Video:
ISO 400-800
Shutter speed 1/25 (PAL) or 1/30 (NTSC) seconds
Altitude 50-120m
Litchi orbit radius or path at least 500m from the launch area to keep the drone near the back or outside the area crowd zones
Display Fireworks Facts
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Hey, thank you! Truly appreciated. I was going to start looking this up as I plan to video a couple of displays.... from about 1/2 mile away.
I plan on doing the same tonight. Just visited the Fire Dept as well as the Police. All very helpful. I think I'm gonna find out being too close will be a disadvantage. I think I'll be around .5 to .75 miles from the impact area. 
. Did a test flight today from my spot in a new construction home area where I hope I'll be the only one there. I'll set my gimbal so I can look up .30 deg if need be. Pretty much gonna stay in one spot over a patch of trees about 800 yards from where I launch.
Hoping for the best.
. Did a test flight today from my spot in a new construction home area where I hope I'll be the only one there. I'll set my gimbal so I can look up .30 deg if need be. Pretty much gonna stay in one spot over a patch of trees about 800 yards from where I launch.Hoping for the best.
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I plan on doing the same tonight. Just visited the Fire Dept as well as the Police. All very helpful. I think I'm gonna find out being too close will be a disadvantage. I think I'll be around .5 to .75 miles from the impact area.
Hoping for the best.
I plan on doing the same tonight. Just visited the Fire Dept as well as the Police. All very helpful. I think I'm gonna find out being too close will be a disadvantage. I think I'll be around .5 to .75 miles from the impact area.
Hoping for the best.
Kudos to you for checking with the authorities. You didn't say what they told you.
I am actually going to do the same thing. My city (Aurora, IL) will be doing some fireworks tonight so I will practice settings on the video etc.
Tomorrow I will be at my sisters pool party and she lives a couple of miles from Ty Park ( the Ty Beanie Babies people!) and Ty always puts on an amazing show.
The Fire Dept said stay out of the impact area then said to ask the police. Cop shop took my number after a talk and they called me back and said there is no regulation on flying your drone for the firework show. Told me to use common sense and stay away from the crowds and don't fly directly over the fireworks.
Honestly I'm not looking to get inside the fireworks display, I like a fuller view myself...LOL. I'm hoping they have all the lights off at the baseball diamonds at the park so they are not in the shot. I'm lucky because there is a long line of woods behind where the crown will be and if I need to get closer I can follow the line of trees to stay away from being over the crowd. I really hope I'm not too far away! Like I said. half mile maybe.
Honestly I'm not looking to get inside the fireworks display, I like a fuller view myself...LOL. I'm hoping they have all the lights off at the baseball diamonds at the park so they are not in the shot. I'm lucky because there is a long line of woods behind where the crown will be and if I need to get closer I can follow the line of trees to stay away from being over the crowd. I really hope I'm not too far away! Like I said. half mile maybe.
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Me too, half a mile away is fine with me. No desire to drop my Phantom on somebody's head.
OR wreck it. Some guy from New Jersey posted a video of him flying right through the middle of the fireworks. It looked spectacular, but he obviously didn't care about his costly drone getting hit with an exploding rocket.
Personally, I don't have an extra $500 laying around to buy a new Phantom!
By the way, I have a chart that shows how high various shells fly. If you are flying at 400 feet, only the 2, 3 and 4 inch shells will explode at or below 400 feet. The shells go all the way to 12 inches which explode at 1200 feet, so it looks like your idea of setting the gimbal to go the extra 30 degrees upward, is a good one. I am going to do that myself.
Another pilot said that settings for video should be ISO 400 - 800 and shutter speed should be 1/30 for NTSC (that's us right?)
A lot of stuff to take in! Good luck, Ray
