It’s no secret that I’m a fan of all issues Star Wars. I like Child Yoda. Ewoks and I are kindred spirits. My favourite drone for youths is that this Star Wars drone (and I had a hoot testing it). And naturally, I’m the Drone Woman. But regardless of having coated this business for greater than 10 years, I’d nonetheless by no means seen a drone mild present. That’s, till I noticed the Sky Parts drone present.
Sky Parts, which is knowledgeable drone mild present firm based mostly inTexas, has placed on a whole bunch of drone mild reveals across the nation (and has even carried out some worldwide reveals). However their most particular present — to me not less than — was their Oakland A’s Star Wars Drone Present held in August 2023.
It was my first ever drone mild present seen in particular person — and it couldn’t have been higher. Observe me all through my expertise of the entire afternoon and night spending time with Sky Parts — from set off to viewing the precise drone present — proper right here:
What it’s like watching the Sky Parts drone present
After the Oakland A’s performed the Orioles (and alas, the A’s misplaced), the gates of the Coliseum stadium opened and the viewers was allowed to flood onto the sector so everybody may sit on the grass and delight in a drone mild present that includes 500 drone, every fitted with good LED lights.
As soon as everybody had their place on the sector, the stadium lights dimmed and the music began. A hush fell over the group as everybody waited to see what would occur subsequent. Then, abruptly, a whole bunch of drones rose up over the stadium, increasing into the phrases “Star Wars” within the iconic font with opening crawl.
From there, drones took the shapes of all types of Star Wars characters and themes, together with a 200-foot Darth Maul from Phantom Menace, BB-8 from the most recent trilogy, Grogu from “The Mandalorian” and Ahsoka Tano from the most recent within the Disney+ spinoff collection of reveals. All of it, naturally, was set to the enduring John Williams soundtrack.
The designs for the present had been made in collaboration with The Oakland A’s and the Sky Parts crew, which incorporates chief pilot Preston Ward and chief Rick Boss.
Maybe most impressively is that solely did the Sky Parts drones fly into shapes, however Sky Parts designs absolutely animate. That included an AT-AT lurking in the direction of the stadium as a drone-lit snow speeder swooped in and tangled its legs with cable to convey it down. There was additionally a ‘battle’ between drone-lit variations of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
And on this present, really fireworks exploded too, comparable to when the AT-AT made its crash touchdown, and when lightsabers collided. Sky Parts says that was the primary time that pyrotechnics have complemented its reveals.
Sky Parts leads the nation’s drone reveals
Sky Parts is among the leaders for large-scale, U.S. drone mild reveals. The reveals are managed by a single pilot who makes use of software program on a central pc system to program the drones to observe particular flight paths and exhibit numerous colours and patterns with their onboard LED lights.
Its portfolio contains the drone mild present for Serena Williams’ gender reveal occasion and it even holds a Guinness World Document by producing 40 drone reveals in a single weekend, which it did throughout the 2023 Fourth of July weekend.
The corporate has been acknowledged on the award-winning worldwide stage, comparable to having been a winner within the SPH Engineering Worldwide Drone Present Competitors.
A substitute for fireworks
Drones are largely billed as a substitute for fireworks, which is maybe unsurprisingly why the 2023 July Fourth weekend was so full of drone reveals. They’re thought of extra eco-friendly they usually cut back noise air pollution — audiences couldn’t hear something associated to the drones from the bottom of the Star Wars drone present (not less than not over the John Williams soundtrack). In fact, they’re additionally much more customizable — fireworks can’t explode within the form of Child Yoda, in any case.
And for reveals like this Star Wars drone present, the drones had been the principle attraction, however fireworks had been sprinkled in for added aptitude. But even in that present, fireworks had been used sparingly, nonetheless reducing down on air pollution versus a standard fireworks present.
How Sky Parts arrange the Oakland A’s present
For the Oakland A’s Star Wars drone present, Sky Parts flew instantly above one of many stadium’s parking heaps, which was blocked off to automobiles for the present.
Whereas only one particular person “flies” the present — which on this case was Sky Parts chief pilot Preston Ward — there’s really a strong crew of individuals there to calibrate the drones, in addition to to carry out security checks and lay them out in a grid for takeoff (these of us are usually employed contractors who come from fields comparable to movie manufacturing).
That setup course of takes a couple of hours — that means the crew arrived lengthy earlier than even the beginning of the sport. And since the Oakland Coliseum is positioned so near Oakland Worldwide Airport, the Sky Parts crew additionally wanted to hunt permission to fly in what was in any other case restricted airspace.
Drone reveals take to main fan occasions
The present on the Oakland A’s sport is certainly one of an growing variety of drone reveals introduced in to cap off sporting occasions. In truth, simply the week prior, Sky Parts flew one other drone mild present on the Los Angeles Dodgers stadium.
This isn’t even Sky Parts’ first time flying on the Oakland A’s Coliseum stadium. The Sky Parts crew beforehand flew two smaller Star Wars drone reveals with 200 and 250 drones. It then returned in June 2023 with a 300-drone Pixar-themed present, which got here after one other 250-drone Nickelodeon-themed present in August 2022. This newest Star Wars drone present in August 2023 was probably the most drones to fly over the Coliseum up to now,
“Growing the drone rely to 500 was the following step in wowing the viewers beneath,” in response to a press release from Sky Parts. “With the next drone rely, the crew was in a position to get rather more detailed with results and faces. A yr in the past, 500 drone reveals for Sky Parts had been an especially large deal.”
The Oakland A’s Star Wars drone present additionally seized the chance to advertise future sporting occasions. For instance, on the finish of the Star Wars Sky Parts drone present, drones flew into the form of a QR code, which followers may then {photograph} and obtain a hyperlink to a coupon for $5 tickets to the following Athletics sport at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. QR codes have been used for drone mild reveals up to now to take viewers to all types of internet hyperlinks, together with one QR code at a Travis Scott live performance that took audiences to an unique hyperlink to take heed to a musician’s single.
Another excuse why that 500 drone rely was so essential? Sky Parts says they wanted greater than 300 drones to truly be capable of create the scannable drone QR code on the finish.
Why drone mild reveals are set to change into extra frequent
Whereas drone mild reveals aren’t too frequent for now, that’s seemingly set to alter. Sky Parts says that —— as a result of drone mild reveals are nonetheless a comparatively new type of leisure — an enormous issue holding them again from being extra commonplace is just lack of information.
Different elements holding drone mild reveals again for now embrace regulatory constraints and price. The price of a drone mild present from Sky Parts varies based mostly on present dimension, however sometimes begins at $20,000 for smaller reveals (with bigger, extra intricate performances unsurprisingly costing extra).
That mentioned, Sky Parts chief Rick Boss says that costs have already dropped enormously in simply the previous yr although as the corporate finds methods to streamline its processes. Boss factors to simplified present design software program, enhanced present operations and environment friendly drone upkeep procedures as methods they’ve introduced down prices. That features a complicated floor station software program system, which automates drone placement and flight readiness checks — which each reduces threat of human error and makes the setup course of extra environment friendly.
One other big think about Sky Parts price is the price to buy the drones themselves. Sky Parts makes use of drones from UVify, which is a South Korean drone maker with headquarters in San Francisco, California. UVify makes all types of merchandise ranging together with the $200 UVify OOri Sensible Racing Micro Drone. However its standout product is its IFO and IFO-S drone mild present drones.
Costs for UVify’s drones can range, however they at present promote on-line for about $2,000 every. At that worth, the only Star Wars drone present would have featured $1 million value of drones within the sky at one time.
