Drones Make History at EAA AirVenture

Plans had called for the Great Lakes Drone Company, based in Watervliet, Michigan, to fly 100 drones together, but concerns over the proximity of pyrotechnics for the night fireworks show and the size of the FAA-required safety zone for a crowd of thousands led to the downsizing of the display. But it still made history! 

They are positioned precisely on the ground before the show, a process that takes about 15 min. Quinn explained that each drone has the evening’s “mission” individually uploaded onto an SD card, and the ground station central display software links to them “as an atomic clock” to keep them truly synchronized. The drones are not actively controlled during the show: each follows its own choreographed program. 

The drones, each carrying LED lights that change between white, red, blue and green, formed and reformed complex 3D patterns that climbed and rotated, and eventually spelled out ‘EAA.’ 

The quadcopter drones are custom-built by Great Lakes on a DJI Flame Wheel 450 chassis, fitted with PixHawk flight controllers running custom firmware and software licensed from Canadian Arrowonics. Each drone weighs about 3 lb. with a payload of LED lights, says company President Matt Quinn.

The drones utilize GPS for position monitoring to within 3-4-ft. accuracy. Quinn explained that they are set out for launch with a 6-ft. buffer zone around each to minimize the chance of collision. Should they bump into each other, or one be hit by a bird or a bat, safety software commands an immediate landing. They are also geofenced to ensure they don’t fly out of the display area. Here they formed a heart. 

There are no lessons here for the military, says Quinn, as the services are looking to control swarms of armed drones, perhaps letting them have some autonomy. Instead, Great Lakes drones in the light show fly blindly to a preprogrammed routine and do not have any way to sense the proximity of another one flying nearby.

The heart motif gradually changed shape—and color, too.

Each show can be individually programed so that no two are the same. 

Of course, the drones had to honor the show by spelling out ‘EAA.’

The light show concluded with the American flag.