JULY 4th DRONES: How drone shows work and will they replace fireworks? [Video]

SAPULPA, Okla. — Nothing beats an old-fashioned fireworks display with the family on the Fourth of July.

However, a growing trend for celebrations is light displays with drones forming objects in the sky.

Sapulpa is having a massive drone show during its Let Freedom Fly event on July 3.

How to Plan a Drone Show

Such a spectacle requires a lot of coordination and planning.

The whole display is roughly the size of a football field, almost like a screen or a sheet, with hundreds of individual drones dancing over people’s heads.

The lit-up drones form different shapes and, together, animate moving objects and scenes.

As much as it’s a work of art, it’s a feat of engineering and programming.

2 News sat down with Tyler Jack from Sky Elements, the company that operates Sapulpa’s drone show and many others across the country. They’ll coordinate two separate fleets of 200 drones for a 10 to 15-minute extravaganza—400 drones total.

“So, in that initial call [with the …