Joe GallopA new company, Electric Airshows, has been launched to provide drone light shows to the UK’s outdoor events market.
Two experienced event production professionals, Chris Crockford and Ian Lomas, have teamed up to offer the service.
After months spent in research, pilot training and regulatory approvals, the pair said they are now operating an initial fleet of drones purchased from Chinese manufacturer and drone show specialist, DAMODA Intelligent Control Technology.
The quad-copter drones, using GPS RTK (Real Time Kinematics) positioning technology have already flown several displays, including a series of events for Alton Towers theme park. The drones, which each carry a removable, all-in-one 10W RGBW LED and rechargeable battery pack, can fly and maintain position in winds of up to 8m/s (17mph).
Crockford and Lomas met more than 30 years ago at Meteorlites. Lomas has three decades of experience in a range of roles in concert touring, festivals and events worldwide. His experience includes several years at Neg Earth as lighting crew/crew chief for artists such as Take That, Stereophonics, Sting, ELO, Rod Stewart and Radiohead.
Crockford said the idea to launch the company came to him during the pandemic: “I’d already been looking into drone technology of various kinds, but the use of drones for entertainment light shows really struck a chord with me. When I considered who might come on the journey with me, I immediately thought of Ian – and I’m delighted he agreed. His knowledge of production environments and processes is first class, and now, with his knowledge of drones and displays and our GVC licences, we feel the sky is the limit – if you’ll excuse the pun.”