DALLAS — Rick Boss and Preston Ward work in North Richland Hills ... not the North Pole. And yet, quite often, the jolly old elf himself shows up out of nowhere.
“That’s right,” Boss said. “Santa just appears. On command.”
Don’t believe it?
Just look! Up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane…
“No, it’s a bunch of drones,” Boss laughed.
Hundreds of drones that belong to Sky Elements, the North Texas company that Boss, vice president of business development, and Ward, chief pilot, work for, which produces some of the best drone light shows in the country.
Sky Elements was formed two years ago, spun off from a pyrotechnic company, as the emergence of drone light shows started gaining steam.
Drone shows themselves are only a few years old, but the business is taking off. Sky Elements will perform more than 30 holiday shows in December alone.
“It’s just something about how big it is in the sky, the colors, the whole combination,” Boss told WFAA. “I still just enjoy every show.”
Every show is unique. Some have 100 drones and some have 1,000.
Either way, it takes a lot to get off the ground.
A team of animators spend about 50 hours programming and producing a show. But to make them fly?
“It just takes one person pushing a button saying go,” Boss said.
Each show lasts about 10 minutes but the joy lasts even longer.
“The oohs, the aahs, hearing the kids scream out ‘Rudolph,’ ‘Santa,’ it’s definitely fun bringing joy to everybody,” Boss said.
Boss and Ward may not work for Santa, but they sure know how to deliver a happy holiday.
To see a list of Sky Elements upcoming drone light shows, visit their website here.
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