North Texas-based Sky Elements set the new record for the “Largest fictional character made with multi-rotors or drones” with an aerial nutcracker using more than 400 drones. The company also reset the record for the “Largest aerial image made with multi-rotors or drones” with a Christmas tree scene with more than 1,000 drones. Each record was set at 1,499 drones.
Sunday’s show also marked the largest and tallest drone show in Texas, reaching heights of 700 feet.
“At the end of last year, we were discussing what we could do to really take drone shows to the next level, and we decided to do a couple of Guinness World Record attempts,” says Preston Ward, Sky Element's chief pilot. “Throughout the year some different ones have popped up, and we really like to go for the oddball ones. We’re production guys, we do a lot of events, so we look for the ones that seem to be the most fun, the most differentiated.”
Setting records is not all that new to Sky Elements. The team successfully attempted the “Largest aerial sentence” at a North Richland Hills Fourth of July Show earlier this year, and “Largest aerial logo” and “Largest aerial flag” at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando, Florida this November.
This is also the same company that "Rick rolled" all of Dallas on April Fools' Day last year by using 300 drones to create a QR code in the sky that when scanned took viewers to a link to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up."
Ward credits Sky Elements’ success to its 15-member interstate animation team, the largest animation studio for drone shows in the world. The whole team was able to meet together in North Texas for the record-breaking holiday show, something Ward says helped add to the evening’s holiday spirit.
“It was just amazing to hear how excited they were to see their work and then set the world record all together,” Ward says. “It was a great feeling and a great time to have the team together here in the community. They're always so excited when we do something big like that.”
On top of setting records, Sky Elements’ holiday show also aimed to give back to the community, as it doubled as a toy drive for kids in North Richland Hills. The city says 800 toys were donated at the event.
“We do big holiday drone shows every year, but they’re always still special for us,” Ward says. “We’re international, but there’s something special about doing it in North Texas. [...] It’s a good time for our teams that’s coming into town for our holiday party to see a big show they’re all a part of, but also to bring some joy to the community and get some toys for these kids here at Christmas.”
Ward says he and the Sky Elements team love doing shows and showing people in North Texas and beyond what can be done with drones; their only regret is that they can’t do more. By the end of the year, Ward and his crew are looking to set a sixth Guinness World Record for Sky Elements by setting the “Most emojis formed by UAVs in 3 minutes.”
“The current record is 12, so I’m pretty sure we can do better,” Ward says.
As for the new year, Ward says the drone team is already scheduled to do around half of the number of shows they had in 2023 and expects more to come.
“I’m sure there’s also going to be some more records,” Ward says. “Our drone shows are getting bigger, better. Our team's getting better at making bigger shows. So we're gonna try to get back to the community and do some big shows here close to home like we did this year and, and just keep having fun doing drone shows.”
