Austin, TX Live Event and Concert Drones
Air Views Media is a live event drone company serving Austin and Central Texas for festivals, arena concerts, soccer match days and brand activations. Our crew flew drone coverage at Austin City Limits in Zilker Park for the festival's Hulu live broadcast. FAA Part 107 certified pilots, $10M liability standard (optional up to $25M).
Austin
Live event drones in Austin
This page is for event producers, promoters and venues planning a live event in Austin. We fly concerts, festivals, parades, arena shows, races and brand activations, with drone feeds sent live to screens, the stream or a broadcast truck, plus fast edits for social. For homes, tourism and general aerials see our Austin drone videography page.
Zilker Park and Austin City Limits
Our crew flew drone coverage at Austin City Limits in Zilker Park for the festival's Hulu live broadcast, flying inside the festival's production plan. Zilker Park is city property, and the Austin Film Commission says filming that uses city property, including parks, sidewalks and roadways, needs a permit for that property, so drone use goes into the event's permits. Flying directly over an open crowd is only allowed when the drone and the operation meet FAA rules for flying over people, so otherwise we keep flight paths over the stage, closed areas and open lanes.
The APD special events request
The Austin Film Commission says every commercial drone flight in the city needs an approved Austin Police Department Special Events Unmanned Aerial Operations Request before permits are issued. Its list of restricted areas includes Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Camp Mabry, Circuit of the Americas, dams and power stations, and the Capitol grounds, so race weekends and Capitol events need extra planning. We check every Austin location on the FAA sectional, B4UFLY and NOTAMs before quoting, and file LAANC or FAA authorization for any address that needs it.
Moody Center, Q2 Stadium and game days
Moody Center opened downtown in April 2022 with more than 15,000 seats for concerts, and Q2 Stadium is home of Austin FC. We fly both only with the venue's approval. Indoor flights at an arena need the venue's approval and a flight plan agreed with production, security and the lighting crew, and we fly small, lightweight drones close to the action. Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium is on the FAA stadium list, so the 3 nautical mile flight restriction applies from an hour before to an hour after covered events. See Live drone feeds for video boards and Concert and festival FPV drones across the US.
Texas drone law
Texas Government Code chapter 423 makes it an offense to fly at or below 400 feet over fenced or posted critical infrastructure, such as refineries, chemical plants, power plants, water plants, ports and rail yards, or over a sports venue with 30,000 or more seats, unless an exception applies, such as prior written consent. The Fifth Circuit rejected the facial free-speech challenges to the law in National Press Photographers Association v. McCraw, and the Supreme Court denied review on October 7, 2024, so the law is fully in force and we get written consent first. Texas bars cities and counties from regulating drones except during permitted special events, for their own drone use, or near their own facilities with FAA approval, so we check festival and parade rules with the organizer and the city.
Credits
the Austin City Limits Hulu live broadcast, the Outside Lands aerial livestream in Golden Gate Park and EDC Las Vegas live on Hulu.
Related
Austin drone videography | San Antonio, TX drone videographer | Arlington, TX drone videographer | Dallas, TX live event drones | Houston, TX live event drones | Denver, CO live event drones | Live drone feeds for video boards | Concert and festival FPV drones across the US | Augusta drone videography (headquarters) | Lynchburg, VA drone videography (second location) | Live broadcast drones | Concert and festival drones | All locations
Nearby cities we fly
San Antonio, TX live event drones | College Station, TX live event drones | Fort Worth, TX live event drones | Corpus Christi, TX live event drones | Arlington, TX live event drones | Galveston, TX live event drones
FAQs
What does Austin require before a commercial drone flight at an event?
An approved Austin Police Department Special Events Unmanned Aerial Operations Request, which the Austin Film Commission says must come before permits are issued.
Can you fly at Austin City Limits?
Only inside the festival's production plan. Our crew flew drone coverage at Austin City Limits in Zilker Park for the festival's Hulu live broadcast.
Can you fly at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on event days?
Not inside the FAA stadium flight restriction, which covers 3 nautical miles from an hour before to an hour after covered events, unless we are part of the approved production.
Can you send a live drone feed to screens or a stream?
Yes. We send live drone video to LED screens, the livestream or a broadcast truck, and agree the format and cue points with your production team before show day.
What insurance do you carry?
Our standard policy is $10M liability, with optional coverage up to $25M when a venue, league or network requires it. Certificates naming your venue or production are issued before the shoot.
Request a Quote
Tell us the date, location and what you need filmed. Request a Quote or call 706-284-8364.