Smith Mountain Lake, VA Live Event and Concert Drones

Live event drones at Smith Mountain Lake

This page is for event producers, promoters and venues planning a live event in Smith Mountain Lake. 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 Smith Mountain Lake, VA drone videographer page.

Lakeside venues and events

Our crew flew FPV over Kinetic Field at EDC Orlando in 2022. Waterfront homes, marinas, lakeside venues and communities around the lake suit aerials, filmed with the owner's approval. Our aerial photography has appeared in Smith Mountain Lake Magazine. For weddings and lakeside events we film recaps, and for larger shows we send live drone feeds to the stream or screens. See Live drone feeds for video boards and Concert and festival FPV drones across the US.

Close to our Virginia home base

Our Virginia home base is in Lynchburg, so Smith Mountain Lake shoots are planned by our Virginia crew rather than as a long-distance trip. Lynchburg and Roanoke are each roughly an hour away by road, and we cover Bedford County and the rest of the region from Lynchburg. We keep neighbors and people on private property out of frame unless they agree to be filmed. 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. Fully enclosed indoor flights are generally outside FAA airspace rules, so we fly one-take fly-throughs with the owner's approval; see indoor fly-through tours.

The dam, the state park and airspace

Smith Mountain Dam is a hydroelectric facility. Since July 2025, Virginia law makes an unauthorized drone flight over a military base, critical infrastructure, a utility or a federally regulated port facility a felony, so we stay off them unless the operator authorizes the flight. Smith Mountain Lake State Park follows the state park rule: Virginia state parks ban drones except commercial flights under a special use permit from the park office, so we apply well ahead of any state park shoot. Much of the lake sits away from the tower airspace around Lynchburg and Roanoke, but some addresses still need checks for nearby airstrips, NOTAMs and temporary restrictions. We check every Smith Mountain Lake location on the FAA sectional, B4UFLY and NOTAMs before quoting, and file LAANC or FAA authorization for any address that needs it.

Credits

EDC Orlando, Braves at Truist Park and FIFA Fan Festival Atlanta.

Related

Smith Mountain Lake, VA drone videographer | Lynchburg, VA live event drones | Roanoke, VA live event drones | Blacksburg, VA 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

Charlottesville, VA live event drones | Richmond, VA live event drones | Williamsburg, VA live event drones | Alexandria, VA live event drones | Norfolk, VA live event drones | Arlington, VA live event drones

FAQs

Can you fly in Smith Mountain Lake State Park?

Only for commercial work with a special use permit from the park office. Recreational drone flights are banned in Virginia state parks.

Can you fly over Smith Mountain Dam?

Not without the operator's authorization. Virginia law makes unauthorized drone flights over utilities and critical infrastructure a felony.

Do you need FAA approval to fly at Smith Mountain Lake?

It depends on the address. Much of the lake is outside tower airspace. We check every location on the FAA sectional and B4UFLY before quoting and file LAANC where it is needed.

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.