Drone pilots soar together for annual Drone Safety Day 2024
On the heels of news that some U.S. lawmakers want to ban DJI drones, there was no shortage of DJI drones in the air this weekend. That’s because Saturday, April 27 marked the sixth year in a row of Drone Safety Day 2024.
The national ‘drone holiday’ of sorts is orchestrated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It’s all a way to encourage local drone pilots, businesses, first responders using drones, schools and more to come together and fly drones — all with safety in mind.
Groups all around the country put on their own live events to localize the FAA’s promotional campaign. As for me, I headed to my nearest Drone Safety Event, which was a Drone Safety Day & Swap Meet at Treasure Island in San Francisco, California.
Here’s a video recap of the Treasure Island Drone Safety Day 2024 festivities:
The event took place at the GAA Fields on Treasure Island. Those mark one of the best places to fly drones in San Francisco for one key reason: they’re a FAA-approved FRIA site. FRIA is short for FAA-Recognized Identification Areas, which means no Remote ID is required to fly over the GAA fields.
My trusty DJI Avata 2 came along for the ride with me on Drone Safety Day 2024. Beyond capturing some epic footage of the vibrant atmosphere, I also learned some tricks from the pros. Drone events like this are always helpful to pick up tips and tricks. Special thanks to the folks from UAV911 who helped me get comfortable flying with the DJI RC Motion 3. I had kind of been avoiding using it in favor of the DJI FPV Remote Controller 3 on my new Avata 2 drone. I’m just so much more comfortable on the sticks, so I didn’t want to learn the motion controller functions. Turns out, you can learn new tricks!
And it’s absolutely great to learn new tricks from drone pilots of all backgrounds, which you can absolutely do here! That included first responders, photographers, professional pilots, teachers and drone racers. With such a range of drone pilots came a range of drones, from the DJI Spark (quite a throwback) to DJI Matrice drones to the new Skydio X10D. Yep, this weekend was actually my first time seeing the American-made Skydio X10 in person).
Turns out, my Avata 2 wasn’t the only one of its kind there. Despite having launched only a few weeks ago, other San Francisco drone pilots are on top of the latest and greatest, too!
Here’s some of the footage I caught on my Avata 2 drone:
The Avata 2 starts at $999.
The entire day was a fantastic blend of education, connection, and pure drone-loving fun. A big shoutout to the sponsors. That includes SF Drone School, Drone of San Francisco, Uncrewed Pro, and Remote Optix, who made this event possible.
If you’re a drone enthusiast in the Bay Area and you missed the Drone Safety Day 2024 shindig, well, let’s just say you’ll have major FOMO (fear of missing out) next year. Trust me, mark your calendars early because this is one event you won’t want to miss in 2025!
And if you’re not in the Bay Area, it’s likely there was a Drone Safety Day 2024 event happening near you. Follow along with the FAA’s website to see what you can plan ahead for next year. Can’t wait until next year? Check out my guide to all sorts of other drone events in 2024 happening around the world.
Well, assuming we can fly DJI drones next year. Alas!
