CINCINNATI — There has been a lot of anticipation and excitement surrounding BLINK’s return to Cincinnati this weekend, and now that it is finally here spectators can witness a new attraction: a drone show over the Ohio River.
What You Need To Know
- BLINK is back in downtown Cincinnati and Covington
- New this year is a drone show over the Ohio River
- The show is put on by Sky Elements Drone Shows, out of Dallas
- The nine-minute show took more than 70 hours to design
Three hundred drones await their first takeoff at Cincinnati’s BLINK. The show is designed by Sky Elements Drone Shows, a company out of Dallas that flies shows all over the country.
“Great backdrop here," said Rick Boss, the vice president of business for Sky Elements Drone Shows. "Cincinnati in the background. BLINK happening back there, it’s going to be gorgeous.”
Boss said a show like this, which lasts nine minutes, takes more than 70 hours to design. And the group makes sure each show is personalized to the event and city.
“We can really tailor it to the location we’re at, to the community," Boss said. "In fact, the show here, was actually designed by a design studio here in Covington. So awesome that they were the design studio behind it and really we just did the animation work. They’re the ones that came up with these concepts, and it looks terrific.”
These drones are a little different than what you may be used to.
“The only thing in here is an LED engine, so this light, this is the LED, there’s no camera," Boss said. "These are specifically designed just for drone light shows.”
KC Sealock is a drone pilot who helps make the whole show run smoothly behind the scenes.
He and his team makes sure everything is just right as the show approaches.
“Drones are fun, everybody loves drones," Sealock said. "A lot of people don’t realize how much this is a next level of aviation. And aviation runs on checklists. We have checklists for our checklists and then checklists to check those checklists.”
As hectic as it may be, changing and replacing batteries minutes before show time, it’s all worth the stress once the countdown begins.
“Five, four, three, two, one!”
And the drones make their way over the Ohio River.
The show is scheduled to run Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. and is designed to be viewed at any angle.
The show features Cincinnati and abstract elements to go along with BLINK. And after those nine long minutes, Sealock is already gearing up for the next show.