This 300,000-Lumen ‘Flying Sun’ Drone Light Turns Night Into Day
A new drone light fitted with a 3,333-watt light is about to go on sale and while powerful enough to light up any nighttime scene — it has a hefty price tag of $60,000.
Aptly named The Flying Sun 1000, The Fast Company reports it is aimed at commercial and government users to rapidly deploy industrial-level lighting rather than throwing up time-consuming and large lighting towers. It could be used for disaster relief efforts, construction jobs, or security.
Nevertheless, put into the hands of a photographer it could be used for some awesome shots. The Flying Sun 1000 is made by Freefly Systems, a cinematography company that makes high-speed cameras and the Movi camera stabilization system.
The Flying Sun — which is built around the firm’s existing Alta X heavy-lift quadcopter — can light up an area the size of London’s Trafalgar Square (about 130,000 square feet) in mere moments. What’s more, it can be tethered to a power source on the ground meaning that, theoretically at least, it can fly forever.
The main issue is the huge amount of power it needs which heats up the drone’s lamps. But Freefly says the drone’s propellers help keep the LED light panels cool, without which the components inside would fry. The manufacturer says The Flying Sun will provide “thousands of hours” of light.
The aircraft is capable of lifting payloads of up to 33 lbs (15 kg) and without the lights on, the company says it can fly for 20-50 minutes on one charge of its two 16-Ah lithium battery packs, depending on the weight it’s carrying.
When it does have its lights, The Flying Sun carries four 72-LED lighting panels that face downward. Combined, the light has an output of 300,000 lumens — easily enough for someone like Gregory Crewdson to work with. Of course, the higher the drone flies, the weaker the light is on the ground.
The Flying Sun will ship in June and is available for preorder now. But it will not come cheap: the 1000 model is priced at $59,995 and a less powerful model, the 500, costs $49,995.
Image credits: Freefly Systems.
