Drone filming in Graz

A drone operator in Graz is a registered pilot who films and photographs properties, venues, events and landscapes from the air and checks beforehand whether and how a flight is allowed at the location. In Graz three things decide most requests. First, the city has its own airport south of the centre, with an S-Bahn stop at Graz Airport-Feldkirchen, so geographical zones around it must be checked in Austro Control’s Dronespace map. Second, some sites have their own rules: the park regulations of Schloss Eggenberg ban drone flights across the whole site, so aerial footage of the palace is not an option. Third, many of the best city views include crowds – Advent markets, festivals, the Hauptplatz on a Saturday – and drones in the EU open category may not fly over assemblies of people.

Within those limits there is plenty to film: a company site or a villa with its garden, a vineyard estate in southern Styria, a wedding venue outside the centre. Operators flying a drone with a camera must be registered, keep it in sight and stay within 120 metres of the ground. On the Schöckl, the cable-car operator lists paragliding and hang-gliding among the activities, so the pilot watches the sky as well as the map. You receive edited clips and high-resolution stills, usually alongside a videographer’s ground footage.