What Farmington Hills businesses use aerials for
Farmington Hills is a large, spread-out suburb, and its aerial work reflects that. The city’s major routes include M-5, Northwestern Highway, Orchard Lake Road, 12 Mile, 8 Mile, I-696 and I-275, and many of the city’s office buildings sit along them. Owners and brokers use aerials to show a building’s freeway access, parking and setting in one frame. Real estate agents use drone photos for the city’s large residential lots, where the size of a yard or the trees around a home do not come through from the ground.
Green space is the other big subject. Heritage Park covers 211 acres on Farmington Road with 4.5 miles of trails, a nature center, the Spicer House and an amphitheater, according to the city. Glen Oaks Golf Course, run by Oakland County Parks, turned 100 in 2025 and hosts weddings and events in its clubhouse and banquet center.
Airspace: open, with no LAANC grids
The FAA’s facility map has no LAANC grids anywhere in Farmington Hills, and its Class Airspace data shows uncontrolled Class G from the ground up to 700 feet. Detroit Metro’s Class B floor is 3,500 feet above sea level over most of the city and 3,000 feet along Eight Mile on the south side, both far above a drone shoot. Oakland County International Airport’s Class D stops well short of the city. No authorization request stands between a client and a date.
That makes Farmington Hills one of the easier cities in Oakland County to schedule. It is also why a Farmington Hills shoot and a Pontiac shoot can need different paperwork on the same day: parts of the Pontiac and Waterford area sit inside PTK’s controlled airspace.
Parks, venues and permission
Most of the planning goes into the ground. Heritage Park is city parkland moving toward joint operation with Oakland County Parks under a 2025 agreement, Glen Oaks belongs to the county, and campuses and office parks set their own terms. Michigan’s PA 436 of 2016 keeps local governments from regulating how drones fly, but landowners still decide who launches from their property. We confirm the owner, send a certificate of insurance and plan a launch point before the shoot.
Light and seasons
Fall is the standout season here. Heritage Park’s woods and the tree-lined subdivisions turn in October, and late-afternoon light across them gives listings and brand work their best color. In winter, Heritage Park’s trails are used for cross-country skiing, according to the city, which makes for clean, graphic aerials after a snowfall. Office buildings photograph best in early morning or late afternoon, with the sun behind the camera to keep glass from glaring.
Book a Farmington Hills shoot
Send the address, the date window and what the footage is for. We will confirm the airspace, the landowner and any permits, then send a fixed quote. Start with our Detroit drone photography overview, see real estate drone photography for listings or event coverage for venues, or contact us.