What Rochester Hills businesses film from the air
Rochester Hills is a residential city with a lot of green space, and its aerial work reflects that. Real estate agents want wooded lots, ravines and new subdivisions shown from above, where the trees and terrain that sell a house are easiest to see. Oakland University, office parks and medical campuses need overviews for recruiting, leasing and events. The city’s historic and seasonal draws, including Meadow Brook Hall, the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm and Yates Cider Mill, bring steady interest from venues, event planners and brands.
Meadow Brook Hall is the standout subject. Meadow Brook Hall describes itself as an 88,000-square-foot, 110-room Tudor revival mansion built between 1926 and 1929 by Matilda Dodge Wilson and her husband, Alfred Wilson, and the National Park Service designated it a National Historic Landmark in 2012. The Wilsons signed over the hall, 1,400 acres and $2 million to start what became Oakland University, which is why flying there falls under the university’s drone policy.
Open airspace, shared with delivery drones
We checked the FAA’s Class Airspace and UAS facility map data across the city. Rochester Hills is Class G at the surface throughout, with Class E starting 700 feet up. Oakland County International Airport’s Class D, in Waterford, does not reach the city, and Oakland/Troy Airport to the south has no Class D. No LAANC request is needed below 400 feet.
What is new is traffic. The City of Rochester Hills says Amazon’s Prime Air service, launched from nearby Pontiac, has brought more drones over parts of the city, flying below 400 feet, with roughly 100 to 200 deliveries a day within 7.5 miles of the Pontiac facility. Part 107 requires every drone pilot to see and avoid other aircraft, so we add a visual observer whose job is to watch the sky. Airspace and restrictions change, so we check B4UFLY or a LAANC app on the day of every flight. Our Detroit drone rules guide explains the rest of the rules.
University, city and Metropark rules
Three landowners set most of the launch rules here. Oakland University’s Policy 676 requires outside operators to have a university sponsoring department, file an Exhibit A checklist with the OU Police Department and get Risk Management approval, then share the imagery with that department within a week. The City of Rochester Hills allows recreational flights in its parks under posted guidelines but says commercial use over park property is by permission only. Stony Creek Metropark, a short drive northeast in Shelby Township, allows drones under Metroparks Rule 28 and requires a commercial filming permit from the park office.
Light and seasons
October is the season people ask about, when the Clinton River valley, Innovation Hills and the hills around Stony Creek turn color. It is also cider mill season, so weekday mornings keep crowds out from under the flight path. Spring green and summer evenings suit residential listings on wooded lots, and winter snow can make Meadow Brook Hall’s rooflines stand out.
Planning a Rochester Hills shoot
Send the address and what you need to deliver. We confirm who controls the launch site and line up any university or park approvals before we quote. See our Detroit drone photography services, real estate drone photography, or contact us to start.