What Shelby Township businesses film from the air
Shelby Township is one of the larger communities in Macomb County, with 79,408 residents at the 2020 census and about 35 square miles, and much of the aerial work here follows its growth. Builders and sales teams use drone photography to show new subdivisions in context: the street layout, the ponds, the drive to Hall Road or M-53. Commercial landlords on Hall Road (M-59) and Van Dyke (M-53) need clean site and access views for leasing packages, and industrial owners along Van Dyke use aerial video to show dock doors, yard space and highway access in one pass.
Open airspace, with neighbors to watch
We checked the FAA’s Class Airspace data at dozens of points across the township, and every one returned uncontrolled Class G at the surface. There are no UAS facility map grids here, which means no LAANC filing and no altitude ceiling below the Part 107 limit of 400 feet. Detroit Metro’s Class B floor over the southwest corner is 6,000 feet MSL, far above anything a drone does.
The nearest restrictions sit outside the township. Selfridge Air National Guard Base is about 11 miles southeast of the township offices, and the FAA’s national security flight restriction over the base, from the surface to 400 feet, ends about 6 miles from Shelby’s southeast corner. Ray Community Airport lies a few miles past the northeast corner. We still check B4UFLY or a LAANC app on the day of every flight, because temporary restrictions can appear with little notice. Our Detroit drone rules guide explains how these layers fit together.
Parks, trails and a historic proving ground
The township’s biggest aerial subjects are green. Stony Creek Metropark covers 4,435 acres around the 500-acre Stony Creek Lake, with a 6.2-mile paved loop and a golf course, according to the Metroparks. Metroparks Rule 28 allows drones under federal and state law, but not over beach or pool bathhouses and never in a way that disturbs bald eagles or other protected wildlife, and the Metroparks direct commercial filming to the park office.
River Bends Park, run by the township, covers more than 850 acres, and the Clinton River runs about six miles through it, according to Shelby Township Parks and Recreation. The Macomb Orchard Trail starts at 24 Mile and Dequindre in the township and runs 24 miles to Richmond, according to Macomb County, which makes it a natural line for a follow shot. On Van Dyke, the Packard Proving Grounds, opened by Packard in the late 1920s with buildings by Albert Kahn, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Packard Motor Car Foundation cares for the site, so any shoot there starts with the foundation’s permission.
Light and seasons
Late spring through early fall gives green lawns and full foliage for subdivision and listing work. October is the standout month for the wooded valleys at Stony Creek and River Bends, where the Clinton River corridor turns color and a low sun shows the terrain. Winter works for construction and industrial flights, since bare trees show more of a site, though cold shortens battery life. For building exteriors, the first hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset give the most even light.
Planning a Shelby Township shoot
Send the address, your date window and the deliverables you need. We confirm the airspace, check park or landowner permission and plan the flight before we quote. See our Detroit drone photography services, including real estate drone photography and construction progress flights, or contact us to start.