Drone progress photography for central Ohio construction means flying a site on a fixed schedule, usually monthly or twice a month, from the same points and heights each visit, so owners, lenders and project teams can compare one month to the next. The region’s biggest jobs, from Intel’s chip fabs in Licking County to data centers around New Albany and the battery plant in Fayette County, run for years, which makes repeatable angles and a written capture plan more important than any single flight. Airspace is open over most of these sites, but Columbus International, Rickenbacker, Ohio State’s airport and two federal facilities change the plan close in.
This is general information, not legal or safety advice. Airspace and site rules change, so check B4UFLY or a LAANC app and current NOTAMs before every flight.
Why central Ohio projects need a long-run plan
In its Ohio press kit, Intel describes plans to invest more than $28 billion in two chip factories on a campus of nearly 1,000 acres in Licking County, with construction under way since September 2022. In a February 28, 2025 message to Ohio employees, Naga Chandrasekaran, then general manager of Intel Foundry Manufacturing, said the company now plans to complete construction of Mod 1 in 2030 and begin operations between 2030 and 2031, and to complete Mod 2 in 2031 with operations in 2032. Construction would continue “at a slower pace,” the memo said. As of October 10, 2026, that memo was the most recent timeline update we found on Intel’s newsroom.
Intel’s own press kit shows how owners use aerials on a job like this. It publishes dated aerial views of the site from December 2023 and February 2024, and its September 2024 B-roll is titled for the project going vertical. The December 2023 caption counts more than 32,000 cubic yards of concrete and 40 miles of underground conduit.
Southwest of Columbus, L-H Battery Company, the Honda and LG Energy Solution joint venture, announced on July 1, 2026 that it had started mass production of lithium-ion cells for energy storage systems at its plant in Fayette County. The company says the facility covers more than two million square feet and employs more than 1,000 people, with 2,200 planned at full capacity.
Data centers are the third driver. AEP Ohio reported on February 13, 2026 that data center developers had signed binding contracts for 5,642 megawatts under its data center tariff, on top of 12,219 megawatts signed before the tariff took effect, for 17,861 megawatts in all across its Ohio territory.
What GCs, developers and lenders each need
| Audience | What they look for | What to deliver |
|---|---|---|
| Owner and developer | Proof the schedule is real; material for investors and leasing | Fixed-point stills, short orbit clip, milestone video |
| General contractor | Site logistics, staging, sequencing and a dated record | Top-down and oblique stills labeled by date and point |
| Lender and construction consultant | Visual support for each draw request | Matched stills timed to the pay application |
| Marketing and community relations | Milestones and a story for the public | Topping-out and opening content, a time-lapse at completion |
For lenders, the timing matters as much as the pictures. Our guide to drone progress reports for construction lenders covers how to schedule flights a few days before each draw so the images match the pay application. Drone images support the lender’s inspector; they do not replace that report.
Fixed points and a capture plan
A progress series only works if every image lines up. At kickoff, we agree on fixed capture points with the project team: GPS position, height, heading and framing for each one, written down so any pilot can repeat them. On a big campus, that usually means a few wide establishing points, one or two top-down passes over active areas and a short orbit.
That written plan carries more weight on multi-year projects. Crews change and fence lines move. If the original points are recorded, the series still reads cleanly at the end. Our construction progress drone photography guide has a sample 12-month deliverables plan and a phase-by-phase cadence table.
Photos versus measurements. Progress photography produces images for people to look at. Orthomosaic maps, volume calculations and as-built comparisons come from mapping flights and processing software. We provide visual progress documentation and marketing content; mapping and survey-grade photogrammetry are a different service that we do not include.
If the owner or engineer needs measured data, scope a mapping provider separately and plan for a licensed surveyor on anything legal or design documents will rely on.
Airspace around CMH, LCK, OSU and New Albany
We checked the FAA’s Class Airspace, UAS facility map and national security restriction data, published through the FAA UAS Data Delivery System, at 13 points in October 2026. Most of the region’s largest sites are Class G at the surface.
| Location | Airspace at the surface | LAANC grid |
|---|---|---|
| Intel Ohio One site, Licking County | Class G | None |
| Johnstown | Class G | None |
| New Albany International Business Park | Class G, under CMH Class C shelf at 2,500 ft MSL | None |
| New Albany village center | Class G, under CMH Class C shelf | None |
| Downtown Columbus at Broad and High, Short North, Ohio State campus | Class G, under CMH Class C shelf; surface Class C starts about a block east of Broad and High | None at these points (200 ft grid at the Statehouse block) |
| Hilliard | Class G | None |
| Easton | CMH Class C | 400 ft |
| Dublin, Bridge Street area | Ohio State University Airport (OSU) Class D | 150 ft |
| Groveport | Rickenbacker (LCK) Class D | 400 ft |
| East side of Rickenbacker | LCK Class D | 0 ft |
| L-H Battery plant, Fayette County | Class G | None |
A few points stand out:
- John Glenn Columbus International (CMH). Its Class C reaches the ground only in a ring around the airport. Over New Albany and the business park east of it, the Class C starts at 2,500 feet above sea level, well above the 400 foot drone ceiling. Our Columbus drone page maps where the surface Class C begins on the east side of downtown.
- Rickenbacker International (LCK). The logistics parks around Rickenbacker sit in its Class D, with grids that drop to 0 feet near the airport. A 0 foot grid means LAANC cannot approve the flight automatically, and the operator would need a further FAA authorization.
- Ohio State University Airport (OSU). Its Class D covers parts of Dublin and other northwest suburbs. Separately, Ohio State made all university property a no-fly zone without prior authorization in a November 2025 interim policy, with requests due two weeks before the flight.
- National security restrictions. FAA data lists drone flight restrictions from the surface to 400 feet over Defense Supply Center Columbus, home of Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, and over Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base. A site next to either needs a route that stays outside them.
- Game days. The FAA stadium rule bars drones near venues from one hour before to one hour after Major League Baseball, NFL and NCAA Division I football events. Ohio Stadium is on the FAA’s stadium list. Our Ohio drone laws guide covers how far its game-day restriction reaches, along with the state statute.
Site safety, badging and insurance
On an active site, the drone crew is one more trade, and the GC’s safety program applies. OSHA’s construction standards require employers to instruct each employee in recognizing and avoiding unsafe conditions under 29 CFR 1926.21(b)(2), and to protect workers with helmets where there is danger of head injury from falling or flying objects under 29 CFR 1926.100. Expect a site-specific orientation, hard hat, vest, boots and eye protection, and a sign-in with the superintendent before the first flight of every visit.
Federal drone rules add their own limit. Under 14 CFR 107.39, a remote pilot may not fly over a person unless that person is directly participating in the operation, is under a covered structure or in a stationary vehicle, or the flight meets one of the operations-over-people categories. On a busy site, the practical answer is to plan routes around crews and coordinate flight windows with crane activity.
Large industrial and data center sites usually add their own layer. Ask the owner early about:
- Badging and escorts. Whether the site issues badges in advance, how long that takes and whether visitors need an escort.
- Photo restrictions. Owners may bar images of certain buildings, equipment or security features, and may review images before release.
- Data handling. Where files are stored, who can access them and whether the owner needs to approve any public use.
- Insurance. Most GCs ask for a certificate of insurance before the first flight, often naming the owner and GC as additional insureds. Send the requirements with the request for quote so the certificate is ready.
Our checklist for hiring a drone operator for an active construction site covers pilot certification, recurrent training and the documents to collect before anyone takes off.
How a Detroit crew handles recurring Ohio flights
By road, our studio on Hunt Street is about 205 miles from the Ohio Statehouse, 199 miles from New Albany, 203 miles from the Intel site and 211 miles from the L-H Battery plant, according to route estimates from the OSRM routing service.
- Dates are set ahead. We agree on the flight calendar for the program at kickoff, aligned to the owner’s reporting or draw schedule.
- Weather windows are planned. Each visit gets a backup date, so the cadence holds when wind or rain grounds a flight.
- Nearby sites share a trip. When a developer or contractor has several sites in the region, we group them on the same days where the schedules allow.
- Travel is quoted with the project. It is a separate line, so you can compare the per-visit rate with other quotes.
Our office is in Detroit, and we work with a network of crew and creator contacts across Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Windsor. Every flight is flown by an FAA Part 107 certified pilot. Our Delaware, Ohio drone page covers the airspace and park rules just north of Columbus.
What it costs
Our construction drone photography rates are published, and they apply in Ohio with travel added.
| Package | Starting price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Single visit | From $600 | Fixed-point stills plus one orbit clip |
| Monthly program | From $995/mo | Two scheduled flights a month from repeatable angles, 6-month minimum |
| Milestone film | From $2,500 | Time-lapse compilation and a finished progress film |
Mapping and survey-grade photogrammetry are not included. For marketing aerials outside a progress program, our published drone starting prices are aerial photo from $450, aerial video from $1,500 and FPV fly-through from $2,500.
Working with RDG in central Ohio
Aerial work is our biggest service line; see our construction drone photography page for the work and the programs. If you are planning a progress program for a central Ohio project, send the site address, start date, reporting schedule and the owner’s site requirements through our contact page, and we will check the airspace and propose capture points and a cadence.