Why I Fly at Sunrise: A West Coast Morning Ritual

Sunrise over Parksville

There’s something about sunrise on Vancouver Island that keeps pulling me out the door, long before the city wakes up and long before most people would willingly stand on a cold beach with a drone in one hand and bad gas-station coffee in the other.

I don’t think I ever planned for sunrise flying to become my routine. It just happened over time — quietly, without fanfare — until one morning I realized it was the only part of the day that always felt right.

Here’s why I keep choosing sunrise, again and again.

1. The Island feels honest at sunrise

Sunrise is when Vancouver Island shows its real personality.

There’s no pretending, no dramatic filters, no curated moments.
Some mornings the sky is orange and soft; some mornings it’s a wall of fog; some mornings it looks like the sun pressed snooze five times and barely showed up.

Whatever it gives you — that’s the truth of the day.

That honesty is a big part of why I fly.

2. The rhythm of the morning makes flying easier

Early morning flying has its own tempo.

No beach crowds.
No foot traffic stepping into your shot.
No curious dog walkers who decide you need an unsolicited 20-minute conversation about “the big scary drone.”

Just you, the shoreline, and a little bit of space to breathe.

There’s nothing rushed about sunrise.
The light builds slowly, the wind behaves (usually), and the drone feels like it has room to stretch without stepping on anyone’s morning routine.

If you’re a pilot in Victoria, you know how rare that is.

3. It’s the safest, calmest moment of the day

Victoria’s airspace is complicated — we all know that.

Floatplanes.
Helijet.
Coast Guard.
Military red zones.
Weather that makes promises at ground level it has no intention of keeping at 100 feet.

But at sunrise, everything is quieter.
Aircraft are fewer, winds are lower, the city hasn’t started moving yet, and I can focus on getting a clean, respectful flight in without having to wedge myself between other people’s mornings.

It’s not just convenience — it’s safety.

4. Sunrise lets the Island’s beauty speak for itself

There’s a kind of light you only get at sunrise, where the coastline glows a little differently and the waves seem to hold their breath for a minute.

Willows Beach looks softer.
Esquimalt Lagoon feels bigger.
Coal Island feels older.
Parksville looks like it was designed for mornings.

I can get good footage at other times, of course.
But sunrise brings out the character of this place in a way nothing else does.

You don’t have to force the shot.
You just show up, launch, and let Vancouver Island do what it does.

5. It’s the only time the day really belongs to me

By mid-morning, life is already happening at full speed.
Work. Parenting. Errands. Weather closing in again.
Normal life stuff.

But sunrise?
That’s mine.

It’s a small window of calm before the schedule starts — a quiet moment I get to share with my son when he’s with me, or just enjoy alone on the shoreline when it’s one of those solo flights.

It’s a moment that resets things.
A reminder that the Island is still beautiful, still patient, and still here no matter what yesterday looked like.

6. It’s where my best footage lives

If you look through my videos — Willows, Coal Island, Parksville, the Westshore beaches — you’ll notice they all have something in common:

Most of them happened in the soft light of sunrise.

Not because I’m chasing some dreamy Instagram effect, but because that’s when the Island feels like itself. And that’s when the drone feels like it belongs there, not interrupting anything or anyone.

Sunrise is when the Island lets you film it without asking for anything in return.

7. Maybe that’s why sunrise has become my ritual

It’s peaceful.
It’s simple.
It’s honest.
It’s safe.
It’s cinematic.
And it feels like the right way to begin a day on Vancouver Island.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it.

If you enjoy these quiet moments as much as I do, there will be plenty more — new sunrises, new beaches, new little stories from around the Island, all filmed before most people have finished their first cup of coffee.

Thanks for being here for them.

Related Flights & Articles

Why Vancouver Island Is Perfect for Quiet, Cinematic Aerial Stories
A reflection on why this coast, this light, and these landscapes lend themselves so well to calm, sunrise-first flying.

Drones in Victoria, BC – What You Need to Know Before You Fly
A practical, local look at rules, airspace, and what responsible flying actually means around Greater Victoria.

Aerial Photography & Video in Victoria – Why Everything Starts With a Conversation
How I approach thoughtful, safety-first aerial work for locals while keeping the same calm, West Coast storytelling style.