> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.verge.aero/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.verge.aero/drone-show-software/verge-web-portal/shows/site-maps.md). # Site Maps Build a briefing-ready site plan for a show — flight area, restricted zones, staging, crew and road closures — and get it cleared to render. A **Site Map** is the plan of the physical show site: the flight area, restricted zones, staging and launch positions, audience, parking, emergency access, crew positions and road closures, drawn over satellite imagery and exported as a PDF with a legend, scale bar, north arrow and title block — or as a KML file for Google Earth and GIS tools. It is the artifact you hand to people who were not in the planning meeting — the FAA Flight Standards District Office on the 72-hour notice, the venue, local fire and police, and your own crew on show day. Because it is built from the show it describes, the drone count on the plan is the one the rest of the portal already holds, and the altitude is the ceiling the map itself authorizes, rather than numbers copied across by hand. Site maps also carry the **authorized flight area** — the airspace, ceiling and dates your show is cleared to fly in. This replaces the separate Flight Authorization step that existed previously. ## Creating a Show and its Site Map Click **Create New Show** — from the Shows workspace sidebar or the Shows table. The **Create a Show** modal opens in place, so you do not lose the page you were on. It asks for a name and a date, and gives you a map to set the flight area on. Drone count, altitude ceiling and **Site map valid until** sit alongside; renders are refused after that date until it is extended. The quickest way to set the area is to **Set centre point** and choose a radius — the same way a NOTAM describes a flight ring. If you would rather trace the exact area, the polygon tool is one click away on the map's own toolbar. A site map is created with the show only when you set a flight area here; otherwise the show's first render creates one (see [Rendering](#rendering)). If you already have a design file, use **Upload a show file** — or **Or copy from a past show** — instead. * A **`.packedshow`** is your design. Upload it here and it is **rendered when the show is created**, so you do not upload the same file again on the Renders tab. The drone count is read from the file straight away. The traced flight area and restricted zone are added to the map when the render finishes, as editable zones; if the file was saved after a render in the Design Studio, it already carries them and its restricted zone becomes the flight area immediately. * A **`.vbake`**, or **copying from a past show**, is a render that already exists, so it fills the flight area and drone count straight away with nothing left to run — the flight area is the render's restricted zone, or its flight area if it has none. Copying a past show also brings that render's ceiling, where it recorded one; an uploaded `.vbake` does not, so set the ceiling yourself. An imported area lands on the map fully editable, so you can adjust it rather than accept it as-is. Choose **Advanced** if you want to fill in the rest of the show's details — venue, personnel, resources — at the same time. Advanced cannot set the flight area, so set that first if you have it.

The Create a Show modal, with the flight area set as a centre point and radius.

## Airspace around your site Wherever you set or draw a flight area — the Create a Show map and the site map editor — the map shows the **FAA airspace around your site**, so you can see what the area touches while you draw it. Zoom in on the site and it loads on its own; the **Airspace** switch above the map hides it when you want a clean view. The legend above the map lists only what is actually nearby: * **Class B, C, D and E airspace**, in the colours and line styles of a sectional chart — B and D blue, C and E magenta, D and E dashed. * **UAS facility grids**, labelled with each grid's ceiling in feet as you zoom in. * **Prohibited and restricted areas**, and **MOA, warning and alert areas**. * **Special flight rules areas**, such as the Washington DC SFRA and Flight Restricted Zone. * **National security no-fly areas**, full time and part time. * **Airports**, and **stadiums** with the 3 NM ring that is restricted while an event is on. * **Temporary flight restrictions (TFRs)**, labelled with the NOTAM number and when each is in effect. * **Stadium events**: stadiums with a game or event scheduled, labelled with the next one. The ring turns solid while an event is under way. TFRs and stadium events are read live from the FAA; everything else is refreshed from the FAA's published data every night. If the live sources cannot be reached, the legend says so rather than showing the area as clear.

Around the National Mall: the standing DC TFR, the flight restrictions around Reagan National, national security no-fly areas, Nationals Park's 3 NM ring, and two stadiums with events coming up.

South Philadelphia: UAS facility grids labelled with their ceilings, the Navy Yard's no-fly areas, and Lincoln Financial Field marked with its next scheduled event.

{% hint style="info" %} **The overlay is a planning aid, not a clearance.** It cannot guarantee that every restriction is shown or current. Before every show, check your waiver, [tfr.faa.gov](https://tfr.faa.gov) and the other steps in [How do you check airspace before you fly?](broken://pages/DINGpj95vswyoejkg05B) {% endhint %} ## Rendering **You do not need a flight area before you render.** If a show has no site map, submitting a render creates one. When the render finishes, a map that still has no flight area is given one: a **1 km-wide ring centred on the show file's GPS location**, widened if the show's restricted zone reaches further. You can refine it afterwards. A show file with no GPS location gets no ring — draw the area yourself. When you submit a render, the portal checks that: * the site map has not passed its **valid until** date. This applies to every map, whether or not it has a flight area yet; * your launch positions sit inside the flight area, where the map has one; * the show does not fly higher than the map's ceiling. If it does, you are offered **Raise the ceiling to … and render**: the render starts straight away, and Verge reviews the new ceiling; * if the show has more than one site map, one of them is its **primary** map. Mark it with the star in the Site Maps list or on the show's Site Maps tab. Review is not checked when you submit — see [Review and downloading](#review-and-downloading). {% hint style="warning" %} **The flight area locks once a render succeeds.** This keeps a finished render matched to the airspace it was judged against. If the show moves, create a new site map — they are cheap. Dates and the ceiling stay editable either way, so a map that has expired can simply be extended. Changing either re-runs the approval checks, so a map Verge has reviewed may need reviewing again. {% endhint %} ## Review and downloading Depending on how your organization is set up, site maps may be **reviewed by Verge** before renders can be downloaded. Where that applies: * Renders still run as soon as you submit them. Review never holds up the work — only the download. * A map that clears automatically is downloadable the moment the render finishes. A map goes to Verge for review instead when its flight area is in controlled airspace while that airspace is active, is inside a national security no-fly area, or is touched by a TFR or a stadium event during the map's dates — the reviewer sees which. * Review holds only the `.vbake` — the file your drones fly. VViz and Depence previsualization files download straight away, so you can preview the show while review is pending. * When a render finishes, whoever submitted it is emailed, telling them whether it is ready or what it is waiting on: review, a flight area still to draw, or changes after a denial. When a map holding renders is approved — by Verge, or automatically once a change passes the checks — everyone with a finished render on it is emailed that their renders are released. The map's creator is told Verge's decision — approved or denied — with any message from the reviewer. Each map shows its state on the show's **Site Maps** tab and in the organization-wide list below: **Draft** (no flight area yet), **Awaiting approval**, **Auto-approved**, **Approved**, **Denied** or **No approval needed**, with a separate **Expired** badge once its valid-to date has passed. **Shows → Renders** lists every render, and its **Download held** filter shows the ones waiting on a map and why. ## Your organization's site maps **Shows → Site Maps** lists every site map your organization owns, so you are not opening shows one at a time to find the one that needs you. It opens on **Needs attention** — anything still a draft, awaiting or denied review, or past its valid-to date — with **Cleared** and **All** beside it, and a search box for site map or show names. Click a row to edit that map in place, and **Back to all site maps** to return. Each row also has quick actions: view the flight area's location, make the map the show's **primary** site map, and **Download PDF** without opening it.

The organization-wide Site Maps list, filtered to maps needing attention.

## Drawing the site plan Open a site map from the show's **Site Maps** tab, or from the organization-wide list. The first time, the editor opens framed on your flight area and whatever is already drawn; after that it reopens where you left it. The editor is laid out in three columns: * **Left — tools:** *Draw*, *Quick-add points*, *Quick add (exact size)*, *Show context (live)*, *Trace & buffer* and *Map & export display*. * **Centre — the map**, with a location search, the **Satellite / Hybrid / Roadmap / Terrain** switch, the **Authorized Flight Area** button and **Full screen** above it. * **Right — Properties** for whatever is selected, and the **Zones & Landmarks** list. **Save Site Map**, **Export PDF** and **Export KML** sit along the bottom, with a note of whether everything is saved. The portal warns you before you leave with unsaved changes. * Draw **polygons, rectangles, circles, landmarks and text labels**, and **measure** distances. Each shape is assigned a category that drives its colour and its legend entry. * Turn on **dimensions** for any zone, set its fill opacity, and use **hatching** to mark no-access areas. * **Lock** an item from the Zones & Landmarks list so it cannot be moved by accident. Copy and paste (Ctrl/Cmd+C, Ctrl/Cmd+V) duplicates the selection; Delete removes it; Esc cancels a drawing. * **Quick-add points** drops **PIC**, **VO**, **Security** and **Road Closure** markers at the centre of the map, ready to drag into place. PIC, Visual Observer and Security group under **Crew** in the legend, and repeats collapse to a single entry such as *Visual Observer ×3*. * Set **Zone labels on map** to **Number only** where the map is crowded — the full titles stay in the legend. The authorized flight area is drawn in amber so it reads clearly over satellite imagery, and never shares a colour with a restricted zone. Click it on the map to move it or drag its corners, or select a zone you drew and choose **Set as authorized flight area**. Its ceiling, dates and approval are under the **Authorized Flight Area** button. **Show context (live)** turns on the parts of the plan that come from the show rather than from your drawing: the **Venue marker**, the **Authorized flight area**, and a **Safety buffer** ring at a distance you choose. The authorized flight area switch governs the exported PDF and KML as well as the map.

The site map editor, with the authorized flight area in amber and site zones drawn over it.

### Measurement units **Measurement units**, in *Map & export display*, chooses between **Metric (m, km, ha)** and **Imperial (ft, mi, ac)** for the whole map: dimension labels, areas and lengths in the editor, the size fields and *Trace & buffer* distances, the PDF's scale bar and legend, and the KML. It is saved with the map, so each map can use whichever its readers expect. The altitude ceiling keeps the unit it was authorized in.

### Tracing zones from a show file Rather than tracing your flight area by hand, you can take it from the design itself. The geometry comes from the render engine's own flight paths, including its ballistic and wind projections, so it reflects where the drones actually go. There are three routes: 1. **From a completed render.** Choose *Trace zones from show file* (in *Show context (live)*) and, on **From a render**, pick a completed render — this show's first, then the rest of your organization's. Nothing to upload. Renders finished since September 2026 carry their zones whatever design file they started from, because the zones are taken from the render itself. Useful for an annual event at the same venue: start from last year's render. 2. **From a `.vbake` you upload**, on **Upload a .vbake**. For a render this portal does not hold — an older show, or one rendered elsewhere. Design files are not accepted here: the flight area and restricted zone are computed by the render engine, so a `.packedshow` carries them only if it was saved after a render, and not every one is. A `.vbake` always has them. To trace your own show, render it and use route 1. 3. **Automatically.** Tick *Create or update a site map when this render finishes* in the Upload Show File dialog. **Write into** decides where the zones land: the show's existing map by default — only previously traced zones are replaced, so anything you drew by hand is kept — or **A new site map**, which is what to choose when the show has moved. A new map also becomes the airspace the render is judged against, so a show at a new venue is not measured against the old venue's boundary. Traced zones arrive as **Flight Area**, **Restricted Zone** and **Launch Area** — ordinary editable shapes, so adjust them as you would anything you drew. Tracing also fills in the drone count unless you have set one yourself. Re-tracing replaces only the zones that came from a show file, so your parking, crew positions and road closures survive.

Tracing the flight area and restricted zone from a completed render.

### Trace and buffer A site plan usually needs more than one ring — a traced outline, and a margin around it. **Trace & buffer** builds the margin: point **Buffer from** at a zone you have selected or at the authorized flight area, pick a preset — **+5, +10, +25 or +50 m**, or **+25, +50, +100 or +150 ft** on an imperial map — or type a distance, choose the category for the result under **Add as**, and click **Add buffered zone**. It always adds a new zone and keeps the original, which is the point — you end up with both rings, not a replaced one. How much margin a site needs depends on the site, the crowd line, and what your FSDO will accept, which is why the buffer is a tool you point at an outline rather than a number the portal invents for you.

Trace & buffer, building a margin ring around the authorized flight area.

## Exporting **Export PDF** and **Export KML** sit at the bottom of the editor. Both export the map as it is on screen, so you can change a setting — the units, say — and export again straight away without saving. ### The PDF Frame the export to **all content** or to your **current map view**, in portrait or landscape, and choose where the legend and title block sit. The title block carries the show's details and your organization's logo — or a different image per map, if you upload one. Choose whether the location reads as an address, a venue name, coordinates, or address plus coordinates; long addresses wrap rather than truncate. Your on-site contacts, pulled from the show's personnel, are listed in the legend column. The logo, location format and drone count are set under *Map & export display*. The map carries a **scale bar** — in the map's measurement units — and a north arrow. When the *Authorized flight area* switch is on, the **Authorized Flight Area** is drawn and takes the first row of the legend, under that exact label, whatever you named the zone you drew — so a reader looking for the airspace the plan is about finds it without interpreting your legend.

An exported site plan: the authorized flight area first in the legend, the scale bar top left.

### KML **Export KML** saves the same plan as data, for Google Earth, GIS tools and your own show documentation. It holds the authorized flight area with its ceiling (and the safety buffer, if it is on), every zone numbered as in the PDF legend with its area and notes, measurements, crew and landmarks, and text labels — each in its own folder, in the colours you drew them. Hidden items are left out, and the *Show context* switches apply as they do to the PDF. ## Troubleshooting | What you see | What it means | | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **"No renders with traceable zones"** | Nothing in your organization has finished a render yet. Renders from before September 2026 can also be missing here if the design file they were given carried no zones of its own — re-render the show and it will be listed. | | **"Zones are traced from a render, so this needs a `.vbake`"** | You picked a design file. A `.vbake` always carries the flight area and restricted zone; a design file only does if it was saved after a render. Render the show and trace from the render instead. | | **"This file has no traceable geometry"** | The file carries no flight area, restricted zone or launch area — most likely it was saved before the show was rendered. Render it, then trace from the render. | | **Restricted zone missing after tracing** | The render's engine version predates restricted zones. Keep **Add a computed restricted zone** ticked when tracing, or re-render on a current version. | | **Zones in the wrong place** | Check the render you picked belongs to this venue — the picker shows how far each option is from the show's location. | | **A render will not submit** | The site map has passed its valid-to date, your launch positions fall outside the flight area, the show flies above the map's ceiling, or the show has several site maps and none is primary. The message says which: extend the dates, widen the area, raise the ceiling, or star a primary map. | | **A render will not download** | The map is awaiting review, was denied, or is still a draft with no flight area drawn — waiting will not help a draft, so draw the area. **Shows → Renders**, filtered to *Download held*, shows the reason for each, and you will be emailed when the map is approved. | | **The flight area cannot be edited** | It locked when a render succeeded against it. Create a new site map to fly a different area; dates and the ceiling can still be changed. | *** For the rest of the production lifecycle, see [Creating and Rendering](/drone-show-software/verge-web-portal/shows/creating-and-rendering.md) and [Logistics, Collaboration, and Coordination](/drone-show-software/verge-web-portal/shows/logistics-collaboration-and-coordination.md).