Darlton Quarry - Added to FPV in East Midlands

Where to fly your drone in the UK
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I have just added this to the map of places to fly your drone at Drone Scene:

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Land owner permission requirements unknown.

No permission needed as it's an abandoned quarry. One part was used in the recent Mission Impossible Film.

Precautions: Cliffs can be unstable. Rocks have fallen down while i've been flying, so be aware and don't setup at the bottom of the cliffs. There are some holes in the ground in certain parts of Area 3. Climbers can be found in Area 3 as well, sometimes.

See this thread for more details.

https://greyarro.ws/t/darlton-quarry/64072

The originator declared that this location was not inside a Flight Restriction Zone at the time of being flown on 15/06/2023. It remains the responsibility of any pilot to check for any changes before flying at the same location.

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So decided to make a guide of sorts for those that make the trip to here.

P = Parking areas
1,2,3 = The three main areas at Darlton
C = Climbers, where climbers can be found sometimes
E = Entry points
X = Place to setup and fly from. Assess them before you commit. The one on the hill in Area 3 is downright sketchy to get to, but offers almost a complete view of the entire area.

So to get into all areas apart from 1 requires climbing over gates or fence.

If you are looking for an easy place to fly or practice, then Area 1 is probably the easiest to fly from and get to. Be aware the big cliff is sketchy and rocks have fallen off it when i’ve been there. Also a stupid number of crows live in the area and have been known to have a go at me while flying (if they are flying over your head, fly back to yourself and do a couple of passes over your head).

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Area 1 Video:

You’ve probably seen my videos of this area. It’s the easiest to get to and a big open space. Good for general flying and wall/dive practice.

Area 2 Video:

Went to this new area today. Perfect place for micros and smaller quads. The area is pretty small, so never going to work for bigger quads. But the bowl shaped wall area is sweet for dives and anything wall related.

Apologies for the video, it was my first pack, first time I flew the area and my hands were shaking like crazy. Flew it in Angle to be safe.

Area 3 Video

This is the biggest area. You can literally fly probably anything in it. it is long enough and big enough for anything maybe up to 6", possibly bigger. Total length, half a mile maybe, possibly more.

I flew two packs here, but was being molested by flies and getting overly dehydrated. Also I didn’t do anything amazing since I was there to test the rebuild of the Flea and it was too hot.

If you go to Darlton, be very wary of the cliffs. Rocks do fall from them from time to time. When i was there in winter, probably 20-30 football sized rocks came down from the cliffs in Area 1. Some of the rocks that have come down in Area 3 are boulder level. Another thing watch where you put your feet. There are tops of cliffs all over the place that you could be stood on, at the edge, without realising, so be careful.

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Looks like this would make a great addition to the FPV category of Drone Scene :blush:

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I’m adding it right now. :slight_smile:

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Can you merge this topic into the one that DroneScene created?

Sorry, first time I added something to DroneScene.

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Will do!

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Thanks.

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New video of Area 2 for anyone interested. Went back out and flew a few packs this afternoon and this was the best of the six videos. It’s better than the original one and more in fitting with what I like to do out there.