Don’t suppose anyone has any ideas on good places to go for dive practice, besides Willington. Not that i would suggest ever diving things in cities, that is kind of what i am looking for. Tower block style, 20-40m drop in a place where i won’t attract large amounts of attentions. It doesn’t have to be tower block style either. Big cliffs would do. I did wonder about Flamborough, but it’s a bit of a trek to get out there. Scarborough or Whitby are the same (in places).
I know of one or two things down south that could be used for that purpose, but up here in Yorkshire I can’t really think of any that aren’t in any of the cities.
So I thought I’d ask on here, in case any of you have any ideas.
Feel free to PM if you want to keep spots away from public eyes.
There are a couple in Sheffield I could probably get away with on occasion if done really early morning and not in the middle of winter, but none of them are really allowed if you follow the rules, although technically you wouldn’t be flying over people. There are a few tower blocks littered around the city that would be ideal for the odd dive, but same scenario as above. Technically there are some places near the old ski slope, or even the old ski slope, but that brings in other issues in the vicinity. Stannage and it’s surrounding areas are ok, but a bit rocky. I suppose quarries might also work too but there aren’t many abandoned ones that i know of around here.
The site at Halifax isn’t that big, if it’s the old mill. It looks big on pictures, but reality wise, it isn’t that big.
Someone did Emley Moor the other week. That is one that I would love to dive. Don’t know if it was someone on here and probably shouldn’t ask. There are a couple of other radio towers like that, but I’m mindful of flying near high powered transmitters for obvious reasons, not to mention retrieving a downed quad in those places would be tricky.
Malham Cove is on the list of places, along with a few other similar places. Unfortunately most of the old industrial chimneys are now gone. But North of the border there seems to still be a fair amount of old industrial buildings still sat around and pretty much abandoned.
But as for places around here I honestly can’t think of many that are not touristy hotspots like Castleton or in areas that would be sketchy to fly in (let alone against the rules if you were a rule follower). There are places to fly around Sheffield, but not really to dive.
Parts of the old Cannon brewery are possible.
The back of the main electricity substation (opposite Waitrose) has a car park behind it, it’s not in a residential area, and has a couple of walls that are possible, but probably only smaller quads, like whoops and toothpicks and only when no one is around (early Sunday morning). The other thing is it isn’t all that high, maybe 20m tops. I’ve sat on the roof of it when i was younger.
Horseshoe Quarry nr Eyam. I haven’t flown this, so don’t take my word for it. it’s a climbing place, open access and probably not ideal on weekends. It’s situated probably more in Yith’s back yard. Maybe he has flown there.
Quarry next to the National Tramways Museum at Crich. I think this is the FPV hotspot that I’ve seen in a few YT videos. I’ve never flown here either.
Darlton Quarry near to Horseshoe Quarry, Eyam
So sites I use to research new spots (apart from Google Maps).
I’ve not been to any of the Quarries near Eyam. I’m not sure what they’re like. It’s hard to tell from Google Maps. (Heh, they’re actually blanked out on the OS Maps!!) I found it on a climbing site. Looks like a fairly decent dive spot.
I’ve also not been to the quarry at Crich. I’ve always been a little unsure about access… I don’t fancy flying it when the tramway museum is open, but when it’s closed the gate is well and truly locked.
Peter’s Stone is quite nice to dive down. But not huge.
I’ve fancied going up to the Alport Castles, but it’s a bit out of my way.
I have been to a quarry near Matlock… Not massive for diving, but fun.
Snowdonia is next year, maybe Cumbria too. I fancy climbing up Crib Goch again and maybe do a couple of Cine flights up there. Probably camp at the Snowdon Base Camp site by the lake over from the YHA Ranger Station, then use the Ranger path to summit. If you walked up really early and hit the summit for 5-6am, you could probably rip a few packs without any distractions. Or at least that is what i would probably do, then head back down and go find some other spots to fly in the afternoon, although they also (totally offtopic) have a mine experience in that area where you spend a day underground climbing and doing zip lines, which looks like a good laugh.
Porth Wen brickworks on Anglesey has a pretty sweet chimney, not to mention seems good for general quad ripping. Something for April/May maybe.
I might nip out to Eyam and do some recon on those quarries. The horseshoe one seems to be very much a climber place, but the other one seems to just be abandoned and might be better for ripping. I think as long as you weren’t making a tit of yourself or making a racket, the climbers would probably be fine if you flew away from them. But if the other one was doable, it might be better. There is a third one in between the other two as well. There may also be another sort of quarry site over Woodhead way, North of Crowden, but not as big the ones near Eyam.
As for Wind Turbines, saw a video where someone was being an ass out at the Treeton turbines. Right up to the point one of the Turbine owners/staff came up and had words. Was posted a month or two back on YT and has now been taken down.
I might do the Alport Castles and recon the Crowden quarry in a single day. They aren’t massively far from each other. Sometime in the new year when it’s dry (and maybe take the Meteor85 for a blast while I’m at it).
not flow it, but been there (bit far from me now):
it does get busy with walkers, but maybe a good quiet time could be found.
just seen it listed above… used in harry potter.
Oh dear… ignore Malham Cove: you may get done for disturbing some breeding birds {best to check first!}
probably avoid their nesting from march until June / July as a clear window (maybe could fly in the winter…, wear your big boy or women pants and take responsibility for your actions… + do your research) Peregrine Falcon Nest Sites and Breeding Habits - The RSPB.
Other possibilities that I’ve kind of thought of (and seen others doing).
Monsal Head Bridge is probably nice for all sorts of flying malarky.
Hartcliff Tower (apparently on private land) and Solomons Temple are both pretty close to me, so something to go and check out.
Thanks for your suggestion of Folly Towers. You have added to the dive quest. Many new targets, of which most of them are relatively easy to access and dive, the others will require ninja skills to unlock the achievement.
So there is a Folly Tower on the Isle of Man. As crazy as it is.
If anyone else wants to search for them, try this. It’s much better than google maps.
Cool that’s a fair amount of extra stuff to look into.
I thought about lighthouses. There are a few that would be interesting to fly around and dive. Cliffs as well. I know a handful in Wales and obviously most of the East coast from Hull upwards is pretty sweet.
Is the white cliffs of Dover allowed? It’s pretty near to the ferry port and the National Trust (Nazis) are bound to have a serious hard on for tracking down drone pilots (not that i honestly care). It is on my to do list. I think if you do it at the place below and fly something small, like a 2.5 or 3" no one would probably care.
I think those people with an A2 seem to think they can dive anywhere due to the ticket, based on some of the A2 pilots i’ve seen posting videos. I don’t have any interest in getting tickets at present. Maybe some day, when everyone works out exactly what is happening. For now the whole rules and regs are a complete mess.
I feel sorry for those people losing their houses to the sea, but, they bought or built a house on a cliff. Like people that buy a house on a flood plain and then complain when it gets flooded. Use common sense when buying a house.
It doesn’t make it impossible to fly/dive there. It just adds an additional difficulty factor that needs to be considered. Stealth tactics and maybe fly after 6pm or even later (in the summer). Or get there super early and fly at 5-6am.
That area is massive and given cutbacks in staff nowadays and the failing economy, it’s unlikely they will be able to pay for as many staff, which bodes well for people wanting to fly these areas. Less staff/rangers equals more possibilities of getting flights done in places that might have been hard, in the past and less chances of being moved on.
Here is one for you PathfinderFPV, bit OT I know, seems to be a lot of concern of take off and landing permission from private property (well anything you don’t own or is public realm… i.e. NT, EH etc) how does this apply as I always now do a hand takeoff and landing (DJI Mini 3 Pro, so easy, just got an Avata and starting my A2 CoC now, but again very easy to do, no landing pad required + no dust / prop damage on loose ground / grass etc {mud is actually my bug bear at the moment})
I tend to take off from the roof of my van and land back inside it through the side door, if I’m flying interesting places or maybe ripping in a random supermarket car park. It makes for a quick getaway if needed.
Mostly I don’t have access to quads that fly LR, so taking off quarter of a mile from the place i’m flying and then going back is too far, especially if I want to do some freestyle while I’m there. But then most of the places I (and other FPV pilots) fly tend to be places were Joe Public would never go anyway. Yes they are probably private property, but abandoned/derelict and generally avoided by most.
I tend to avoid NT/EH land as most of those places are not really good for FPV. They are more suited to the DJI end of the hobby that prefer leisurely flights and make videos, than people that spend 3-4 mins doing power loops through every perceivable gap that can be found.
So if I stand on the beach at low tide and fly from there, they can take a flying leap since it’s crown estate land. That is a good thing to know as it opens up most places next to beaches.
As for A2, I don’t fly near people, nor like to be near people when flying. I don’t want Joe Bloggs to come up and start talking to me when i have goggles on, or even to start talking to me full stop. I just want peace and quiet while I fly or maybe some music on occasion. Just no people or maybe only other FPV people.
just seen it listed above… used in harry potter.
