The Reason to Fly Photo Challenge 20th July to August 2nd - Rocks - Vote for the Winners

The membership, in their collective wisdom, have voted for:

In the immortal words of the Pub Landlord, “Where would we be without rules?” * So, to avoid any unpleasantness, here they are:

RULES

The requirement is to submit a single still image created using a drone to illustrate the subject of the competition. This round will run from 00:01 Sunday 20th July until 23:00 Saturday August 2nd, the subject is Rocks

The image must be captured while the competition is open. It is a Reason To Fly Challenge so please show that the image is created by a flying camera!

Editing is confined to colour and exposure adjustments and crop only. There must be no removal or pasting of an object. Stacked images, HDR images and non-spherical panoramas are considered single images for the purposes of this competition.

Images must be posted with the following information as a minimum:

In Capitals as the first line of your post:

THIS IS MY ENTRY

If this is not done at the time of posting the picture will be ignored. Should it be necessary to change your picture then delete the previous picture and add “This is my entry” - as above - as the first line of your new post. If in any doubt contact the Challenges Committee
(@Challenges_Committee)

Further Information is required

  • Location
  • Time and date
  • Aircraft/camera used
  • Feel free to add any further information that you think will be of interest

Voting

The members of GADC will judge images. They may vote for any number of pictures through an anonymous poll open for two days after the closing date for competition entries.

Voting in the poll is open to all GADC members, whether they have entered the competition or not.

The Challenge Committee may request the original media in case of a dispute.

Schedule

The competition subject will be announced every second Saturday around 22:30. The subject will be chosen by a poll of GADC members selecting from three that have been picked at random from the subject list. You may make additions to the list at any time.

The competition will run from Sunday 00.01 to Saturday 23.00 fourteen days later. Voting by poll will be open for a further two days until Monday 22:00

The winner (and second and third-placed competitors if there are sufficient entries) will be announced shortly after the vote is closed

Have Fun! Be Safe!

All flights are the sole responsibility of the individual conducting them. Each competitor must abide by the drone code and adhere to the limitations and restrictions imposed upon them by aviation law, the aircraft being used and the qualifications they hold. * France! And where would we be if we had too many rules? Germany! If a flight is undertaken in a restricted zone proof of permission having been granted is required.

E&OE

@group-challenges

2 Likes

Rocks :thinking:
We need another meet @ the coast asap ( like tommorrow ) :rofl::+1:

Given the wind and rain forecast you may end up inspecting the rocks from rather closer than you wish …

3 Likes

I’ve got pebbles in the back garden it’s like Brighton beach maybe that will suffice ! :sweat_smile:

One thing there is plenty of around this part of the country but, no drone for now.

IMG_0441

THIS IS MY ENTRY

  • Location: Little Clett Rock, Brough Harbour, Caithness
  • Time and Date: 22/07/2025 @ 13:30
  • Aircraft/Camera Used: DJI Air 3S, 70mm lens

A trip out to Dunnet Head today meant an opportunity to stop off at Little Clett in Brough Harbour. Little Clett is a sea stack of red sandstone.

I was reminded of Little Clett (which I visited often as a teenager) whilst watching the lifeboat return to Scrabster Harbour yesterday afternoon and then reading that they’d been out on a shout to rescue an eejit who had been caught out by the tide, a poor choice in leg wear, and a crippling fear of jelly fish! Something tells me that particular rescue may well end up on a future episode of Saving Lives at Sea :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

12 Likes

No poll for the next round’s subjects tonight.

RTF is going on holiday for six weeks.

Which may leave you wondering what Reasons To Fly may be left. Maybe a Birthday Challenge and Treasure Hunt will fill the void …

@group-challenges

6 Likes

THIS IS MY ENTRY

Location - Black Rocks, near Cromford Derbyshire
Time and Date - 27 Jul 25 @ 08:25
Aircraft/Camera Used - DJI Mavic 3 Pro

Quick run out this morning before the weather came in to Black Rocks, beautiful site and nice and quiet early in the morning.

Black Rocks, is a small outcrop of ashover gritstone, between Cromford and Wirksworth in Derbyshire, the Peak District. The crag has been a well-known traditional climbing venue since the 1890s, and features in the early 1913 guidebook, Some Gritstone Climbs

The Black Rocks site was mined for lead, the spoil on the scree slope leading up to Black Rocks supports many interesting lead tolerant plants (leadworts). The scree slope is an ideal place to search for a variety of rocks and minerals. Other interesting habitats can be explored from Black Rocks, since it is near the boundary between limestone and gritstone.

10 Likes

THIS IS MY ENTRY

Location: Robin Hood’s Stride, near Bakewell, Derbyshire
Date/Time: 28/7/25 10:09 a.m.
Aircraft: DJI Mini 4 Pro

Robin Hood’s Stride is a rock formation on the Limestone Way in Derbyshire close to the village of Elton.
It consists of gritstone boulders deeply seamed by water flows.
The two “pinnacles” are Weasel pinnacle and Inaccessible pinnacle.

13 Likes

THIS IS MY ENTRY

Location - Castle Rock, Nottingham.
Time and Date - 27 Jul 25 @ 20:18
Aircraft/Camera Used - DJI Mini 3 Pro

Nottingham Castle stands on a natural promontory of sandstone known as Castle Rock. This sandstone formation is part of the Sherwood Sandstone Group and is characterized by its reddish-brown color and pebbly composition. The sandstone cliffs of Castle Rock provide a commanding position for the castle, with 130-foot drops to the south and west.

10 Likes

THIS IS MY ENTRY

The Auld Wives Lifts, Baldernock, East Dunbartonshire.

13:22, 31.7.25.

DJI Mini 4 Pro

These amazing boulders are thought to have been deposited by a glacier. The configuration is unusual in that one boulder is sitting on top of the other two. Folklore tells you that they were hurled there by three witches. No one knows the answer!

8 Likes

THIS IS MY ENTRY

Symonds Yat Rock, Forest of Dean
14:00 01/08/25
DJI Air 3S / 70mm

The limestone outcrop site was once an Iron Age hillfort, built around 2,500 years ago. Remains of earthworks, banks, and ditches are still visible today. It’s protected as a scheduled ancient monument. Rising approximately 500 ft (150 m) above the River Wye, the Rock offers panoramic views across the valley, including the Forest of Dean and Coppett Hill.

It’s considered one of the best bird‑watching spots in the country. Peregrine falcons nest on the cliffs each spring, with patience, you might also spot goshawks, sparrowhawks, buzzards, migrating ospreys, tawny owls, barn owls, ravens and kestrels.

8 Likes

THIS IS MY ENTRY

The Hill Of Names, Great Orme,Llandudno

8am, 24th July
Dji mini 3 pro

9 Likes

THIS IS MY ENTRY

Norwegian Rocks on a Hampshire Beach

Mavic Air 2
2nd August 2025 16:49:08
Eastoke Point, Hayling Island

In 2013 a £5 million project to strengthen Hayling Island’s flood defences and protect 1800 homes bagan. About 70,000 tonnes of granite and 25,000 tonnes of shingle were placed on the beach at Eastoke Point to create 650m of revetment and four new groynes.

The rock was imported from Norway as it is denser than locally availble rock such as Portland stone - it still gets hifted by the seas though! Barges carried the rock from its Norwegian source and moored offshore from Eastoke Point. The rock was transferred to smaller barges and then brought as close as possible at high tide when it was dumped over the side. As the tide receded construction machinery was used to manoeuvre the rocks into place. Work was completed in six months.

8 Likes

THIS IS MY ENTRY

Edinburgh castles rock face

Time & date 02.08.25 - 18.30

Drone - DJI Mini 3

7 Likes

Oops missed this one. Funny how the dead line creeps up slowly then whoosh gone! Hey ho!

Time to vote for the best of the best. Only nine entries this time so you have up to three votes for your favourite pictures. The poll closes at 22:00 on Monday, August 4th.

The RTF Challenge is temporarily closed while the organisers take their buckets and spades to the coast for rest and relaxation. Competitors needn’t worry, there is a great big Birthday Challenge and Treasure Hunt to occupy the six weeks until RTF returns! :slight_smile:

@group-challenges

1 Like

Our winners are - in third place @MB4K3R with an image of Castle Rock, the volcanic plug that Edinburgh Castle sits upon:

In second place is Rob @macspite who, despite our precautions, seems to have wormed his way back into the challenge from which he has been previously excluded. He’s presented us with an image of rocks that he claims came by barge all the way from Norway to grace a beach in Southern England - a likely story!

Which brings us to our winner; first place is claimed by Bryan @bryand with a picture of Robin Hood’s Stride (also known as Mock Beggar’s Mansion and it’s two pinnacle rocks - Weasel Pinnacle, graded a difficult climb and Inaccessible Pinacle which, as the name suggests, has the grade of Very Difficult.

Well done to the three of them and thank you to the select band who got out and took pictures for this particular RTF.

We are now off for the summer but youare invited to spend the next six weeks planning for and completing a series of tasks that make up this year’s Grey Arrows Drone Club Birthday Challenge and Treasure Hunt!

@group-challenges

9 Likes

Congratulations everyone some cracking shots as always

Well done everyone :clap: Really interesting entries as usual!