The General Drone-Related Thread

The Alston Observatory - Jeremiah Horrocks Institute - UCLAN

The Alston Observatory is the purpose-built teaching and public outreach facility of the Jeremiah Horrocks Institute. It comprises a group of both modern and historical telescopes, a new Discovery Dome planetarium system and an exhibit on Telescopes as Time Machines funded by the Royal Astronomical Society.

A research-grade facility located near Preston, the observatory is run by enthusiastic astronomers from the University of Central Lancashire, the facility is accessible to the public during special monthly open evenings from October through March.

The centerpiece is the brand new Moses Holden Telescope, a 70 cm diameter state-of-the-art robotic telescope used for both undergraduate teaching and to encourage public engagement in science. Alongside the MHT we also have a range of smaller robotic telescopes ranging in size from 20 to 30 cm in diameter. Additionally there is the historic Wilfred Hall Telescope hosted on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society.

The Discovery Dome is an exciting system that allows a laptop computer and digital projector to display movies onto a planetarium dome, located in our main building, as well as enhanced planetarium shows. This enables both informative material to be presented for evening events, and educational material for curriculum enhancement.

The musical accompaniment is the Blue Danube Waltz composed by Johann Strauss - performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra which is used in the Stanley Kubrick masterpiece "2001 - A Space Oddyssy"

My thanks go to Mark Norris for the info to "X"- formerly known as Twitter!".


Paul.
 
St Bartholomew’s church was established before 1230, the tower being added around 1450 and was rebuilt in 1506, with chantries added to the north and south of the altar in 1519 and 1530. The font, dating from 1520, was a gift from the Bradley family of Bradley Hall and the family initials are on the shields decorating the sides.

The church was altered again in 1706 and in 1754 a west gallery was added for the choir and orchestra. John Wesley preached in the church in 1752 but was prevented from returning in 1753.

A major restoration was carried out in 1873 during which the west gallery was removed and the windows of the building were extensively restored, it is mostly due to this work that the fabric of the church is in such good condition.

The church stands on rising ground at the north-west side of the village and consists of chancel and nave with north and south aisles, south porch, west tower and a modern vestry at the northeast corner of the north aisle.

Chipping village is home to two wonderful pubs - The Sun Inn and Tilly's - and the delightful Brabins village store and cafe.

Music by Enya: Atheir Ar Neamh


Paul.
 
Plover Scar Lighthouse & Hitchcock's "The Birds" !


On the south edge of the Morecambe Bay near Glasson Dock, at the mouth of the river Lune sits a modest but beautiful Plover Scar Lighthouse. Built in 1847 it has seen better days but still makes an enjoyable visit it and is the subject of many photos.The lighthouse consists of an 8-metre-high (26 ft) white conical stone tower, with a black lantern and twin galleries, built on a rock ledge that is uncovered at low tide.

With a focal height of 6m above sea level, the light can be seen for six nautical miles. Its light characteristic is made up of a flash of white light every two seconds.The lighthouse was built in 1847, as the lower light of a pair of leading lights, and is therefore also called the front or Low Light. The rear or High Light, known as Cockersand Lighthouse, once stood next to the Abbey Lighthouse cottage on Slack Lane. It was a square wooden tower supported by angled wooden struts. The leading lights helped ships navigate into the Lune estuary, to reach Glasson Dock and then onwards via the Lancaster Canal to the port of Lancaster, with Plover Scar marking the rocky outcrop at the edge of the deep water channel into the estuary. Both lighthouses were equipped with a pair of paraffin lamps mounted in parabolic reflectors, each displaying fixed light seawards. In the early 1950s electric lamps replaced the oil lanterns; at the same time the wooden High Light was replaced by a metal framework tower. By the end of the decade the lights were fully automated; the High Light was deactivated some time after 1985 but Plover Scar remains active.

Prior to automation the lighthouse keepers and their families lived in the lighthouse cottage next to the Cockersand lighthouse. Originally the accommodation was incorporated into the base of the lighthouse structure, but was later replaced by the cottage that still stands today. The keepers maintained both lighthouses, walking across to Plover Scar at low tide. The Raby family kept the lights for nearly a century, until 1945 when it was taken over by the Parkinson family. Mrs Parkinson was filmed maintaining the lights in 1948 by the British Pathé news organisation.

In March 2016, the lighthouse was badly damaged when it was struck by a passing commercial vessel, which was navigating its way at night to Glasson Dock. The collision dislodged the upper part of the tower, and although the light continued to operate, substantial reconstruction of the tower was deemed necessary. The subsequent repairs which started in September 2016 meant the stone tower had to be partially dismantled, with the lantern removed for renovation. Over 200 stone blocks from the dismantled tower were taken to a work site on the beach and numbered so that they could be reused when the light was rebuilt. The works also revealed that an extra outer layer of stones had been built around the tower, which had been added in 1856 to create an outer walkway. Although the works were delayed by various factors, they were finally completed in May 2017.


Paul.
 

St Peter's Church is in the village of Scorton, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Garstang, the archdeaconry of Lancaster and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is united with those of All Saints, Barnacre, and St John the Evangelist, Calder Vale. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. Its spire is a landmark near the M6 motorway.

The church was built in 1878–79 for the Ormrod family of Bolton and Wyresdale Hall. The architects were Paley and Austin of Lancaster, and the church cost £14,000. It provided seating for 250 people.

St Peter's is constructed in sandstone rubble, with tiled roofs and a shingled spire. Its plan consists of a nave and a chancel under a continuous roof, a north aisle, a south porch, and a west tower surmounted by a broach spire. The tower has diagonal buttresses, a stair projection on the south side, a doorway on the north side, and a three-light west window with a pointed head.

On the north side of the church is a lychgate dating from the same time as the church, and probably designed by the same architects as the church. It is constructed in oak on a sandstone base, and has a red tiled roof. It is listed at Grade II.The lych gate was renovated in 1988.

Paul.
 
St Helen's Church is an Anglican church in the village of Churchtown in Lancashire, England. Historically, it was the parish church of Garstang; today, as Garstang is split into more than one ecclesiastical parish, St Helen's parish is Garstang St Helen (Churchtown). It is in the Diocese of Blackburn. It has been designated a Grade I listed building by English Heritage. St Helen's is known as the "cathedral of The Fylde".

Historically, the village of Churchtown (once known as Kirkland) was part of the ecclesiastical parish of Garstang, with St Helen's as the parish church. The oldest parts of the church date from the 13th century, these are the piers and responds in the chancel, and the arch piers in the nave.t Helen's is constructed in the Perpendicular style of rubble with ashlar dressings. Its plan consists of a clerestoried nave with aisles to the north and south, a chapel and porch to the south, a tower to the west, and a chancel, which has north and south aisles and a north vestry.

The roofs are low-pitched. The chapel and aisles have a plain ashlar parapet.The west tower has six stages. It has angled buttresses on the west side and a crenellated parapet. There is a turret on its north-east corner, which has a spire. The belfry louvres have trefoiled two-light openings with square heads. There is also a small, square window at the level of the bell-ringing chamber. The north wall of the tower has a clock.

Paul.
 
The Roman Catholic Church of St. Hubert’s was built to the design of Edward Pugin, from, it is believed, with the winnings of the racehorse Kettledrum owned by Colonel Charles Towneley of Towneley Hall, Burnley in the 1861 Epsom Derby.

The church was opened on 2 May 1865 by Richard Roskell the then Roman Catholic Bishop of Nottingham. The medieval font was originally from the ancient church at Burholme near Whitewell.

The east and west windows are by J. B. Capronnier of Brussels and date from 1865. In its early years, the church was served by the Jesuit Order, from Stonyhurst. The middle west window depicts St. Hubert who is the patron saint of hunters, as a huntsman accompanied by a stag.

There is a gabled northwest porch, a sacristy giving off the south side, and a bellcote holding one bell at the west end. The walls have a perimeter plinth and are buttressed at the corners of the nave and around the apse, and there are stone hoodmoulds over the lancet windows. At the west end are triple lancet windows, over a high continuous sill. The roofs are of slate; the original decorative ridge tiles have been lost.

The Forest of Bowland was once a royal hunting forest, and according to legend St. Hubert’s conversion to Christianity took place on a Good Friday when, while hunting a stag, he saw a vision of a cross between its antlers and heard a voice telling him to seek instruction in the Christian faith.


Paul.
 
Nestled under an arc of steep-sided hills, Saint Eadmer's Church occupies a picturesque location in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is located in the secluded hamlet of Bleasdale (“Blesi’s Valley” or “The Bare Spot on the Hillside”), which lies approximately 7 miles east of the Lancashire town of Garstang (“Spear Post”), in the upper valley of the River Brock.

The first church on the site was in fact constructed back in 1577 but it gradually fell into disrepair. The church was rebuilt in 1835 by John Dewhurst and restored/enlarged in 1897.

St Eadmer's Church has a unique dedication, celebrating the Northumbrian monk who discovered the site of Durham Cathedral. Saint Eadmer’s at Bleasdale is the only church in England dedicated to that saint. He was a 10th century Northumbrian monk and apparently it was revealed to him in a vision that the body of Saint Cuthbert should be taken to Durham (“Island with a Hill”) for re-burial, after it had been removed from the Holy Island of Lindisfarne (“Island of the Travellers from Lindsey”) which was starting to come under attack from marauding Vikings. Durham Cathedral would later be constructed over Saint Cuthbert’s tomb and this may explain why the church at Bleasdale was dedicated to Saint Eadmer.



Paul.
 

Dunsop Bridge Trout Farm Ltd was established in 1926 and as such is one of the few older trout farms in the country.Managing Director Phil Mart, started as a farm labourer in 1982 at 18 years old, working his way up to foreman and later became farm manager. In year 2000 he moved to Dunsop Trout Farm as the farm manager.

In 2011 with the help and support from his business partner, Mr Dave Jones, they purchased Dunsop Bridge Trout Farm . In 2019 the business of Costa Springs and Sinnington Trout Farms were purchased to allow them to expand.

My thanks to Phil for letting me fly there and produce this video.

Paul.
 
Our Lady & All Saints RC Church, Parbold

The Church was built by Edmund Kirby between May 1878 and May 1884 at a cost of £12,000. It is constructed of Sandstone rubble with slate roofs. It comprises a western Tower, 165 feet high, with Spire, Nave with Clerestory, north and south Aisles, south main Porch and minor Porch, lowered Chancel, north Chapel, south Chapel and south Vestry.

The Tower has angle buttresses and corner pinnacles, a bell stage with trefoiled lancet openings and a 4-light west window with traceried head. The stone Spire has lucarnes.

The Nave is of five bays. The Clerestory windows are triple stepped lancets, The Aisles are lit by trefoiled lancets, mostly paired, separated by buttresses. The main Porch has a moulded pointed outer doorway. At the east end of the Chancel is a Rose Window.

Until the opening of Our Lady and All Saints in 1884, the Catholics of Parbold and Dalton, who numbered about a hundred, belonged to the Wrightington mission. The services there were few, and in a report to the Bishop in 1855, the priest who served there from 1850 to 1891 wrote “Not registered for marriages, is a private chapel. No Via Crucis, no processions, no organ or music of any description”.

Music: VOCES8 - Pie Jesu from 'Requiem Novum' by Mårten Jansson.


View: https://youtu.be/A5hpBMfEAKk


Paul.
 

The Windmills (Of Your Mind)...​


No sails nowadays sadly, but an interest history...

Parbold Windmill was built in 1794 as a replacement for the nearby water mill that stood beside the River Douglas. The windmill was constructed next to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, just 20 years after it opened. This waterway would prove a real boon to the business of milling flour.

It is built from local sandstone, stands five storeys tall and, unusually, has an embattled parapet on top. It now houses the Mill House Gallery.
In July 1817, the windmill was put up for auction. It was to be sold complete with a warehouse, a plot of land and all of its machinery. This included two pairs of French stones (from the Marne valley in North France, used for finer grinding), two pairs of grey stones (from the Derbyshire Peak District) and three sets of beams and weights.

The buyer was Richard Ainscough, who had moved to the village just three years before and had set up as a grocer. When he retired, he passed the windmill on to his son, Richard junior. Richard’s older brother Hugh later joined the business.

Their milling business was the real powerhouse of the partnership though. They were able to import grain from America, which was brought from Liverpool up the canal to Parbold. Their windmill could not possibly meet the demand so they built two steam powered corn milling factories. One stood on the opposite side of the canal to the windmill and the other one was in the nearby town of Burscough. With the building of these Victorian factories, the windmill became redundant and stopped being used for milling in the 1850s.

Despite suffering a fire in 1951, the Parbold factory lasted until 1985 producing cattle food in its later days.


Paul.
 
Love these Paul, keep ‘em coming;)
 
Just a heads up that if anyone is upgrading from a Mini 3 pro to a Mini 4 pro or any drone with the RC2 there currently is a batch that has a firmware fault in the controller that requires it to be shipped to DJI in the Netherlands to fix it. Comes up with a server error(-2) and doesn't let you bind the drone or controller or even activate it.

Had two now that have been exactly the same direct from DJI as didn't agree with shipping a new product back for repair that i had owned for a day and had never turned a propeller.

Managed to pick one up in the end from Argos which has worked ok so looking forward to seeing how it compares with my Mini 3 Pro when i go on holiday in a couple of weeks.
 
The parish church of St Michael & All Angels church is situated at the end of Church Street which is off the main road running through the village and is situated next to the 17th century bridge over the river Yarrow.

The village is surrounded by farm land and is situated between the towns of Ormskirk and Preston. In the grounds of the church is a disabled parking area, a choir vestry adjacent to the church and the old village school which is now a village hall which can be rented and used by the community.

The church land continues behind the church and has Bishop Alan Chesters Wood, an area with a wide variety of trees including, horse chestnuts and a small leaf lime. A number of the trees have been planted in memory of people from the village who have died.



Paul.
 
Sun setting over Blackpool seen from Preston.

Sunset-XL.jpg



Paul.
 
Look out for the close call with the bridge....
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Galgate Waterside and Marina is situated on the Lancaster Canal. In a picturesque setting at the edge of the village, it’s in a great location for exploring the north west, or for simply relaxing with a glass of wine on your boat.

Galgate is a well-serviced marina, and the absence of locks on the Lancaster canal itself makes it ideal if you enjoy weekend and holiday cruising. It is convenient for Lancaster, Preston and Blackpool, as well as the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District.

However, there are a couple of locks if you take a detour to Glasson Docks at the Glasson branch, which you see featured at the latter part of the video.


Paul.
 
'The River Trader' sailed into Preston Dock to deliver a giant electricity transformer for the National Grid site at Penwortham that will be unloaded in the marina's boatyard and then taken by road for the last leg of its journey. The ship had set off from Portland, UK on the 14th August and arrived a week later on the 21st August.

She last delivered a transformer in July 2021, and prior to that did the same in Septemeber 2016.

The cargo ship has now had a facelift too - sporting a bright red livery and a deep blue hull.

Due to weather delays that have affected heavy lifting operations, it is possible that the ship may not depart Preston before High Water on Saturday 24th August 2024. I'm working that weekend, so won't be there to see it leave!

 
The day was cold, dull, damp, and so, so windy! But still, let me show you...

This is the Holy Trinity Church is in the village of Hoghton, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Leyland, the archdeaconry of Blackburn, and the diocese of Blackburn. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

The church is constructed in ashlar stone. The architectural style is mainly Early English. Its plan consists of a five-bay nave, a six-bay south aisle, a two-bay chancel, and west tower. The tower is in three stages, with angle buttresses and a southeast stair turret. It has an arched north doorway, and a three-light west window with Perpendicular tracery. On the north and south sides, at a higher level, is a two-light window with a circular clock face above it. The bell openings have two lights, and are louvred. At the summit of the tower is an embattled parapet. Along the sides of the nave and the south aisle are lancet windows. The aisle also has a priest's door, coupled lancets in the east gable, and triple lancets in the west gable. The chancel has two-light windows on the sides, and a large five-light east window. All the gables contain a quatrefoil window towards the apex, and are surmounted by a stone cross.

The churchyard contains war graves of two British and one Australian soldier of World War I, and a British airman of World War II.


Paul.
 
A toy drone.

I wanted something just to take aerial photos of my allotments, but did not want the manyX£100 price tag.

I bought one of these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...EiHk9uau&utparam-url=scene:search|query_from:

It does just what I want, and photo quality is fine for the purpose needed.

Only had one outing, but the GPS works well, it seems tough, survived flying into a tree about 25' high (my fault, trying to fly round the boundary too fast not watching the screen, but the drone instead) It recovered itself before it hit the ground and carried on like nothing had happened.
I was landing it on a stool on the driveway, and it blue to one side, rattled down the stool legs and hit the tar driveway with the motors at full speed. No damage.

To me he only thing that separates it from a drone costing ten times as much is the lack of stabilisation on the camera, when it is windy like today, you need to take several stills for each shot and hope you get one without motion blur. Videos jump around a bit in the windy conditions too.

Have ordered a couple more batteries, then will experiment shots flying around one point, then hoping I can set waypoints and get a video looking down of the whole site (about 10 acres I think)

For someone who wants very good photos/videos, it would not be suitable, but for those who just want some fun, or to see what it is like, it's a bargain.

I would say they are easy to fly, but for any who don't know, there's more skill needed to make a cup of tea :)
 
Darkness Falls - To A Beautiful Sunset.

Avenham and Miller Parks are located in the heart of Preston's city centre, yet feel far removed from their urban surroundings.The natural amphitheatre in Avenham Park is the ideal spot for picnics, watching the world go by, and family games.

The park's paths circle this large green space and offer serene views from all angles. This includes views of the park's Japanese Rock Garden - a beautiful and exotic garden area created in the 1930s. The Japanese Rock Garden features a peaceful pond and areas to sit and reflect.Avenham Park is also home to the Pavilion Café.

The café's riverside setting makes it the ideal place to unwind with a refreshing drink or coffee, or even grab a spot of lunch. For those summer days, the café also serves ice cream and an array of food and drink that can be enjoyed outside.


Paul.
 
I treated myself to a DJI Neo this week :)
It’s a fun thing, very noisy though. Small batteries so flight time is around 20 minutes per.
I like the fact that you can take off and land in your hand!
Camera is not quite as good as my Mini 3 Pro, but passable.
 
It’s easily blown off course being so light, as I say the camera isn’t fantastic, but it was an impulse purchase and I do enjoy flying it :)
 
Roddlesworth Woods is a real gem for walking and wildlife, one of the top dog walking spots in the area.It's a small area of woodland which lies to the west of Darwin in Lancashire. Although the wooded area is quite small, there is a lot of interest packed into the area with several paths to explore, it makes for a pleasant and usually quiet half day out. Added to this is the advantage of free and convenient parking, and a cafe and pub to relax in at the end of your walk.

For photography, autumn is the best time of the year to visit for the autumn colours and the chance of spotting some mushrooms!A quick hello to Sam and his family, and the several other pleasant people walking there that stopped and chatted and showed a genuine interest in drones!

Music: First of Autumn, by Enya.


Paul.
 
St Luke's, Winmarleigh - in the setting sun

St Luke's Church is in the village of Winmarleigh, Lancashire, England. It is an active Church of England parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn, the archdeaconry of Lancaster, and the deanery of Lancaster and Morecambe.

The church was built in 1875–1876 by Paley and Austin, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

St Luke's is constructed of sandstone rubble and has a roof of red tiles. Its plan consists of a nave, a chancel, a porch to the south, and a chapel and a vestry to the north. There is no tower, but there is a wooden bell-cote with a spire between the nave and chancel.


Paul.
 
Bridge 16 is just 2 or 3 minutes walk from my home, on the Leeds - Liverpool canal. It is the nearest bridge to the Millennium Link - which opened in 2002.

The Ribble Link connects the once-isolated Lancaster Canal to the rest of the national waterway network.The idea for the Millennium Ribble Link dates back 200 years to the promotion of the Lancaster Canal. There were several proposals for linking the two halves of the Lancaster Canal, north and south of the Ribble, but they were expensive and eventually a tramroad was built.

There were other schemes to link the Leeds & Liverpool Canal at Tarleton with the Lancaster Canal at Preston, but they came to nothing, as did the idea of a floating towpath across the Ribble with a short canal from the river to the Lancaster Canal.The dream of connecting the Lancaster Canal to the rest of the inland waterway network never fully died, however, and an alternative scheme was devised to canalise the Savick Brook at the southern end of the waterway.

The £5.4 million project received a major boost when the Ribble Link Trust successfully bid for a grant of £2.7 million from the Millennium Commission.



Paul.
 

The Church of St Wilfrid is in Market Place, Standish, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn.

It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.The main body of the church dates from the 1580s but we know there was a church on the site from 1205 if not earlier. It is packed with historic features and artefacts.

The spire which was rebuilt in the 1860s is currently (2024) in need of repair along with the clock. (Note the times on the clock faces).From every direction as you approach Standish, the spire of St Wilfrid's Church is the most visible landmark, symbolising the continuous presence of the church in our village through changing times and passing generations.

Paul.
 
I almost bought a dji mini 4k through black friday, but then saw would still need to register myself with cca. Made me think if that's the case I could just dig out the air2 s I have somewhere. Registration aside, any one know what the still photo quality winner would be between the two? If not doing astro, or sunrise / sunset photos.
 
rd6743 said:
I almost bought a dji mini 4k through black friday, but then saw would still need to register myself with cca. Made me think if that's the case I could just dig out the air2 s I have somewhere. Registration aside, any one know what the still photo quality winner would be between the two? If not doing astro, or sunrise / sunset photos.
Click to expand...

Compared to the Mini 3/4 Pro I would have thought the image quality of the Air2s might be slightly better in daylight. I used to fly a Phantom 4 Pro it has the same size sensor and minimum aperture as the Air2s. The Mini is much better at night though due to the f/1.8 aperture.

Here's a shot taken with the Mini 3 Pro.

Night+view+of+Tower+bridge+and+London+City+skyline+at+sunset+with+river+Thames+below+bridge+is+open+to+allow+boat+to+pass+through+the+bridge+by+Andrew+Hatfield+Architectural+Photographer+AHDJI_0411.jpg


Andrew HATFIELD | Architectural and Interior Photographer
 
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