So you need to use a Drone?

Interesting read from CAA Approved Pilot, Dan Spilman on the basics of using a Drone. http://www.resolutionuav.co.uk/#!members-resources-/c19v2  

Hidden History

The North Yorkshire Moors is a beautiful area.  It’s host to a variety of wildlife and covers a huge chunk of North Yorkshire.  Criss-crossed with walks, ruins and ancient burial grounds, there is also plenty of history hiding under the heather.  Some of the more popular and well known historic attractions include Roman roads, old railway lines and scattered ruins.  However, some lesser known remnants of local history are hidden in plain view . . .

Something on the expanses of moorland near Rudland Rigg captured our attention recently.  Many of you will know the scenic walkways, what you may not know is that these run through the middle of some hidden history.  Surrounding the footpath is a grid like layout of large ‘bumps’ on the ground that are all but invisible to anyone who is not on the lookout for them.  These bumps are actually the scars left from coal mines, or Bell Pits, dating back to the 18^th Century (and some believe even earlier), the coal they yielded was of poor quality but good enough for local use.  It gained the nickname ‘Danby Crackers’ due the way it would splutter and explode in the fireplace when burnt.

 

 

As illustrated above, the mines consisted of a pit shaft normally up to 9m deep, this lead to a circular area below with a diameter of between 3m – 12m.  Coal was then extracted until the structural integrity of the mine was reduced, subsequently cave-ins became a risk due to their size.  The picture below shows the effect on the landscape from approximately one hundred Bell Pits on the moorland near Rudland Rigg.

 

Resolution UAV Services utilised Endeavour (our UAV) to gain a new perspective of these mines.  We captured images and video of the hidden coal mines to show just what you can discover by simply making slight changes to your perspective or vantage point.  The view of these mines from the ground is very unimpressive, but with the addition of a UAV, a HD camera and an inquisitive pilot the scale of the work conducted in the past becomes very evident.