7am walk up Moel Famau with the kids to have breakfast. It was a beautiful morning on a day the wind was zero and the temperature later that day hit 28c/82f.
Moel Famau is the highest hill in the Clwydian Range and the highest point (county top) of the county of Flintshire in Wales (both the historic county and the current council area). It lies on the boundary between Denbighshire and Flintshire. The hill, which also gives its name to the Moel Famau country park, has been classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty since 1985. It is also surrounded by several well-preserved Iron Age hill forts. It is not, as many people think, the highest peak in North-East Wales; this honour goes to Cadair Berwyn. It is also the third-highest peak in the extended AONB of The Clwydian Range and Dee Valley.
A quick flight over the entrance to the Manchester Ship Canal at Eastham, Wirral.
The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36-mile-long (58 km) inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift vessels about 60 feet (18 m) to the canal’s terminus in Manchester. Landmarks along its route include the Barton Swing Aqueduct, the world’s only swing aqueduct, and Trafford Park, the world’s first planned industrial estate and still the largest in Europe.
Had the pleasure of visiting the World Heritage Site of Ironbridge last week, what a beautiful place.
The wind was not on my side for getting some video of the birth place of the industrial revolution; however I did get a few shots off and pulled together my first panoramic.
Ironbridge
The panoramic is made up of 3 photos taken from above the river with my DJI Mavic Mini and then stitched together with Affinity Photo then some colour editing with Snapseed.
I had a quick visit down to Eastham Ferry the other day to do a little flying. The original plan was to do some more shots over the River Mersay but again the wind was a little high for me to be comfortable also the area has a 60m high restriction in place so could get some of the shots I was looking for. 100% a place that I will visit and do some more flying.
Due to the limited footage to had to focus a little more on edit and using the music track to guild me.
History of Eastham Ferry
Since the Middle Ages, a ferry service operated across the River Mersey between Eastham and Liverpool, the early ferries being run by monks from the Abbey of St. Werburgh. By the late 1700s, up to 40 coaches each day arrived at a newly built pier, carrying passengers and goods for the ferry. Paddle steamers were introduced in 1816 to replace the sailing boats, but the demand for a service declined in the 1840s with the opening of a railway link between Chester and Birkenhead Woodside Ferry.
In 1846, the owner of the ferry, Thomas Stanley, built the Eastham Ferry Hotel and shortly after, the Pleasure Gardens were added to attract more visitors. The gardens were landscaped with rhododendrons, azaleas, ornamental trees and fountains. Attractions included a zoo, with bears, lions, monkeys and antelope, an open-air stage, tea rooms, bandstand, ballroom, boating lake, water chute. Entertainers performed in the gardens during summer, and included Blondin, the famous tight-rope walker who once wheeled a local boy across a high wire in a wheelbarrow. In 1894, the Manchester Ship Canal was opened by Queen Victoria, bringing added prosperity to the area and a Jubilee Arch was built at the entrance to the Pleasure Gardens in 1897 to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee. The ‘Bear Pit’ at Eastham Woodland & Country Park as it stood in 2006. In 1854 the American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, whilst in the position of United States consul in Liverpool, visited Eastham and declared it to be: “the finest old English village I have seen, with many antique houses, and with altogether a rural and picturesque aspect, unlike anything in America, and yet possessing a familiar look, as if it were something I had dreamed about.”
In its heyday Eastham Ferry was known as the ‘Richmond of the Mersey’, but its popularity declined during the 1920s and the last paddle steamer crossing took place in 1929. The Pleasure Gardens fell into disrepair during the 1930s and the iron pier and Jubilee Arch were later dismantled. In 1970, to commemorate European Conservation Year, the area was designated a Woodland & Country Park and today, it is once more a popular place of recreation.
I’m still in the early stages of owning my DJI Mavic Mini (Flight distance: 58773 ft) and as with everything new you don’t expect to have an issue so soon (unless you have crashed into a tree or your own face) after buying your new toy.
I however had a “Motor Speed Error” message on only my 10th flight. My lack of experience firstly had me in a panic with the bird still in the sky; a quick RTH while thinking that it is not going to make it back; but I got her home without an issue.
It indicated that the rear left propellers needed changing out for a new one. On inspection I couldn’t see any signs of anything wrong with it. No chips or damage or even any warping to the propellers that I could see with my eye.
Previous to this issue I had seen a small amount of chat online about something to do with the last firmware update driving an excessive amount of people into ordering new Propellers, but I just didn’t think that this issue should be anything to do with me and my new MM. Now that I have looked into it a bit myself; it seems that there is an actual issue but is it a money grab, safety, or something else.
Everyone agrees that the error message that people are seeing started with the Firmware update V01.00.0500
A video from QC Guy seems to suggest the issue is “not a big deal” and that as long as you have checked your props to make sure you are happy; you should just fly on. He suggests that the error is caused because of a small voltage difference in the motors due to a “bad prop”. He is suggesting that if you didn’t have this update everything would be fine as long as you are checking your props over before you get in the air. He says that the error is a “false alarm”.
Ignacio Moreno has simplified the issue down to just how people have been storing the Mavic Mini in the Fly more case. The props are just getting pressure on them while they are in the case and they are being damaged.
Jay Cents seems to think that the issue can be fixed by doing the firmware update using the DJI Assistant software on your computer instead of using the DJI Fly app. Then completing a IMU Calibration will complete the fix.
DJI is saying that the issue is an RTFM, Read the fucking manual situation and that everyone just needs to chill out and look at the little sticker that is in the Fly More Case that tells you how to put the Drone in the case.
A few posts on Reddit have hinted that the changes in the firmware increases the sensitivity of the Motor Speed Sensor and was just a way of drive additional sales of Props. Several people say that DJI is out of stock of MM Propeller since the last update and this change in the reason.
My take… RTFM
How to fold your Propellers
A friend purchased his new MM around the same time as I did and has not had any “Motor Speed Error” on his MM. The only difference between him and me… I got the Fly More Combo, he didn’t. I haven’t read any of the instructions, if I had I wouldn’t have been putting my MM in the case the way I have; the wrong way. I think what DJI has done is the right thing by improving the firmware to better detects possible errors and help prevent your bird from falling out of the sky. I think I would prefer to have this error if I do have a slightly warped prop and protect my MM from the worst. The other thing I have realized is that I need to check my IMU calibration once i have worked out what the hell that is. As far as a money grab; I do believe that they are going to make a killing on the number of props that they will sell off the back of this change. From a PR point of view if birds start to drop out of the sky and its found that DJI had a way of detecting the issue but did nothing, that would be a bigger problem than prop buying kickoffs. DJI is refining their product to be better and this will carry over to make future products better and that can only be a good thing.
Thoughts?
(Don’t wait till you get the error, get your official DJI Props at the link below and help support my content)
I’m sure I’m no different to any self-respecting geek; you see a link to a new gadget and you can’t help but click on it to find out about the shinny new thing. Equally I’m sure that most of the time you finish reading with a” Meh”. The IRIS+ from 3D Robotics however made me stand back and say WOW!
Auto Mission Planning
This thing is seriously cool. It a personal drone that will do more than just fly around with the added camera to record amazing Ariel images. If has “Follow me” allowing you to run or race about while the drone follows you centring the images directly on you. It can do 3D image scanning, autonomous flight by giving it a set mission. You just draw a line of a map to tell it where to go. If will even return home when the battery is running low or it goes out of range of you controller.
IRIS+ From 3D Robotics
A must buy for anybody that has the cash to spare and is looking for an amazing drone that you don’t need to spend months learning to fly so you won’t crash into a tree the first time you try to fly it.
Checkout the promotional video to really see what it can do.
I’m sure I’m no different to any self-respecting geek; you see a link to a new gadget and you can’t help but click on it to find out about the shinny new thing. Equally I’m sure that most of the time you finish reading with a” Meh”. The IRIS+ from 3D Robotics however made me stand back and say WOW!
Auto Mission Planning
This thing is seriously cool. It a personal drone that will do more than…
