Whereupon I almost crash trying to get the shot:

This is a case where 360 degrees of proximity sensing would have come in handy -- once I turned towards the crane, my alerts blew up. Lucky I didn't hit the guy lines backing out.

Curious, there is a similar grain tower near me right now,  but Im in the UK so would have thought the design would be different.

Hello and good day Lewis. Thank you for sharing this wonderful video you have created. Great work and have a safe flight always. .

Excellent work

DAFlys Posted at 12-9 02:51
Curious, there is a similar grain tower near me right now,  but Im in the UK so would have thought the design would be different.

I'm guessing the technology is pretty mature -- this one was the largest of its kind when built in the early 1920s.

DJI Stephen Posted at 12-9 07:30
Hello and good day Lewis. Thank you for sharing this wonderful video you have created. Great work and have a safe flight always.  .

Thanks, Stephen.

A J Posted at 12-9 09:10
Excellent work

Thanks much, AJ.

Nice work. that was a close call with that crane.

Ex Machina Posted at 12-9 13:19
Thanks much, AJ.

You're welcome

Ex Machina Posted at 12-9 13:19
Thanks, Stephen.

You are very much welcome Ex Machina and thank you for your valued support. .

Woe Posted at 12-9 18:58
Nice work. that was a close call with that crane.

Thanks, Woe, and yes, it was a close call! Not proud to admit my last crash was from doing the same kind of side-ways flying. You'd think I'd learn...

I am always fascinated by old industrial buildings!  So I really liked your video.  The crane boom was really close and I was surprised when it came to the picture!  Nice work and thanks for sharing!  Congratulations!

Zotya Posted at 12-10 12:08
I am always fascinated by old industrial buildings!  So I really liked your video.  The crane boom was really close and I was surprised when it came to the picture!  Nice work and thanks for sharing!  Congratulations!

Thanks, Zotya, me, too -- I may or may not have taken photos inside that structure over the years. ;)

Ex Machina Posted at 12-10 12:04
Thanks, Woe, and yes, it was a close call! Not proud to admit my last crash was from doing the same kind of side-ways flying. You'd think I'd learn...

Sometime we are so focused on the shot we, forget to check whats around us.
At least this flight didn't end with a crash.

Woe Posted at 12-10 18:31
Sometime we are so focused on the shot we, forget to check whats around us.
At least this flight didn't end with a crash.

Really lucky end!

Ex Machina Posted at 12-10 16:02
Thanks, Zotya, me, too -- I may or may not have taken photos inside that structure over the years. ;)

Are you not going to cut a video out of your pictures?

Zotya Posted at 12-10 21:33
Really lucky end!

No doubt lucky.

Woe Posted at 12-10 18:31
Sometime we are so focused on the shot we, forget to check whats around us.
At least this flight didn't end with a crash.

So true. The camera view can be misleading -- I thought I was much closer than I actually was, which is exactly how I crashed the last time I tried this kind of shot, saved only by the slow speed of the AC.

Zotya Posted at 12-10 21:36
Are you not going to cut a video out of your pictures?

That's a good idea -- here are shots from one of my visits: https://www.flickr.com/photos/le ... s/72157711893473381

Glad he was able to give you an idea!  I looked at the pictures cool!  Each picture is awesome!

Zotya Posted at 12-11 07:47
Glad he was able to give you an idea!  I looked at the pictures cool!  Each picture is awesome!

Thanks, Zotya!

Ex Machina Posted at 12-11 06:18
So true. The camera view can be misleading -- I thought I was much closer than I actually was, which is exactly how I crashed the last time I tried this kind of shot, saved only by the slow speed of the AC.

Saved is the key word. Nice work my friend

That was a close one.  Glad your drone's plastic blades didn't try to take on crane's steel boom.

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 12-11 19:29
That was a close one.  Glad your drone's plastic blades didn't try to take on crane's steel boom.

Thanks, at @100 ft up it wouldn't have gone well. ;)

Good work.

ernie_e Posted at 12-15 18:55
Good work.

Thanks, Ernie_e!

Nice work.  Pretty close call there.

ALABAMA Posted at 12-16 15:08
Nice work.  Pretty close call there.

Thanks, Alabama, and yup, sure was.

For anyone interested my Instagram feed has more recent shots and short videos of the site: https://www.instagram.com/lewisfrancis/

Nice Video and interesting demo.

Nice Video and interesting demo.

BigBird-2 Posted at 3-6 18:13
Nice Video and interesting demo.

Thanks, Big Bird-2! Every Sunday I check on the site, usually update on Instagram. Lots of the demo is going on inside the main structure now and so is not visible with a flyby.

Aloha Ex,

     Surprise!  Lucky you!  How come they moved the Savannah?  

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetacean Posted at 3-7 02:28
Aloha Ex,

     Surprise!  Lucky you!  How come they moved the Savannah?  

Lucky indeed!

They towed the Savannah to Philly for some additional reactor decommissioning work -- it's now back on the pier along with the John W. Brown Liberty Ship -- going to visit both at their open house at the end of the month.

Ex Machina Posted at 3-7 17:37
Lucky indeed!

They towed the Savannah to Philly for some additional reactor decommissioning work -- it's now back on the pier along with the John W. Brown Liberty Ship -- going to visit both at their open house at the end of the month.

Aloha Ex,

     Your YouTube video was the real view I have had of the first nuclear cargo ship built.  Neat the way they have the little atom image on the side of the ship.  I was surprised that the hull design was so traditional.  You cannot get that out of encyclopedia photos.  Mahalo!

     BTW, check out my answer for Roy's mystery.  With the visual resources you found, it really came together for me.  I wonder if it is the real design of the system.  Mahalo again!

Aloha and Drone On!

Those were two close calls in one! You heart must have been racing when you first saw the blue of the crane in the corner of the frame!

BumblerBee Posted at 5-3 07:55
Those were two close calls in one! You heart must have been racing when you first saw the blue of the crane in the corner of the frame!

It sure was!

BTW, if anyone's interested, here's what the site looked like last Sunday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_di0fhh8Ku/

Cetacean Posted at 3-7 19:46
Aloha Ex,

     Your YouTube video was the real view I have had of the first nuclear cargo ship built.  Neat the way they have the little atom image on the side of the ship.  I was surprised that the hull design was so traditional.  You cannot get that out of encyclopedia photos.  Mahalo!

That atom motif is used throughout the vessel, in the ship's dinnerware, it's light fixtures, and IIRC the ship's bar.

Here's a closer look at the hull insignia:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/le ... -72157684016439976/

Ex Machina Posted at 5-3 19:53
That atom motif is used throughout the vessel, in the ship's dinnerware, it's light fixtures, and IIRC the ship's bar.

Here's a closer look at the hull insignia:

Aloha Ex,

     Mahalo!  When I was a kid, the Savannah was a really big deal and then later it was apparently a failed experiment.  Sad in that respect.  I guess the powers that be feared what might happen if terrorists got their hands on it or any follow-on nuclear cargo ship.

Aloha and Drone On!