Solo Euro Hoon. Car, Guitar, Drone!!!

[br d]

Went up a mountain today, this one.



Had a back pack with 2 bottles of water, my glasses and Dave (the drone).
Was determined to both get to the top and get some good sweeping Dave footage, failed on both counts.

While it's not ropes and crampon stuff it is a tough climb, very rocky. Quickly became apparent that unmelted snow was going to be a problem, with large drifts of it blocking the route.



I got lost went the wrong way and when I realised this rather than backtrack I thought I could "just pop up to where I see the line if the path there". Big mistake, was very tough climbing of rocks, downed trees and gorse.
So I was knackered before I even started!

Dragged on for another couple of hours in the heat but cos my lungs are fked I had to stop every 100 yards or so.

Got a pic of the car! Did something similar last year but I'm doing it again cos I find myself amusing!



Near the top I was taking one of my gasping, coughing breaks when 2 German blokes appeared from further up the trail and I could have sworn one of them said "Too much smokes" Through gasps I said "What?"
He said "Too much snow". Ah

They said there were large drifts above that were too dangerous to tackle. I thanked them and carried on anyway.
They we're right, another couple of hundred yards and the path was cut off with sloping drifts that ended at the edge, too risky in trainers and a t-shirt. Pity because it was only another 300 yards to the top.

So I thought well let's get some footage with Dave, I'd carried the bd all the way up there after all.
There was only one big enough flat rock to launch him from and the edge of it was a sheer drop so I was pretty nervous anyway.
Was having a lot of trouble seeing the screen in the bright sun but I thought I could manage to just buzz him up to where rivers of water were cascading from the sheer cliff above which looked really impressive. What could go wrong?

I really must learn to listen to those quiet nagging voices.

All the updates were fine, I calibrated the compass which went well, took a deep breath and swiped take off.

Dave lifted 4 feet of the rock and immediately the cross wind started shoving him sideways toward the edge. At exactly the same time the handset thing went batst and started going BEEP-BEEP BEEP-BEEP very loudly. 'Oh st!'

I looked at the phone screen and it had some message on it which I couldn't read properly because of a combination of the sunlight, the tiny font in blue fking text and my crap eyesight. It was obviously imploring me to do something urgently but I couldn't see it!
I desperately tried the landing tab before Dave was pushed out over the 1500 meter drop but it was one of those dialogues that won't let you do anything until it's dealt with.

Proper panicked, tried grabbing my back pack and shoving the controller in it out of the sun but still couldn't read it. By now my brains screaming "What was you thinking you fking idiot! Launching it off a rock at the top of an Alp!"

Dave appeared to be fighting to get back in position but was losing against a very strong breeze which I had completely failed to take into consideration. He was doing lots of scary bobbing about movements that took him lower and closer to the drop.

So I just resorted to bashing every part of the screen with my finger in blind panic. After an age I must have hit something because the beeping finally shut up and the screen came back on. Dave was way too far over to do an auto land at this point (Or was he? Would he have gone up and re positioned? They are pretty clever these things) so I had to try to remember which joystick made him go sideways and got him slowly back over the rock.
Finally getting him down very close to the edge, about a foot away from the drop. I ran over quick and gently picked him up like you would an injured bird and got back to terra firma.

What a fking nightmare! I need a lot more time with this thing before I get it up there.

Edited by br d on Wednesday 30th May 16:54

[br d]

Got back down after another couple of hours.
I broke this stick off if a felled tree right at start and it got me all the way up and down again.



Went back to the hotel and had a couple of hours in the gym and pool but ruined now. Will probably polish off the bottle of champagne the hotel gave me when I arrived and crash out. Got a long drive to Lake Como tomorrow.

[br d]

A pic from the top.

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CS Garth said:

Last year you posted after a night on the beers. Go forth and get well refreshed and tell us what happens please. Drone based hangover footage whilst breakfast in bed optional.

Did I do a drunken night last year? I remember the one with the goat with a hat on but that was ages ago. I'm drinking a lot less these days but there will no doubt be a wrong night out along the way somewhere!

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rasto said:

I suspect the text on Dave's screen said something like "I'm sorry BRD, I can't do that"

Great update and I can almost picture the scene with Dave at the top of the mountain.

I think it was something to do with a local air space warning, I had to confirm I agreed or something but I couldn't see a bloody thing on the screen. It'll probably do exactly the same thing next time.

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MFR_TT said:

That camera you are using is hilarious!

I have to admit I don't really get the fuss about photography. When I take pics they look like a car, hotel or mountain to me!
I'm sure they could be better but to my eyes they look okay.

Mind you, my eyes ain't that good

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Re the pics I just did a little test. The pic I uploaded today with the car miles away if I zoom in on the pic on my phone I can clearly see it. If I try the same on the Thumbsnap image on PH it's just a mess. So the pics are getting badly degraded when I upload them.

Anything I can do about that? What if I link then from Onedrive, will they still show in the thread?

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Dave wasn't recording unfortunately no Swamps.
There is a big red button on the screen which I presumably press to start recording but at this stage all my concentration is centered on just getting him into the air. Had I managed that then getting the recording started would have been next on the agenda.

Fear not though, I will get something up. I've still got another week and a half of travelling so plenty of time.

I initially thought the Alps would be a great place for footage but on reflection probably not the ideal place for learning the ropes.

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cherryowen said:

I managed to combine all three back in 2013, but certainly not in a McLaren whilst toting a Jellycaster that's for sure

More details please cherry!
Can't be many of us stupid enough to attempt it.

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SydneyBridge said:

Perhaps when you launch Dave whilst up a mountain, it calculates the height from ground level and thinks you are flying high..

I think Dave seems to be aware of everything Syd.

I'm pretty sure he knows what altitude he's at, as well as his exact positional coordinates and the current magnetic polarity on Tau Ceti.

Frankly he's like science fiction to me.
He's like a fking knife missile or something.

It scares me, it really does.

I think I'm going to buy a big thick marker pen and write "What are you doing Dave?" on his blood red casing.

It's all I can do.

As Socrates said "All I know is that I know nothing".

Even the whispered word 'Drone' sends a shiver down my spine.

Edited by br d on Wednesday 30th May 19:21

Edited by br d on Wednesday 30th May 19:25

Edited by br d on Wednesday 30th May 19:26

[br d]

Lol sorry! Got a bit literal there!
But you know, modern tech is pretty scary.

Edited by br d on Wednesday 30th May 19:24

[br d]

Cherry.

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!

I hadn't seen this before. I wish I could write with such detail and description.
The "st I can't feel my fking legs" jumps out at me as I've been there many times.

All PH'er blogs seem to refer to effortless fast alpine crossings while mine are all about stting myself in long tight corners while passing tiny brick piers built once every 400 meters.

Most of the joy of these trips is not really knowing what's going on, just get out there and see what happens.
You have a much better grasp on your immediacy than I do but it's all the same in the end. Just get out and soak it up!

Have you not been out again since that thread?

And wheres the guitar?

[br d]

Sorry, just seen it was a PRS, but no pics on the thread?

[br d]

TR4man said:

Whilst I enjoyed the photos of the car show, I admit to being slightly disappointed that there were none of Stephanie.

I remember one of your previous jaunts where you took photos of the hotel receptionists in your car.

Yes. Good point.
Too late for this place now I'm leaving early in the morning but I'll try to get more...ahem staff involved in the future.

[br d]

Got stuck behind these complete aholes yesterday coming through the Mont Blanc tunnel. Pics may not be clear due to potato but they are a Swiss Hells Angels Chapter.







In the queue they all dismounted and stood around looking mean and then took an age to get themselves sorted when the queue moved on. Then when we got to the booths they split up so there was about 5 at each of the 3 open tolls and took all their gear off and just totally ignored the blokes waiting in the booths.
They held all the lorries up as well and just looked about daring somebody to say something.

After about 5 minutes of this st I did that arm up gesture meaning "What's going on".
The one nearest me walked to the front of the car, put his hands on his hips and just glared at me, wker. I just glared at him back.

I very nearly got a proper life changing kicking cos after another 5 minutes of this st I was seconds from opening the door and telling the last couple to hurry the fk up when they got on and finally started sorting themselves out.
It would have been a stupid thing to do but I was completely irrational by then.

When I finally got to the ticket thing I pointed up the tunnel and said to the bloke "fking wkers" He completely surprised me by saying, in a very heavy French accent "Yes, but what can you do?"

Sorry for no updates, been really busy, will do some and answer queries this afternoon.

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e12mat said:

Brad
One really quick question, sorry if it has been covered, what prompted the change from 997 turbo to Lambo to McLaren? All great machines but all very different in delivery.

Cheers Mat.

I think I've covered this before but I didn't like the 997 Turbo. I'd had a normal 911 for a while, which I absolutely loved, brilliant little car, then I put in an order for the new 997 Turbo which I had to wait over a year for.

The turbo arrived but it coincided with some serious health issues, i was I initially mis- diagnosed with metastasized lung cancer and I was being told to "put my things in order". I wasn't going to make Christmas basically

After about 3 weeks and a lot more tests it transpired I actually had aggressive pulmanary sarcoidosis. It has ruined my lungs and the xrays give the appearance of the big C. Even now I have to keep a disk of the MRI and case notes because if I ever slip into a coma abroad for any reason they will immediately start treating me for lung cancer.

By this time I'd had the turbo a couple of months and just hated it. Obviously I had bigger fish to fry so wasn't really giving it much thought. When the all clear came through (sarcoid is still serious but its manageable, a totally different ball game), I said to Shal "I don't like this car".
Difficult to do as I had been telling her it was my ultimate dream car and she had always been completely supportive of my absurd auto addiction.

I was 44 at the time and had always planned on owning a Ferrari but thought I would be in my mid fifties before I considered it.

I suggested we go up to Lancaster Colchester just to have a "look round".

When I walked in the showroom there was an F430 sitting there in pride of place, it was the current car, and I fking melted!
Don't misunderstand me I'm not made of money but I have worked hard and put myself in the position to buy cars like this, after everything more important is taken care of.

Shal knew how I felt and after everything we had just been through she said "Who knows what the future holds, if you want it, buy it"
She is one in a million.

I'd paid 104 for the turbo and they offered me 80 the slippery bds but I walked out 2 hours later with my name on the paperwork.
Losing 24 grand in 2 months is a very bad days work but thinking you are about to die puts a very different perspective on things trust me!

I don't know why I didn't like the turbo, I really expected to but it was a boat. My 4S felt like a roller skate, I'm no driver but I loved that car, I just had no confidence in the Turbo. Certainly it was massively quick but once that was soaked in it felt awful to drive.

The truth is probably down to my inability.
A Porsche turbo needs a special set of skills to get the most out of and I simply don't have them. I congratulate anyone who has put themselves in the position to own one, it's an iconic piece of automotive history but for me it just didn't work.

I'll carry on into F and L territory if you can stand anymore of this waffling.

[br d]

Pericoloso said:

What's F and L ?

Waffle all you like.

Ferrari and Lambo.

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Pericoloso said:

No helped by the keep a huge distance apart in the the tunnel rule.^^^^^^

Absolutey Peri you do have to wait for the barrier but this isn't what these cocks were doing.
It was that "We'll do what we like and you can't do anything about it" attitude that was so infuriating.

[br d]

No chance! Terrified of that thing!

I'm at lake Como, very long drive down, another lovely hotel right next to the lake.



Loads has happened but I can barely remember it.
Oh, the owner of this hotel asked if he could have car pics in front of the hotel.
He had a proper camera but me and the potato took these.





He says he has a Facebook site called Supercars at the Tullio or something similar. I'm not on facebook so can't check.
Might be some nice metal on there.

Chatted to him for a while and he gave me a route to try. Was an amazing drive, I'm definitely going home to speeding tickets from Switzerland!

Let me dig out that route thingy.

[br d]

If I forget remind me to tell you about the bloke on the mountain bike!