KAP, Kite Aerial Photography. The "Lanstroper Ei", an old Watertower in Dortmund Lanstrop

The Ruhr district has arisen and grown by the coal mines as the most important energy supplier for the reconstruction after the war. Thousands of workers came with her families here. There were enough work and apartments. How early settlements were built around a castle, the Ruhr district grew around its coal mines. Today, only a few mines are still operating and some winding towers, some of them are made to industry monuments, show of the former "coal factories".

As I have drived on the German Highway A2 in the direktion to Hannover I often have seen the watertower on the right side. I always thoght "you must have a look at that tower at one time". Now I have taken some KAP shoots


The village Dortmund Lanstrop from the air Dortmund Lanstrop, Feb, 03.2002 Kite: Flow Form # 1 Windspeed: approx. 6 - 8 m/s Camera: SONY P5		The steeltower is standing on a little hill southern of the village Dortmund Lanstrop Dortmund Lanstrop, Feb, 03.2002 Camera: Canon EOS D30		The Lanstroper watertower has his 100th date of birth in the jear 2005. Dortmund Lanstrop, Feb, 03.2002 Camera: Canon EOS D30

It is not in use since 1980 but it still looks well. The watertower in Dortmund Lanstrop is called "The Lanstroper Egg". The steeltower was build in 1905 for the "Städtischen Gas- und Wasserwerke zu Unna". It has a height of 60 m and is mounted together with thousands of rivets.


At small curved stairs someone can reach the top of the container	The rust does his job at the steeltower from 1905	From the top someone can climb into the container
All Kite Aerial Photos: Dortmund Lanstrop, Feb.03.2002 Kite: Flow Form # 1 Windspeed: approx. 6 - 8 m/s Camera: SONY P5

The container of the "Lanstroper Egg" is 18 m high, has a diameter of 14 m and a capacity of 2000 cbm. If everything goes well the private owner and the "Förderferein Lanstroper Ei e.V." will build a restaurant at the bottom of the tower. So they hope to keep the Egg under protection of historic buildings.

The wind was blowing strong from southwest with a windspeed of 6 up to more than 8 m/s. So I only could use my small Flowform #1 with a 3mm polyesterline.

It was the second start of my new rig with the SONY P5 and so it was no wonder, that there were some small start-problems. As I looked at my camera after the first flight, there was only one picture in the memory although I pressed the button many times. The plug of the camera powerline was disconnected.
At the second flight I could not rotate the rig well. After the rig was landet I saw that the nuts from the big gear wheel were lost. They were loosen by the vibrations from the rig and I have to glue the gear wheel at the servodisc.

Old coal mine buildings, winding towers and monuments in the German "Ruhrgebiet" Part # 4: The "Lanstroper Ei", an old Watertower in Dortmund Lanstrop

Old coal mine buildings, winding towers and monuments in the German "Ruhrgebiet"
Part # 4:
The "Lanstroper Ei", an old Watertower in Dortmund Lanstrop