Going places you couldn't otherwise

Doug Aamoth has a Time article about video of off-limits places:

The influx of relatively inexpensive, remotely-controlled flying machines sporting high-definition video cameras has meant that long-forgotten locales can be explored more easily and less dangerously than in the past. In that spirit, here are videos of thirteen abandoned places being explored, thanks to the magic of flight. 

Hashima Island in Japan:

Gunkanjima (“Battleship Island”) is one of the world’s most well-known “ghost towns”. Originally developed as a seabed coal mining facility, more than five thousand people inhabited the island at the peak of its prosperity. The last inhabitants left in 1974, and today the island remains uninhabited. Using a radio-controlled helicopter equipped with a Sony Action Cam, we took some aerial footage of this breathtaking deserted island to serve as a record for generations to come.

Bodie, California

An abandoned hospital in Railway City in Russia:

Ruins in the Mist

An abandoned sanatorium

The abandoned Essex County psychiatric hospital

An abandoned warehouse in the Melbourne, Australia suburb of Yarraville

Abandoned factory

Another abandoned factory

An abandoned farm

An abandoned barn

An abandoned pool

Rico says some things can only be experienced in this way. (But surely someone will try and fly over some restricted area and get their little copter shot down by a real one...)