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Concerns

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I've been doing a lot of research/comparisons with the DJI Inspire and the Typhoon H w/ Real Sense. I've been reading a lot of threads here and it seems like there are a lot of issues with the Typhoon. Granted, I have not joined a DJI forum, but I think I'll do that today. I'm concerned with spending $1,800 on a Yuneec drone and having it fly away or break right out of the box. Has anyone flown both the Inspire and Typoon here? Does anyone know if one is more reliable than the other? I plan on using my drone to add to my 3D imaging services which I currently provide to other realtors in my area. I appreciate any feedback you could give me, as I'm most likely going to buy a drone this week.

Thanks.
Chad
 
OK, the recommendation would be to wait unless you can get a bargain on the Typhoon in the sales. Yuneec are expected to make some announcements at CES in about two weeks' time which may change your options, and I'd expect to see prices updated in the New Year as well.

The Typhoon H had a fairly bumpy introduction - it went through some big changes when Yuneec got Intel involved, had firmware built from scratch and was a little rushed when it first came on sale. You'll note that people are saying the same about the recent DJI products - it seems to be a symptom of the industry with a lot of innovation going on. In addition, there were some 'dirty tricks' campaigns from a particular competitor, who was caught paying people to claim they had problems with drones they had never even bought.

However, most of that is behind us now. The Typhoon has received good support, with regular firmware updates and new features added. It's maturing into a solid platform. To fly, it's a real pleasure - stable, smooth and easy to control. I'd strongly recommend it for professional use.

I can't say much about DJI - I don't own any of their products. If you're looking at the Inspire 1, it's very definitely an old model, and DJI don't seem to offer much support to owners once they introduce the a new machine. The Inspire 2 is getting a lot of press as it's just been introduced, but all I'm seeing at the moment are very short 'first flight' tests and some pretty uncritical analysis by vloggers who want the hits. It takes a few months before people start identifying how it behaves in real use, and any problem areas. I expect it will also mature into a good platform in time.

Which brings us on to this: drones are not reliable technology or easy to use, whatever the adverts may claim. The technology has only recently got good enough to get them into the air and fly in a predictable manner. It's still pretty cutting edge stuff, and so the kit is often operating right at it's limits. Note that DJI have had to drop the top speed of the Inspire 2 after it turned out their initial claims meant it couldn't take stable video. It also means these things crash and break down. The're not reliable like an Audi, nor as easy to control as a GoPro. You will crash, it will behave unpredictably, it is hard to get good results when your camera is half a mile away and has pretty basic controls.

If your business is going to rely on a drone, you need to be prepared to make repairs, have spares, look out for problems and expect that there will be times when you cannot fly. You must also expect it to have a limited lifespan. So if you're used to promising your customers a report, then going to visit them with your trusty camera you bought ten years ago, you're going to be in for a shock. If you have a little mechanical sympathy and enjoy tinkering, you'll be fine, but if this is business critical, I'd seriously consider how you'd cope with a machine that is in for repair.

You might also want to check up on the legal requirements for commercial drone operators in your area. Here in the UK, if you fly for commercial purposes, you must have the relevant documentation, have passed a training course and usually also have professional indemnity insurance. This also applies if you fly within a reasonable distance of buildings or people, whether or not you're making money at the time.
 
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Welcome Chad.

You picked a rather controversial topic for starters. I believe the loss rate between Inspire and the H are roughly equal on a percentage basis. The initial fly away problems on the H have greatly diminished since Yuneec was able to identify the problem and provide a fix. They have also been outstanding at replacing those which were lost. Since all the flight data is saved on the ST16 it is fairly straightforward to determine the cause of a lost bird.

Many who use either as part of their business have multiple units to cover crashes regardless of the cause. The H is repairable at many dealers and parts are readily available. Not so with the Inspire. I think you will also find the Inspire will cost at least double the H.

If you ask the same question on the DJI group most of the responses will label the H as a toy. Neither machine is a toy and both are very capable of doing quality work. It really depends on your budget and what your expectations and needs will be. Rather than ask about comparisons it's better to ask each group about the capabilities of the machine that you need in your business. You will get far better information. Perhaps you should consider reposting in that manner.

In any case I hope you find the right machine for your business needs.
 
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Thank you both!! Your feedback has been very informative and helpful. @Tuna, I am working on getting my FAA Part 107 license so I can fly it commercially but, would like to get the drone first to learn how to fly it as a hobbyist, while studying for the test. I did start reviewing some DJI forum posts and one thing that I see that really separates DJI from Yuneec is that Yuneec tries to make their new technology available to pervious versions of their drones. Whereas, DJI reinvents the wheel everytime they come out with something new and in order to use newer cameras you'd have to buy their newest drone. Not cost effective for me. I REALLY appreciate you informing me of CES and the possibility that something new from Yuneec might be hitting the market soon, I had not read anything on the matter on the internet. So I will take your advice and hold off on purchasing this week.

@Steve Carr, thank you for informing me that Yuneec stands behind their product in some cases of a lost bird with supporting evidence, That is very comforting, and had never heard that bit of information before.

I look forward to being a part of this forum and getting advise and learning from those who are more experienced than I am.

Thanks,
Chad
 
I own both and fly both, not to mention some others as well. I like what the TH has to offer but my experience with the TH has been nothing short of problematic. First one was exchanged after a few days, the second one has been back to Yuneec twice. I believe the early ones like mine (May 2016) have some issues that aren't easily explained/fixed. I fly mine with extreme caution and prepared at any minute for it to fly away..

My Inspire is rock-solid. No issues at all. Works great from firmware upgrade to firmware upgrade. Just as good in high winds as my TH. With the Inspire you have the ability to upgrade the camera to a few choices. Flight time is about 15 minutes compared to 18ish with my TH. The camera on the Inspire does not rotate 360 degrees. Just short of it.

With the DJI products you can use 3rd party apps like Litchi and Autopilot. While I've not used Autopilot yet, Litchi is an amazing product for the 25 bucks its costs. Autopilot will allow you to do that 3D imaging you want to do.

If I had to decide today between the two for what you want a drone for, I'd go with the Inspire. If you can wait, I'd go with the Inspire 2 as it will offer more "up-to-date" processors, functionality, and the ability to grow in the future...
 
Thanks Bart, I was hoping someone had experience with multiple drones. I even looked that the Tornado which looks a little more commercial than hobbyist, but it doesn't look like (from what I read) that it has the Real Sense or 8 preprogrammed features that the Thypoon has. There seems to be a disconnect between the two but I could be wrong. I think I'm going to wait until I see what Yuneec and DJI is planning to unveil at CES before I make my purchase. However, I would like to buy the flight simulator before my purchase, I'm guessing I would have to own the ST16 to use the simulator to get the full benefit, is the flight simulator worth it?
 
Yeah, I think its a good idea to wait and see unless you need something now. The Inspire while still good, is a couple year old technology. The Typhoon H, while newer is still almost a year old tech. I've not used the Yuneec Flight simulator so I'm not sure what you need to have to be able to use it. I'm sure someone who has will chime in.


Thanks Bart, I was hoping someone had experience with multiple drones. I even looked that the Tornado which looks a little more commercial than hobbyist, but it doesn't look like (from what I read) that it has the Real Sense or 8 preprogrammed features that the Thypoon has. There seems to be a disconnect between the two but I could be wrong. I think I'm going to wait until I see what Yuneec and DJI is planning to unveil at CES before I make my purchase. However, I would like to buy the flight simulator before my purchase, I'm guessing I would have to own the ST16 to use the simulator to get the full benefit, is the flight simulator worth it?
 
Thanks Bart, I was hoping someone had experience with multiple drones. I even looked that the Tornado which looks a little more commercial than hobbyist, but it doesn't look like (from what I read) that it has the Real Sense or 8 preprogrammed features that the Thypoon has. There seems to be a disconnect between the two but I could be wrong. I think I'm going to wait until I see what Yuneec and DJI is planning to unveil at CES before I make my purchase. However, I would like to buy the flight simulator before my purchase, I'm guessing I would have to own the ST16 to use the simulator to get the full benefit, is the flight simulator worth it?

Hey Chad... my two cents as the inspire is well..inspirational but it's way out of my price league currently and it's already on v2 like Tuna pointed out. I too was hesitant and like Bart bought a May unit (such a deal with two batteries and the wizard for team fly which I have yet to touch) seemed like what I wanted. I fell in love with the camera and gimbal along with the hexacopter format. DJI has a hexacopter but you don't hear much about it. Of course their octo is what Yuneec is attempting with the tornado from what I can see. And yes I had problems but so did my best bud who is a total DJI guy with his p1 and 2. Yuneec has worked with me through thick and thin to stay flying and it's been frustrating at times but ultimately, I'm very happy with their service here in the US and they are very committed to this service. My friend cannot say the same.

And my shots are better looking then anything I see from other drones short of custom built full pro rigs costing many many many thousands of dollars carrying SLRs. I intend to perfect my flying and shooting skills on this platform as crashes are actually affordable. I can own a back up and swap cameras and have real sense on one but not the other etc...

The cost alone makes this not possible to really do apples and oranges and the fact that it's the inspire or p4 pro that's our "competition" says quite a bit about where the H stands in the market.

Plus we have this awesome forum!


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I'm starting to get a warm and fuzzy feeling about my decision to go with Yuneec. It's a tough choice when you're doing research on what's available out there and you read a lot of negatives no matter what the platform. Especially, when you consider the costs involved. Ever since I started researching drones the Yuneec Typhoon has always been the one I wanted to purchase. I'm VERY happy with the honest and informative feedback I've been receiving from this forum. Now I can't wait until CES so I can see what my new option is. On a side note: Has anyone taken online FAA Part 107 classes for their license? I'm thinking about paying Remotepilot101.com a $100 for access to their online video presentation.

Thanks,
Chad
 
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Sometimes good sales people are not good mechanics. No matter which drone company you go with, you will have "opportunities" for hands-on tinkering and repairs. Modern drones are a mix of mechanical, electronic/computer, photographic, and esoteric (GPS and other sensors) components. When these work together as intended, they are indeed modern miracles. A bit of operator or you-name-it error, and it's a pile of junk on the ground or never to be seen again.

I suggest you locate a local retailer whose customers swear by him, not at him, who sells the drones you decide on, and repairs them. You will need 2 or 3 drones, and about 6 batteries. Batteries (LIPOs) alone are a science unto themselves and are dangerous in the wrong hands. We wish you good luck, Mr. Shillady.
 
The Typhoon H serves me well. I pre-ordered and got one of the first, haven't had any issues to date other than one unpredictable battery.
Background on me, been involved in drones for over 15 years, RC for 30yrs and technology for 40yrs, with my job being technical support I am extremely cynical about all things tech.
My opinion is most tech stuff doesn't work, its half baked or worse bluetooth :)

The Typhoon H is the first piece of tech I have been impressed with, I took it out of the box and it worked just as it was supposed to.
Reading these forums made me fear that I would have issues however now after 100's of flights still no drama, it works as it is supposed to.
 
I have owned the Inspire v1, a Phantom3 professional, advanced,and standard. I also have owned a Typhoon Q5004k, and i currently own an"H". I could go on and on about the pluses and minuses of all the above.
But,with that being said, all i can say is if I had them all lined up and was told i could only have 1,the "H" would be my pick.It does what it says it is supposed to do. I've had no problem. And when i have to contact C/S, they answer the phone.
Yuneec and Autel are the 2 outstanding companies when it comes to C/S.
Get the H. You won't be sorry.IMHO
 
Thank Guy, that was very helpful. I am still planning on buying the typhoon H w/ Real Sense. Now just waiting to see what they come out with at CES. Then I'll be placing my order. Anyone here live in the Palm Desert/Palm Springs area that I could learn from?

Chad
 
Thank Guy, that was very helpful. I am still planning on buying the typhoon H w/ Real Sense. Now just waiting to see what they come out with at CES. Then I'll be placing my order. Anyone here live in the Palm Desert/Palm Springs area that I could learn from?

Chad

Sorry, I have another question. When you buy the Yuneec Pro with Real Sense is the Real Sense module already installed? Or do I have to do that?


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No problem Chad! And definitely get the simulator... it's been a big help to me.
 
Yes, but if you get the USB dongle at the same time you get the H, you'll be able to use the simulator immediately. If I remember, you have not flown a drone before, right? Was the same with me. You might even consider getting a $60 nano drone that you can fly in a room in your house... (The Horizon Blade Nano QX is a good one). That would give you some time getting the basic stick controls down... and you can bounce it off walls with no risk to a $1500 investment.

Then when your H comes, you could use the simulator to get more used to the ST16, specifically, since you will use it as the controller for the simulator.
 
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Yes, but if you get the USB dongle at the same time you get the H, you'll be able to use the simulator immediately.
If I remember, you have not flown a drone before, before? Was the same with me. You might even consider getting a $60
nano drone that you can fly in a room in your house... (The Horizon Blade Nano QX is a good one). That would give you
some time getting the basic stick controls down... and you can bounce it off walls with no risk to a $1500 investment.

Then when your H comes, you could use the simulator to get more used to the ST16, specifically, since you will use
it as the controller for the simulator.

I did fly a parrot drone but it was a price of crap compared to the Typhoon H. I watched the new video from Yuneec today and have been reading the user manual to familiarize myself with everything. I'm going to buy the dongle but everyone I've seen is for the Q500. Is the simulator for all controllers?


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