Drone industry takes a downturn
- Thread starter mcbutler
- Start date
I think much of the turndown is due to ever increasing restrictions being placed by government on where you can fly.
I know that in Canada, it is getting harder to find a place to fly. Plus, if you do anything wrong the Minister encourages people to report you using 911! With that and a $3000 dollar fine hanging over your head if you make a mistake, who wants to enter the hobby? Also, having all of your contact information (Name, Address and Phone Number) on your drone kind of puts a new spin on privacy. I would like a registration number more.
Sales always take a dive after the holidays. Add to that market saturation. There are a ton of small companies producing the toy grade. The more serious flyers move up to the GPS machines and that's where the big price jump kicks in. I personally think that many of the sales in the higher end market like the H come from those who are upgrading or those who have seen a friend flying one. But the fact is, there is a more limited number of interested buyers than there was 18 months ago.
As far as the Yuneec market, I feel it's still good simply based on the number of new members we see signing up on this forum. Anywhere from 12-20 each day. That's darn good. And that is only a fraction of the actual sales.
As far as the Yuneec market, I feel it's still good simply based on the number of new members we see signing up on this forum. Anywhere from 12-20 each day. That's darn good. And that is only a fraction of the actual sales.
I sent a letter to Transport Canada about the privacy risk/issue. I have also filed a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. I would recommend that all Canadian drone flyers do the same. Personally, I am not going to put my personal information on my drone. They have gone way overboard in Canada. The only place you can now fly in Canada, is a field in the middle of nowhere. So looks like all of my videos will be of wheat fields. For miles, and miles, and miles, and miles, and miles. Flat and boring scenery here.
Here is the link..... File a formal privacy complaint - Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
I can understand the personal info bit in as much is your craft goes rogue and flies into someones bedroom they are going to want to know who to contact about making good the damage. Back in my RC aircraft days it was common to lose signal and have a plane go for miles before it came down. As an owner you would never know if it caused damage or not. Where I live the people with a professional license have an fire proof aircraft registration number which must be affixed to the craft. Gives a new meaning to "crash and burn"
I know locally drone sales are flat. Regulation, and the craze is over with. Most of the guys I flew with have given up and either packed the drone away or sold it.
I have just flown my H with 2 fully charged batteries also the SD1 controller fully charged.
During each battery flight a warning came up saying low battery, I had only been flying for 10 mins each when the warning came on. The battery notification was 14.7 volts.
Question. At what voltage is normally shown when warning comes on screen. Does anyone know
During each battery flight a warning came up saying low battery, I had only been flying for 10 mins each when the warning came on. The battery notification was 14.7 volts.
Question. At what voltage is normally shown when warning comes on screen. Does anyone know
Mine goes off at about 14.3v and autolands at 13.4. This gives me about 2 1/2 minutes from the 1st warning until the autolanding sequence kicks in.
Thanks B Scott
I had ignored the 1st warning and only landed after about 71/2 mins, even flew away from landing zone but did find control a little difficult, landed safely
FlushVision
Premium Pilot
I don't know where you are, Joe, but I get the same feeling here where I am (U.K.)
Some sources say that drone sales are forecast to be vigorous for the next couple of years but I think such speculation is just that. Speculation. I think that most of those people who are likely to buy a drone have already done so, so many of the further sales are from people replacing older or damaged beyond repair units, or commercial operators adding to their fleets. Certainly, I think new to the hobby sales have dwindled in recent months.
I took to the hobby in January 2015 with a Phantom 2 Vision and added to that a Phantom 2 Vision Plus in April 2015. It wasn't until the beginning of June 2016 that I added a Typhoon H to my fleet to better service my commercial operation and I have no plans to add another aircraft for the foreseeable future. The aircraft I currently own satisfy my commercial and hobby needs so there'll be no drone sales to me at least for this year. So, yes, as far as I can tell, I agree that drone sales have flattened off.
As an interesting side note. Over the last 2 years a number of training entities (in the U.K.) have cropped up to tap into people wishing to get the qualification needed for the CAAs approval...with some success I may add. I wonder what will become of them once that market dries up.
Transport Canada wants people to call 911 if they see a drone. It is a bad plan as they will be calling about non-emergency's and cluttering up the system. If we have a tail number, then it will force Transport Canada to deal with their set of rules. Your tail number would link to everything Transport Canada would need. There is no way I am putting my personal information on any drone ever so that any whack-job can harass me. I would be curious to see what sales numbers are now with Canada's rules in place. I do see a lot of drones up for sale if that is an indicator where I live.
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