I remember well. I completely agree Yuneec screwed the 920 customer base when they tricked them into converting them to a 920 Plus by calling it an upgrade. I’m a little disappointed in the 920 owners as well for failing to look into what the conversion would do before sending one in for the “upgrade”. Had they done so they might not have allowed Yuneec to screw them.
Where reduced flight time is concerned, I’m not sure why the conversion altered max flight time but we now recognize that Yuneec batteries were aging, even those sold new by Yuneec. Buying new batteries from Yuneec brought us batteries with elevated internal resistance that held no hope of performing as well as a “new” battery should so buying Yuneec batteries only perpetuated the problem. In this I fault both Yuneec for failing to order more batteries from suppliers to assure “fresh” inventory, and the dealers for failing to pressure Yuneec on battery aging and for failing to advise 920 owners of likely decreased battery performance because of old age. The dealers had to know as only those lacking experience with lipo batteries would be unaware of problems associated with old batteries. Yet they remained silent. As you know, an independent solution for the flight time issue was found and published, at a cost far lower than what buying Yuneec batteries could possibly resolve. Note that dealers attempting to mimic that solution priced their new batteries at a much higher price than individual customers could obtain independently. From that alone we might assume that dealers are not our friends, just business people.
As for my purchase of a 920 Plus, by the time I did so the Plus had been in play for enough time that performance info from owners was available on the web. Although that info was difficult to collate because 920 owners often did little to post info related to the 920, the 920 Plus, the cameras, and videos demonstrating camera capabilities, there was enough info spread across various venues to make a qualified decision. I knew pretty much exactly how the Plus would perform while understanding it was “end of the line” where factory support is concerned. Because of this I bought with my “eyes wide open”, with the full understanding that what I bought was all I would ever get. Like you I paid much more for it than people would only a week later. That was very irritating, and still is but that’s business. Manufacturers and retailers are in business to make money, as much money as they can, and few remain in business very long if they tell potential customers to hold off buying because prices will be reduced in a week or a month. I have yet to see a hobby business that participates in “price matching” programs.
It may come across as egotistical but it’s quite possible those price reductions were indirectly my fault. At least the timing of them because until I started posting of my desire to buy a 920 and experiences with it there was virtually no 920 activity in the various forums. 920 Plus sales suddenly increased and that increase may have been the driver that caused Yuneec and dealers to decide that moment in time would be good to assist clearing the shelves of old inventory that had been gathering dust. Reducing prices when product interest is apparent is a great way to move more product, especially if the desire to reduce inventory to zero s present.
In closing, I received an aircraft that delivered exactly the general flight performance I expected. The batteries were an unwelcome surprise but thanks to those discussing flight time on the web I got a head start on finding an inexpensive solution. That others could have made the same discovery a year or more earlier and saved themselves and others a lot of money is a tale for another day. My 920 Plus performs as advertised, while the camera and gimbal are in my opinion as good or better than anything Yuneec sells in their current line up. In some aspects I know it to be better. So I am quite happy with my 920 Plus.
As I’ve said before, those that bought an original 920 and submitted them for conversion to a Plus are well justified in being angry and feeling betrayed. That in itself provides them cause to avoid buying further Yuneec products. For others Yuneec has generated other reasons to defer or avoid purchasing more from them, a category I fall into.
Nobody should buy any multirotor, especially an expensive one, until they know it will work as advertised, that firmware is safe and bug free, that the product will suit their mission requirements, and they know it will be reliable. The onus of establishing flight and firmware performance is on the manufacturers. Determining that features and functions are suitable for the buyer is a buyer responsibility. We should know what we are getting before we make a purchase decision. Only the individual buyers can make such decisions and hopefully they are mature enough to perform their due diligence before making a purchase. If they lack the ability to perform due diligence they are not qualified to make important decisions. To blindly believe manufacturer advertising and manufacturer rep statements to qualify a purchase decision is very, very foolish.
