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Should I go or should I stay?

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What features would make you interested in purchasing a new Yuneec drone
Introduction of Google maps as waypoints guidance.
Upgrade of the Intel Realsense module to include all round sensors.
Removal of restrictions to allow the use of all Yuneec's cameras.
Propper well stocked online store for batteries and all spare parts and upgrades.
Speed up the boot up time of the ST16's controllers.
I love the size of the ST16 controllers but the boot up times is a real annoyance and should be improved. For me these are the improvements I would need to attract me to upgrade my current Yuneec gear.
Please feel free to add to this list with improvements you would like to see made to entice you to upgrade or even stay with yuneec.
Cheers.
Mike
 
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Boot up time what are you referring to? Is it the controller to acquire video link, that will be longer in EU firmware because of DFS to prevent interference to external frequencies which maybe interfered with. Enough dealers in Europe to get pretty much everything, some will have batteries, but a modification is probably way forward soon.
 
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Boot up time what are you referring to? Is it the controller to acquire video link, that will be longer in EU firmware because of DFS to prevent interference to external frequencies which maybe interfered with. Enough dealers in Europe to get pretty much everything, some will have batteries, but a modification is probably way forward soon.

So you are happy with the availability of spare parts! Where are you getting them?
I see you are in the UK. What spares can you get from the main dealer in the UK. Any time I look on their website most everything is out of stock?
I cant even get a new drone from them as all are OOS?
Sow as you say you are happy with your drone, are there now improvement you would like to see made to it by Yuneec.
I believe that the old H when it first was released had cruse control and it was removed. I have the H Plus and would very much like to have cruise control for video work. I know I can get a unit from the US that fits over the throttle stick to hold the stick forward. I don't like this method as I feel in an emergency it could cause problems?
If I was getting a new car and I asked the salesman if the car had cruisecontrol and he said now but you could wedge a stick on the throttle pedal and it will work fine I know what I would say.
PS. I almost forgot about the transmitter but up times.
It reminds me of the old Windows 95 days when you pressed the start button and then turned on the kettle for a cup of tea.
Cheers.
Mike
 
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There are a few in Germany and Spain and Poland. I thought Irish as a surname meant your from the Emerald isles.
Hi and yes I am indeed from Ireland. I have gotten items from Germany but anything I've seen from Poland I found the postage was very expensive.
One would think that the main agenend in lets just say England would carry new drowns and spares.
Is there anything that would encourage you to upgrade to a new Yuneec drone.
Mike
 
Yuneec UK does stock the plus, running down the stock of the H480 spares it seems, I'm happy with the range I have. It provides enjoyment still.
 
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Yuneec UK does stock the plus, running down the stock of the H480 spares it seems, I'm happy with the range I have. It provides enjoyment still.

Good to see you are happy with you H480. I have the H Plus and I am also happy with it. I had it out yesterday and flue tree batterie, a very enjoyable day. However there are still some improvements that I would love to see.
 
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Improvements I'd like to see for my PLUS.
1- Google maps as waypoints guidance, absolutely.
2- Added to above, Mission Planning using Google maps (not just CCC)
3- Yes, well stocked online store for batteries and all spare parts and upgrades.
4- Speed up the boot up time of the ST16's controllers, sure although not a big deal to me.
5- Cruise control would also be nice to have back.
 
Here's a cruise control deivce,

The rest of the drone I'm happy with, I think if it didn't take so much time to set up then I'd need to increase the flight time to fill the free time I have to fly,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
To those of you who may not have been around for more than a few months; the history of Yuneec is worth noting.

The high point of Yuneec, most will agree, happened somewhere between the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017. In those days Yuneec customer service was TOPS. When the 480 came out, naturally it had some bugs and by mid 2017 all that was going to be done, in terms of updates and improvements was over. I'll try to keep this short and give it to you like cliff notes. ;)

The 520 was rumored and the masses yearned. the original date came and passed but eventually it arrived in limited numbers - at a premium price - and with a number of it's own problems which; some were addressed, while others may not have been. I am not too familiar with that one.

Again Yuneec made rumors and hype about the Plus - missing its intended role out period, but eventually hitting in Mid 2018. It was an improvement over the 480 in some areas while was lacking in others (Cruise Control). Then we went on a year-and-a-half roller coaster ride waiting for the next update praying some of the bugs would be fixed and some of the former functions would be returned. Meanwhile we were still trying to figure out just how everything worked. Yuneec made subtle changes in things like - how CCC worked but never mentioned it, or told in the manual, so we waited and experimented.

There were many threads such as this where a member would pose the same "what do you want" type of question about the Plus and all eagerly put in their bid. About that time I was contacted by someone claiming to be with Yuneec China and we started a dialogue in regards to what needed to be fixed. He eventually told me to go public with this news and we did. For the next several months he was on this forum and many of us thought this might be the turning point where Yuneec got their stuff together. As it turned out, we do believe this person was working as an engineer for Yuneec, but what his true purpose was is still anyone's guess. Chinese companies do not typically ask their customers what they want - they run from the top down - much like their government.

Long story short - it never happened and eventually our Yuneec contact faded into the past. Sometime later the H3 was leaked and while hopes were high, no one was holding their breath this time. Eventually it plopped out out to the stage in a very limited number - much like the 520 but at close to 700.00 more than the Plus. We still don't know much about it because there are so few that have them and it takes a lot of people with a lot of dedication to take a product like the Plus and go through it with a fine toothed comb and document for the masses every detail. We do know that cruise was put back on the H3 which to many of us was a stab in the back because we know it would be a simple affair to give it to us Plus and 520 owners.

Bottom line. It's not very likely to happen. Yuneec has moved beyond all models and that probably includes the H3. Those of us who still have working examples should enjoy them for as long as we can scrounge whatever is needed to keep them in the air. If you have a working Plus, congratulations as I firmly believe it was, and is, the apex of the Yuneec Consumer Drone line. While it may have some issues - the grass on the other side is no greener, I have been there too.
 
Nearly half of Yuneec's suppliers had not been paid for more than a year. Yuneec has not made supplier payments on time since the second quarter of 2017
 
Here's a cruise control deivce,

The rest of the drone I'm happy with, I think if it didn't take so much time to set up then I'd need to increase the flight time to fill the free time I have to fly,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Thanks I have one coming from the US should be here shortly. I hope?
Regards.
Mike
 
To those of you who may not have been around for more than a few months; the history of Yuneec is worth noting.

The high point of Yuneec, most will agree, happened somewhere between the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017. In those days Yuneec customer service was TOPS. When the 480 came out, naturally it had some bugs and by mid 2017 all that was going to be done, in terms of updates and improvements was over. I'll try to keep this short and give it to you like cliff notes. ;)

The 520 was rumored and the masses yearned. the original date came and passed but eventually it arrived in limited numbers - at a premium price - and with a number of it's own problems which; some were addressed, while others may not have been. I am not too familiar with that one.

Again Yuneec made rumors and hype about the Plus - missing its intended role out period, but eventually hitting in Mid 2018. It was an improvement over the 480 in some areas while was lacking in others (Cruise Control). Then we went on a year-and-a-half roller coaster ride waiting for the next update praying some of the bugs would be fixed and some of the former functions would be returned. Meanwhile we were still trying to figure out just how everything worked. Yuneec made subtle changes in things like - how CCC worked but never mentioned it, or told in the manual, so we waited and experimented.

There were many threads such as this where a member would pose the same "what do you want" type of question about the Plus and all eagerly put in their bid. About that time I was contacted by someone claiming to be with Yuneec China and we started a dialogue in regards to what needed to be fixed. He eventually told me to go public with this news and we did. For the next several months he was on this forum and many of us thought this might be the turning point where Yuneec got their stuff together. As it turned out, we do believe this person was working as an engineer for Yuneec, but what his true purpose was is still anyone's guess. Chinese companies do not typically ask their customers what they want - they run from the top down - much like their government.

Long story short - it never happened and eventually our Yuneec contact faded into the past. Sometime later the H3 was leaked and while hopes were high, no one was holding their breath this time. Eventually it plopped out out to the stage in a very limited number - much like the 520 but at close to 700.00 more than the Plus. We still don't know much about it because there are so few that have them and it takes a lot of people with a lot of dedication to take a product like the Plus and go through it with a fine toothed comb and document for the masses every detail. We do know that cruise was put back on the H3 which to many of us was a stab in the back because we know it would be a simple affair to give it to us Plus and 520 owners.

Bottom line. It's not very likely to happen. Yuneec has moved beyond all models and that probably includes the H3. Those of us who still have working examples should enjoy them for as long as we can scrounge whatever is needed to keep them in the air. If you have a working Plus, congratulations as I firmly believe it was, and is, the apex of the Yuneec Consumer Drone line. While it may have some issues - the grass on the other side is no greener, I have been there too.

A well written and detailed experience of Yuneec's shortcomings.
I would still love to hear from you and others what improvements you would like to see with Yuneec's next offerings.
Cheers.
Mike
 
Nearly half of Yuneec's suppliers had not been paid for more than a year. Yuneec has not made supplier payments on time since the second quarter of 2017

Shameful how large companies do business. But there is reily nothing new here. I was a manager for a large international US Company here in Ireland, now retired. It was a company's policy to hold payment for at least 30 days and sometimes 60 days! This caused more problems for us mere mortals but there still there in business today.
Mike
 
Thanks Mike. Personally, I don't think we're going to see much more from Yuneec. With all the problems prior to the first quarter of this year the writing seemed to be on the wall, now however with the Corona Virus, the end seems inevitable. In fact the whole consumer drone market is changing in my estimation.

Having said that; if (hypothetically) Yuneec were to survive and continue - what would I like to see? Realistically the Plus is two years old and I don't expect them to continue to add features to this platform but I would like to see some support in terms of spares being readily available. Going forward from there? Even though the Typhoon platform is long in the tooth, I still think it has legs and if well executed would carve out a slice of the market for yuneec.

First off there is NO competitor with this type of platform under 2000.00 dollars unless you pick up a used Inspire 1 or 2. While the majority of the market is leaning towards pocket sized drones - I believe there is still a market for a workhorse like a Typhoon H with the features that put it in a class all it's own -
  • Motor Redundancy in an emergency
  • Retractable gear
  • 360 rotating gimbal
  • Team Mode Possible
  • Built in Screen
  • Perfect Controller Layout
Where the Plus falls short (way short in my estimation) is in the refinement of the Typhoon H - As a side note, my background is in design and; in model aircraft design in particular and I mention this for reason. And that reason is that I know there is 'No Free Lunch' meaning: when ever you add complexity - you add cost. Whenever you add features - you add weight. When ever you add weight - your power requirement goes up. And when that happens - your costs go up - and so on and so forth. Simply put; adding features (in reality) is walking on a razors' edge, and just because we can dream of 30 minute flight time with a 40 megapixel camera with redundant flight control to eliminate fly aways - that will never happen in a 'consumer' drone at this price.

So having said that, here are some things that would make the Typhoon shine in my estimation.

  1. Camera control lags WAY behind the competition - The current camera IS as good as the others but the ability to control it is not. The now - four year old P4P has a mechanical shutter and even the 2 year old M2P has an adjustable aperture as well as having much more control over all aspects of the imagery and even has a 10 bit video profile. Match these two competitors.
  2. Functionality of Controls - We've been asking for four years to have assignable buttons knobs and controls. The competition has this. Using the same ST-16 Platform - give us one or two such features and let us have the ability to assign any feature we want.
  3. Spares - Make available enough spares to give us reasonable assurance that we can extend our investment should we need or choose to.
These three categories of upgrades applied to a Typhoon H platform would be enough to kick start the line again in my estimation. The Plus is never going to be a pocketable 'fun' drone which (it seems) is where the market is either going or; being lead to. I don't think Yuneec will ever compete with DJI - it's too late for that but I am here to testify that I did get a M2P a while back and while it is packed with features that make it very usable - it's camera is not better than the Plus but I have more control and the portability issue is one that makes the Mavic shine.

However - if Yuneec somehow survives and 'miraculously' produced a new Typhoon H and had those things I mentioned (assuming the slightly extra cost) my next drone would be that Typhoon H.

P.S. Sorry for the long post, I just had some extra time to kill. ;)
 
If what some are saying on here is true, the US market is going through a tough time and may not survive, other Yuneec franchises around the world don't seem too badly affected, and some projects announced, but not yet come to fruition seem to be for EU only ( 920 revamp) I'm not sure what the supply and demand of the H3 is in US, but it is trickling through in EU now, perhaps the whole trade fiasco between US and China is damaging the market for Yuneec. It does seem strange that one can select pretty much anything for a H or Plus from Germany, Spain, Poland etc and it's in stock.
 
If the current trade situation between China and the US had anything to do with it - DJI would also be hurting and while one could argue that they are, the release of the Mavic Mini seems to be a hit and just today they released the Mavic Air 2 with some surprising features at less than one third the cost of an H3. Not to mention spare parts and so forth for any of the DJI line are overwhelmingly abundant here. So I don't really see us stopping the massive trade imbalance with China has had anything to do with Yuneec's downfall here in the US.
 
If the current trade situation between China and the US had anything to do with it - DJI would also be hurting and while one could argue that they are, the release of the Mavic Mini seems to be a hit and just today they released the Mavic Air 2 with some surprising features at less than one third the cost of an H3. Not to mention spare parts and so forth for any of the DJI line are overwhelmingly abundant here. So I don't really see us stopping the massive trade imbalance with China has had anything to do with Yuneec's downfall here in the US.
Is it a downfall or premeditated? Perhaps they've had enough and everyone dealing with them in US? There's only so much goodwill a network of dealers, franchises etc can provide, the damage is done, perhaps they contributed to their demise, they forget people have long memories, and the market and reputation is possibly damaged beyond help. We will see in the coming months what happens, they can blame a few things on the pandemic for a while, but they will have to step up up or step away soon.
 
What features would make you interested in purchasing a new Yuneec drone

Absolutely NOTHING. There isn’t any new drone or features that Yuneec could produce that will tempt me to part with my money.

My confidence in YUNEEC as a company, who will support their products and customers, is so low as to be non-existent. Yuneec will need to make so many changes in the way they do business before I’ll spend any money at all on them. I want to hope though, I want to believe....but I just don’t think it’s going to happen. This includes a blooming 3rd party market with accessories and batteries.

Too bad. Really great platform. I really like my Typhoons and hope to keep flying them as long as possible. I’m not completely on my own though as this forum provides better Customer Service than Yuneec does.
 
Nearly half of Yuneec's suppliers had not been paid for more than a year. Yuneec has not made supplier payments on time since the second quarter of 2017

Mgrs1,

That problem started long before 2017. They didn’t pay their 920 suppliers either. That is the reason the 920 became the 920 Plus. Suppliers cut off things like the auto pilot and ST-24, which rather hindered assembly of the airframe components in inventory. That takes it back to 2014-2015, and the reason batteries are not available for most all their products. No tickee-no laundry...
 
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