Yuneec Chapter 11 stuck with NFZ

[enterprisehomeinspections]

Hi everyone i'm new here but wanted to show/tell you something that happened to me. I recently purchased a Typhoon H and went to ask yuneec for the "no fly zone" removal as I did for my Q500. They proceeded to send me a response saying they were going to chapter 11 and hope to find a resolution in two months. I have part 107 license and wanted to use this drone without worry of getting to a job with a NFZ warning.

What do you guys think am i screwed or will someone hack it for me somewhere? Thanks in advance from your local "frustrated" home inspector.

 

[Yuneec Skins]

Your Only Option Currently is to Contact Yuneec in Germany, but.....you will have to ship it to them, which should cost slightly less then your H. I had someone out of the Country who would do them but his Contact, was either canned or left Yuneec among many others he informed me, the Future doesn't seem to bright for YAPV.
You might try Vertigo Drones as far as I know they are the last Yuneec Resource in the USA. and if you find a Hacker be sure and let us know...

 

[Steve Carr]

I would send an email to [email protected] and explain your situation.

I should mention, the reply you received was from Germany. Sadly, their comment in the email is not correct. Yuneec did not file Chapter 11. They are in receivership. This site explains the difference:

Receivership vs Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: A Comparison - Resolute

What's the difference between receivership and bankruptcy? Chapter 11 is governed by the Bankruptcy Code, while receiverships are court-appointed.

resolutecommercial.com

 

[Fred Garvin]

I received the same canned response from "Stefan". I've forwarded the chain to Yuneec UK. We'll see what happens.

 

[Red Baron]

I would send an email to [email protected] and explain your situation.

I should mention, the reply you received was from Germany. Sadly, their comment in the email is not correct. Yuneec did not file Chapter 11. They are in receivership. This site explains the difference:

Receivership vs Chapter 11 Bankruptcy: A Comparison - Resolute

What's the difference between receivership and bankruptcy? Chapter 11 is governed by the Bankruptcy Code, while receiverships are court-appointed.

resolutecommercial.com

As a professional commercial loan workout guy speaking here, the bankruptcy/receivership comparisons are accurate. BUT, please note that neither legal process benefits you the consumer. Banks and other secured creditors prefer receiverships because they/we maximize recovery of outstanding debts but at a much lower cost. You, as a consumer customer, gain nothing from either legal process.

Enjoy and use your current UAV in the US; buy another one at your own risk.

 

[PatR]

My take on the difference had Chapter 11 having a chance the company could make a come back. With receivership, not a chance unless some other company buys the remaining rights and assets.

 

[Red Baron]

My take on the difference had Chapter 11 having a chance the company could make a come back. With receivership, not a chance unless some other company buys the remaining rights and assets.

Spot on; perfect.

 

[Katherine]

I guess there's no point in renewing my part 107 then, since this is my only bird. ?

 

[Sureshot]

Hi everyone i'm new here but wanted to show/tell you something that happened to me. I recently purchased a Typhoon H and went to ask yuneec for the "no fly zone" removal as I did for my Q500. They proceeded to send me a response saying they were going to chapter 11 and hope to find a resolution in two months. I have part 107 license and wanted to use this drone without worry of getting to a job with a NFZ warning.

What do you guys think am i screwed or will someone hack it for me somewhere? Thanks in advance from your local "frustrated" home inspector.

Maybe you can load the USA software??

 

[Yuneec Skins]

I guess there's no point in renewing my part 107 then, since this is my only bird. ?

It's disappointing when a Duly Licensed UAV Operator, gets let down by their Equipment Manufacturer, if you were Flying the H520 it wouldn't be an issue, I'm sure there are many here diligently searching for a solution....I know I am.

 

[PatR]

I guess there's no point in renewing my part 107 then, since this is my only bird. [emoji2959]

Why would you say that? The list of Yuneec NFZ’s is quite limited compared to DJI’s list that almost assumes total control of U.S. airspace. Your H can fly without any NFZ interference a lot more places than a DJI product can.

There’s nothing in U.S. federal law requiring NFZ software at this time. I can’t comment on EU or UK. If you are in an unrestricted airspace area, fly like you always do. If you are in an area that requires ATC authorization, if your H itself does not limit operation obtain the authorization.

There’s a heck of a lot more places to conduct commercial operations that don’t have low level ATC restrictions than those that do.

OTOH, I would suggest owning more than one tool to put in a toolbox.

 

[Steve Carr]

I guess there's no point in renewing my part 107 then, since this is my only bird. ?

These are the only FL airports in the Yuneec database:

Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport​

Jacksonville International Airport​

Mac Dill Air Force Base​

Orlando International Airport​

Miami International Airport​

Tyndall Air Force Base​

Palm Beach International Airport​

Southwest Florida International Airport​

Orlando Sanford International Airport​

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport​

Tallahassee Regional Airport​

Tampa International Airport​

Eglin Air Force Base​

 

[Katherine]

Why would you say that? The list of Yuneec NFZ’s is quite limited compared to DJI’s list that almost assumes total control of U.S. airspace. Your H can fly without any NFZ interference a lot more places than a DJI product can.

There’s nothing in U.S. federal law requiring NFZ software at this time. I can’t comment on EU or UK. If you are in an unrestricted airspace area, fly like you always do. If you are in an area that requires ATC authorization, if your H itself does not limit operation obtain the authorization.

There’s a heck of a lot more places to conduct commercial operations that don’t have low level ATC restrictions than those that do.

OTOH, I would suggest owning more than one tool to put in a toolbox.

Right, I can fly wherever I need to, as long as it's not in a NFZ, but if I do need to fly in one now, I am limited to 60 ft AGL if I'm within 5 miles of an airport. If I am unable to obtain a new unlock when I renew my part 107, then what's the point? I haven't done so btw, because the testing centers have been closed. It seems that the unlock code I had expires after the 2 yrs of activity.

I purchased a Yuneec because I didn't want a DJI. Now the government in the US has pretty much grounded all DJIs from performing any Government related functions. It's a sad situation, and until I see how this whole Chinese drone ban plays out (are there any other kind?), I'm not going to waste the money renewing. They want to turn all our UAS into doorstops.

Are U.S. Drone Companies Ready to Replace DJI? Implications of the American Security Drone Act

A few months ago, the American Security Drone Act of 2019 was unanimously passed out of Committee by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental...

uavcoach.com

 

[Steve Carr]

(are there any other kind?)

The H520 and the EVO do not have NFZ limits. I am confident the newer H520e will also not have limits.

 

[dylanfm]

Right, I can fly wherever I need to, as long as it's not in a NFZ, but if I do need to fly in one now, I am limited to 60 ft AGL if I'm within 5 miles of an airport. If I am unable to obtain a new unlock when I renew my part 107, then what's the point? I haven't done so btw, because the testing centers have been closed. It seems that the unlock code I had expires after the 2 yrs of activity.

I purchased a Yuneec because I didn't want a DJI. Now the government in the US has pretty much grounded all DJIs from performing any Government related functions. It's a sad situation, and until I see how this whole Chinese drone ban plays out (are there any other kind?), I'm not going to waste the money renewing. They want to turn all our UAS into doorstops.

Are U.S. Drone Companies Ready to Replace DJI? Implications of the American Security Drone Act

A few months ago, the American Security Drone Act of 2019 was unanimously passed out of Committee by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental...

uavcoach.com

Realistically all of our drones are going to be grounded by the FAA's "proposed" Remote ID rule within the next couple of years. That is why I let my Part 107 expire and have been avoiding buying any new drones. It isn't worth it when they will become instantly illegal at some point in the near future.

As a semi last resort you could replace the firmware on the drone with the Pixhawk firwmware. You would both lose and gain some functionality but at least people are still working on this FW. I haven't done it myself yet, but I might.

Typhoon H 480 PX4 v1.10 (Stability issues ;-)

Hi all, I'm new here. ;-) The Typhoon H is my first drone (almost). They said that it should be so easy to fly, but now after a firmware upgrade, I am having some stability issues with it. What could be wrong? I have tried all the calibrations and everything, but it still does not want fly...

yuneecpilots.com

 

[Phaedrus]

These are the only FL airports in the Yuneec database:

Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport​

Jacksonville International Airport​

Mac Dill Air Force Base​

Orlando International Airport​

Miami International Airport​

Tyndall Air Force Base​

Palm Beach International Airport​

Southwest Florida International Airport​

Orlando Sanford International Airport​

Sarasota Bradenton International Airport​

Tallahassee Regional Airport​

Tampa International Airport​

Eglin Air Force Base​

And those are only for the surface areas of each airport's airspace. That leaves a huge number of locations open to fly unlocking the NFZ.

 

[PatR]

I purchased a Yuneec because I didn't want a DJI. Now the government in the US has pretty much grounded all DJIs from performing any Government related functions. It's a sad situation, and until I see how this whole Chinese drone ban plays out (are there any other kind?), I'm not going to waste the money renewing. They want to turn all our UAS into doorstops.

Are U.S. Drone Companies Ready to Replace DJI? Implications of the American Security Drone Act

A few months ago, the American Security Drone Act of 2019 was unanimously passed out of Committee by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental...

uavcoach.com

We might want to consider the H-480 is well past it’s prime. Aside from the 360* gimbal and being a hex it wasn’t that far ahead when it was released. If you are seriously doing commercial work your product has to at least keep up with what you are competing against. So equipment upgrades are a normal part of equipment cycle.

As for what’s available that’s not DJI but still “cheap” you have a couple of options. Beyond Chinese drones you have much more expensive commercial drone companies or you can build your own.

The problem for most is the expense involved with truly professional equipment. The makers are not interested in relatively inexpensive consumer drones, being more concerned with higher quality, higher performance, system flexibility, and much greater reliability.

 

[Fred Garvin]

Yuneec finally responded to my request and supplied a permanent unlock code. My H+ is now permanently unlocked. If I upgrade the firmware (unlikely) I’ll have to enter it again, but I’ve got multiple copies of it in different locations so I’ll never lose it.

 

[Steve Carr]

Yuneec finally responded to my request and supplied a permanent unlock code.

Was the response from the US or the UK?

 

[Fred Garvin]

The email addy was from [email protected] a general account. The guys name was a german name so I'm assuming it's the European outfit.