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Aquiline Drones

BigAl07 said:
...that "lady" is only shining a candle on the real story...
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That's a very kind thing to say about what they're doing....My description would not be allowed here...

BigAl07 said:
The only people getting rich on these "Quick Start Schemes" are the originators and those at the top level.
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Zig Ziglar once said: "The only guaranteed way to make a million dollars is to get people to pay you to tell them how to make a million dollars."
 
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This sounds like Drones Force. They closed up Oct 31, 2020. They wanted ~$20k for territory rights, drone training, and drones. There is an ongoing investigation into that for fraud. If you feel this is Fraud, you have a path to take and go after them.
 
Im out in FL, saw the indeed job listing, applied and was reached out to by the recruiter. He introduced me to the online training but I haven't spent the $400 yet. From what he told me the $400 is all that I have to pay in order to use their drones and get their app which has the job availabilities on it. Is this the same pitch everyone else got? Or do you have to dish out more money to buy one of their drones?
 
Luke12345678 said:
Im out in FL, saw the indeed job listing, applied and was reached out to by the recruiter. He introduced me to the online training but I haven't spent the $400 yet. From what he told me the $400 is all that I have to pay in order to use their drones and get their app which has the job availabilities on it. Is this the same pitch everyone else got? Or do you have to dish out more money to buy one of their drones?
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I am looking into signing up, which is why I am on here. Anyways, you have the 400 for the course, then another 400 for in person training ( I don’t know if they come to you or you go to them and what costs are associated) then it’s another 5k for their drone.
 
Fred Garvin said:
That's a very kind thing to say about what they're doing....My description would not be allowed here...



Zig Ziglar once said: "The only guaranteed way to make a million dollars is to get people to pay you to tell them how to make a million dollars."
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I'm a graduate of Aquiline Drones, How dare you say we have no jobs. We might!! We have drones, and they don't even have 4K ability. In fact, the drone looks like it weighs about the same as a Mavik Mini with coat hangers for landing. A very professional 5400.00 drone can be yours today if you sign up with the nice pretty lady over the phone. They will even call you as they did me cause I promoted them then backstabbed them. On the internet. I have to change my Website because they are not flying. They have a plan. I was told by their flight operations team. They are to start out in Hartford and then branch out like Uber is what I was told.
Hell, I have been told so many things and the 300 an hour is what was in most of their videos and six figures the first year. that they have taken done.
I think someone from the top of the company will probably not succeed. They sure have been able to buy lots of things, now they want donations and scholarships.
It makes you wonder if Hartford, CT aware of the past.
 
I signed up for the F2F program at the initial offering. It was $800 back then when it was brand new and not really developed. A good friend of mine works there and is one of the Officers handling the FAA 135 Certification. for what were to be Citation Aircraft and are now Sr22s. The concept is/was to corner the Organ Transplant Market.

I completed all phases as they were published up to the waited actual Drone hands on portion. (The program was dragged out as they added modules)
The promises were big. Full year of Drone insurance, continuous access to the system once up and running. A Drone that would be paid off through job assignments, NOT up front...

So far I have been operating my own Drone biz and LLC. Still waiting for the AD program to start. As many here know they most recently are now selling their Spartacus Hurricane Drone for $4999.00. F2F students are to buy this. (No mention of the pay through job assignments anymore) You are to spend 5 days in HFD on your dime for training on the/a Drone to finish the last module and be considered complete. I live in RI and could do this easily enough and stated so. All they say is, we are assembling classes and will advise.... Not sure what in 5 days they can pass along that I haven't experienced already like many of you that already are doing the work.

Think about this:

5k for an untested Drone. They discount it a bit if you want to assemble it yourself. What's that all about? (a video is included to show you what to do) They offer $200 off for F2F students who opt in early. I guess pay now and wait....?

The package for the Drone has no performance specifications listed aside of the drone and a hard carry case. Nothing else! No range, battery life, (how many batteries?) method of transmission, and Shockingly enough, a 1080p camera.....seriously???? And no warranty information. Assemble yourself, something doesn't work, than what???

There is mention and a link to review the controller. It is an off the shelf controller. Lots of how to program info on the link.....What????

I sent all my questions to AD via the officer I know personally. He said my questions would be forwarded but I have not heard a word.

so $800.00 later, NOTHING
 
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@Chris : The Spartacus drone (actually the Drone Volt Hercules 2) was introduced in 2018 or 2019. There have almost certainly been firmware upgrades since then. I don't know if Aquiline are actually building any in Hartford, as originally planned until they laid off most of their manufacturing staff. I am unsure how the ones supplied by the French company Drone Volt qualify as Made in USA.

=> Linkedin : Training and marketing are the predominant characteristics of the workforce.

I have yet to see much evidence of people getting jobs through the platform, which I suspect has been developed by a third-party partner. Aquiline communicates a lot, but not about what is undoubtedly the main reason why people would sign up. That seems odd to me, from an outsider's perspective.

"Aware of the past" ? Are you referring to the CEO's previous conviction for fraud? I'm quite happy to believe that he is a reformed character, but find it surprising that he would in that case entertain the many dubious and/or absurd claims made by Aquiline (for example, repeatedly presenting the company as having >200 employees whereas in reality there were only 15-20 at the time ; announcing production goals of 10,000 drones per month ; training 1 million pilots (basically 1 for every 20 companies in the US, including hairdressers and grocery stores, assuming AD has 100% market share...). I could go on, but you get the general idea.

Lastly, Aquiline is seeking to raise funds at the moment. In its fundraising doc, Flight to the Future sales to date since inception amount to 650.000 USD. Is this consistent with the scale of the company as it has been presented to you?
TIA
 
@Trstrplt: Thanks for your first-hand account!
I don't know if this leaflet (in Fr) contains any specs you didn't already have.

(I have not heard anything bad about this drone, but it is undeniably old, and I don't see how a 40-person company can keep pace with large and/or well-funded competitors like DJI, Parrot, Autel and Skydio.)
 
Hi Andy,
Yes, this is who they partnered with to "assemble" the drones. Outdated equipmentvfor sure which in no way is capable of whatvthey had planned. Their plan was to use autonomous drones to go from hospital to aircraft for organ transplant movements. Initially utilizing Citation jets but are now scaled back to Cirrus single engine piston aircraft.

The Flight to the Future program was pretty well written, though slow in development but it really only presented what is already known out in the industry as far as applications.

The Hercules appears to be a money grab for little or nothing in the box, including an outdated camera. We all kmow what is out there for much less money. 5k will buy you the unfinished Mavic 3 Cine🤣 At least that is a proven company.
 
Frazer75 said:
Fun to watch this post/thread. Ex student and employee….they watch this thread like a hawk just so you all know. Wish all that the best of luck that participated in AD’s grand “idea”….I ran out the door the day before the layoff….thank god I did!
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I hope you're doing OK :)

If AD would like to give a no-BS update here regarding the status of their various operations, I'm sure plenty of Drone Volt shareholders would be willing listeners.

For my part (as an unvested observer), I am curious to learn :
- the status of the manufacturing operation, and what proportion of production is made in Hartford vs assembled in France by Drone Volt;
- the operational status of AD Cloud;
- the size of the AD Cloud customer base;
- the proportion of the sales team devoted to developing that customer base rather than F2F, and the volume of revenue generated by AD Cloud commissions (which I presume to be zero, at this stage).
- the status of the IPO, which was supposed to be done (initiated ?) this year


I'm all ears :)
 
Frazer75 said:
Status of AD manufacturing operation = on hold. (Drone Volt has a small team and are working on newer drones then what is provided to AD)
AD Cloud = not operational (The Drone on Demand App is functional and works....but no cloud = no ADOD)
Customer base = they are working on it
Sales team = well, they were all laid off after I left...maybe 2-3 people working on any kind of sales.
IPO = LOL

--my 2 cents, was with them for over 1 year....worked from home as first sales person, then moved to Hartford with my wife....really believed in AD and the concept. Im a commercial pilot and was excited for the flight side over the drones. The PT 135 Fixed wing side is up and running, and they are working! The Drones, which their plan is to complete the transport of organs and tissue from the airport to the hospitals, is very possible in the future. They have the plan and means to do so. I will just leave it at that. They are a ways out.....and yes the pandemic did not help....but there are other drone companies out there that are growing during this pandemic....just saying. I left for my own personal reasons based on what was happening in the office setting. And thank you ANDY FR, I'm doing amazing! Im heading back to flying fix wings....will keep up on my drone business and have some fun on the side...or maybe get into inspections or something.
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Same here,

I fly for a living and have the Drone operation as a sideline. That drone offering AD put up was insulting. 5k for unproven, outdated and non-accessoried equipment is outrageous.

I operste 6 drones and all of them surpsss the Spartacus.
 
I see AD just posted this on one of the FB groups:

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Aquiline Drones shared a post.​

6 mins ·

It's Work Wednesday and Aquiline Drones would like to mention an important convention at which we will be exhibiting! The Annual CCM CT Summit at Mohegan Sun on Tues., Nov. 30th attracts top town officials from all across #connecticut. Stop by booth #625 to see an on-site #drone display of #SmartCity #technology at its best! Register here: https://www.ccm-ct.org/Education-and-Events/CCM-Convention
#Municipal #municipality #city #town #safecity #safetyfirst #uav #uas #Mayor #firstselectman
 
So if they are going backwqrds instead of forwards, what's with all the postings on LinkedIn and other locales about these gatherings of all sorts of groups boasting ADs achievements? They have yet to fullfill the promise to the F2F folks like me that got in at the beginning.....reminds me of an Amway sham....

Sorry so many laid off but the economy is strong. Did 3 layoffs in my career and they all sucked.
 
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Hi all, and in particular to @Frazer75 , for your interesting personal account.
(I have not been back to this thread for a while because I thought I would receive an automatic notification, as was the case previously... technogremlins!)

@Tristrplt : AD spends a lot of time hobnobbing with local and state dignitaries, but I have yet to see them do a serious interview in the specialist press (i.e. not just posting their marketing material), or out in the field showing how they are empowering their trainees' new businesses.

Good luck to all. Onwards and upwards ;-)
 
"The PT 135 Fixed wing side is up and running, and they are working!"
Barry Alexander used to run an air ambulance business (also under the Aquiline brand). I wonder if the two are related?
 

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