Commercial question about drones

[Chad80]

I have a Typhoon H Plus and I do enjoy it but was wondering if it's enough and also it is hard to get some parts for it now. I am starting with Real Estate but eventually I would like to get into inspections. I am in the process of getting my Part 107.

Would something like an Inspire be better for this?

 

[AH-1G]

@Chad80 Your best bet is asking at the Yuneec Pilots forum about the H Plus.
I still have my Yuneec 480 H 4k, I haven't had issues from customers about quality. However it depends what your customers are demanding. Inspire has a better camera, but not sure if parts and batteries are plentiful??

 

[Chad80]

@AH-1G thanks for the info, I have looked in the other forum and even had some posts. It seems fine for Real Estate but my worry is parts for it. It's one of the reasons I'm looking for a different one and I know DJI is a great choice.

 

[Fred Garvin]

Chad, I use Typhoons in my business. Since purchasing a Mavic 2 Pro, they do not get near the flight time as they used to. Typically I’ll deploy the H+ in winds that are unsuitable to the Mavic 2 Pro. I’ve flown the H+ in winds of 25+mph and gusts over 30. It’s working hard and battery only lasts 8 mins or so, but it gets the job done. Personally I prefer the Mavic 2 Pro as it’s much easier to deploy. Has a smaller, less noticeable footprint, and the Occusync communication makes the wi-fi of the H+ laughable. Both my Typhoons are great aircraft and can get the job done.

At this point I would advise you to avoid Yuneec. Whatever you do, do not base your business on any Yuneec aircraft. You can add to your fleet, but do not base operations on them. Yes, parts and batteries are becoming hard to find, expensive when you do, and likely used, or “new old stock” that’s been sitting for 2+ years. Getting service and parts is a very, very poor state right now and there’s no indication it will get better.

Yuneec, as a company, seems to be circling the drain. Nothing but broken promises, unfulfilled requests, resellers left hanging and in one case, out of business. Their latest answer to improvement requests and upgrades to the H+ was not a firmware update....but the release of the H3....you want these upgrades? Buy the $2600 H3. Even this aircraft has been pushed back, hard to find, and in some cases birds are DOA for the unfortunate ones who foolishly spent the money. They seem to have abandoned the US market as only European vendors get any attention, and even this is beginning to wane.

BUY A SOLID PLATFORM. I’d recommend:

1. A well equipped I2/X5s system, with batteries, Crystalsky and lenses.
or
2. Mavic 2 Pro
or
3. Phantom 4 Pro

NOW, with all that being said, do this:

1. Get your 107.
2. Setup your business.
3. Get some jobs. If you actually do, then save your earnings for a better aircraft system.

The H+ you have should be okay starting out. It’s certainly capable of taking great images and video. You need to make sure the business is going to work, you’re going to get jobs, and actually make money before you go out investing in expensive systems. As your business grows, use that income to invest in additional systems. You’ll be better educated on what you NEED to buy to grow your business....not what you WANT to buy or that others, who don’t know your situation, recommend that you buy.....

 

[Chad80]

Chad, I use Typhoons in my business. Since purchasing a Mavic 2 Pro, they do not get near the flight time as they used to. Typically I’ll deploy the H+ in winds that are unsuitable to the Mavic 2 Pro. I’ve flown the H+ in winds of 25+mph and gusts over 30. It’s working hard and battery only lasts 8 mins or so, but it gets the job done. Personally I prefer the Mavic 2 Pro as it’s much easier to deploy. Has a smaller, less noticeable footprint, and the Occusync communication makes the wi-fi of the H+ laughable. Both my Typhoons are great aircraft and can get the job done.

At this point I would advise you to avoid Yuneec. Whatever you do, do not base your business on any Yuneec aircraft. You can add to your fleet, but do not base operations on them. Yes, parts and batteries are becoming hard to find, expensive when you do, and likely used, or “new old stock” that’s been sitting for 2+ years. Getting service and parts is a very, very poor state right now and there’s no indication it will get better.

Yuneec, as a company, seems to be circling the drain. Nothing but broken promises, unfulfilled requests, resellers left hanging and in one case, out of business. Their latest answer to improvement requests and upgrades to the H+ was not a firmware update....but the release of the H3....you want these upgrades? Buy the $2600 H3. Even this aircraft has been pushed back, hard to find, and in some cases birds are DOA for the unfortunate ones who foolishly spent the money. They seem to have abandoned the US market as only European vendors get any attention, and even this is beginning to wane.

BUY A SOLID PLATFORM. I’d recommend:

1. A well equipped I2/X5s system, with batteries, Crystalsky and lenses.
or
2. Mavic 2 Pro
or
3. Phantom 4 Pro

NOW, with all that being said, do this:

1. Get your 107.
2. Setup your business.
3. Get some jobs. If you actually do, then save your earnings for a better aircraft system.

The H+ you have should be okay starting out. It’s certainly capable of taking great images and video. You need to make sure the business is going to work, you’re going to get jobs, and actually make money before you go out investing in expensive systems. As your business grows, use that income to invest in additional systems. You’ll be better educated on what you NEED to buy to grow your business....not what you WANT to buy or that others, who don’t know your situation, recommend that you buy.....

Thank you so much for that Fred, it was VERY informative and I have taken a lot away from it. What you said about Yuneec was the exact reason I want to get another drone and I agree that it's a great and fun drone to fly but I do not want to base my business around it. I am studying for my 107 now, so hopefully I will have it soon. I already have a realtor that will want some properties done once I'm certified and insured.

 

[Fred Garvin]

Thats fantastic! Get your business setup and do the jobs for your Realtor. Use them for your portfolio. (Make sure this is agreed) The more jobs you do, and as your business grows, look to buying better/different aircraft from the income.

 

[Airmapper]

I'm not in business yet but I completed part 107 and purchased a Mavic 2 Pro. If you haven't upgraded in a while it will blow your mind. As the others have said it's so easy to work with. All my drone gear in one small pelican type case.

I like Yuneec equipment, I have an older Chroma, but like many I think it's to risky to throw good money at them when they have a shaky reputation.

 

[TreeLineView]

Thank you so much for that Fred, it was VERY informative and I have taken a lot away from it. What you said about Yuneec was the exact reason I want to get another drone and I agree that it's a great and fun drone to fly but I do not want to base my business around it. I am studying for my 107 now, so hopefully I will have it soon. I already have a realtor that will want some properties done once I'm certified and insured.

Fred summed it up nicely for you. I did a lot of Real Estate when I first got started as you want to. I would recommend a Phantom 4 Pro and a good set of ND filters if you are going to do video. Most of my shots were on the Ocean, so I did all video. You will want to work out how you are going to present your product. Photos are an easy deliverable for the Client to post. If you are doing video, do not use YouTube. MLS listing sites won't let that be posted. Also won't let you post photos/video with your Clients ForSale sign in view. My first mistake. Finally, your Client won't like YouTube throwing in a competitors add at the end of their video. :-( I quickly switched to Vimeo and provided embedded data for them to use or create a link to your account that you can customize. One of my first videos

Kingman Yacht Club

tinyurl.com

 

[Fred Garvin]

I used (and still do for some deliverables) a free DropBox account. Setup public and private folders for your stuff. Create a client’s folder, put the pix/vids in it and share a link to them so that only they can access and download the files. Give them like 2 weeks before you remove the folder to manage space. If they need to download again after that, they can just contact you. Let them worry about what they do with their pix/vids.