Good to hear you got settled with DJi, when i lost my inspire i wansnt able to get more than a 30% and returning the remote, which is a scam, cause if you return the remote its a 100%...

lrich00 Posted at 2015-5-23 12:22
None of your arguments make any sense.  There's no manufacturer that has a 0% defect rate.  Every  ...

I completely disagree and the real world back me up.

Heli's and quads and R/C aircraft are not warranted against crashing, being lost (which this one was) or even falling out the sky.

So called pilots (many are...many are not) often don't know exactly what they are doing and what happened and human nature says you are always going to want you $1,000 back for free. DJI and other makers are putting in the logs for just this reason....to determine when something is user error - but even this can only go so far.

The idea that lost quadcopters would be warranted is just the same as saying Apple should replace my iphone if I left it in a rental car and it disappeared. In theory they could retrieve it or disable it. Maybe I forgot to turn on "find my phone". In any case, they will laugh at me.

But a quad isn't even an iphone! It's a highly technical aircraft which requires skill and knowledge as well as maturity to properly operate.

I don't want to pay $200-$300 more for my Phantom so that people who think their lost copters should be replaced (with few questions asked) are happy.  I suspect that sooner or later you - the buyer - will be given a choice and be able to buy such coverage for an extra 2-300 per year. Would you pay this?

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-5-24 00:06
I completely disagree and the real world back me up.

Heli's and quads and R/C aircraft are not wa ...

The argument that a quad is highly technical is nonsense. In this case it was a clear faulty product because you have the data. This has nothing to do with pilot error or not, the flight was recorded in the app and it was obviously a power loss. Why? I dont know but it was not a pilots fault

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-5-24 00:06
I completely disagree and the real world back me up.

Heli's and quads and R/C aircraft are not wa ...

These drones are products, just like every other product out there that you purchase.  Are these a special class of products that I don't know about?  Unless DJI is paying me or giving me this thing to try out or experiment with, then it's just another product for sale.  Thus when a purchase is made you are entering into a contract with the seller that implies that the products are free of substantial defects and will function properly for a reasonable period of time.  

The User Manual states: "Avoid obstacles, crowds, high voltage power lines, trees and bodies of water".  I assume it means don't purposely fly directly into any of those things.  If you assume it means completely,  I'm sure you never fly over trees because that's what the manual says, do you?  

Also as other people have said, DJI's ads are frequently shown over water and volcanos?  

From Consumer Reports:
"Your rights go beyond what you read in a warranty booklet (also called an “express warranty” or guarantee). Any written or spoken claim made by a manufacturer or retailer—in a print or TV ad, on a package, or anywhere else—may be considered an express warranty as well. For instance, TV and Web ads for a product called the Olde Brooklyn Lantern say that its LED bulb will last 100,000 hours. So even though OldeBrooklynLantern.com guarantees satisfaction for only 30 days, if those LEDs stop working before 100,000 hours (more than 4,100 days), you might have the right to a repair, replacement, or refund."  - http://www.consumerreports.org/c ... rotection/index.htm

We are all talking about a manufacturer warranting and backing up their product.  Noone is talking about intentional or obvious user errors.  

These are not just "magic toys".  People are using these things for real life work and are just another product based on development and science.  I'm sure some people think light bulbs are magic toys.  Even so, they still carry a warranty.  

Why should customers be given the benefit of doubt?  Because when they wrote their thousand dollar or more check, they are placing trust in a manufacturer that they will deliver a product that works the way it's supposed to.  The customer should be able to expect some of that trust back.  Having witnessed the interaction in this forum and others, I believe most of these users are an educated intelligent passionate group.  Implying otherwise is insulting.  These could be the same people buying your books.  

"I don't want to pay $200-$300 more for my Phantom"
Where are you pulling these numbers from?  Is that what DJI products will cost if you want to buy from a reputable manufacturer that backs up their products?  Do you know what the cost of development or profit margins are for these products?  Instead of conjecturing, I'd rather deal with more concrete facts.  From the Forbes article, in 2014 they made $500 million in revenue and netted a $120 million profit.  I think even with a fair warranty program they can still net a healthy profit.  But thank you for your concern for an $8 billion dollar (valuation) company.  

"I completely disagree and the real world back me up"
I'm not sure what dystopian world you're living in, but I'd love to sell you a bridge in it.  
I'm lucky I live in this world and this country.  

Actually, truth be told, I hardly ever do fly over trees.  I rarely fly over water. I don't fly 20,000 feet and brag about it like some on these boards.
I use the product for what it is designed for and for what the FAA and other groups suggest - close in LOS (line of sight) photography and video.

I don't doubt anyone's intelligence, but bragging on DJI's forum about flying your bird 3 miles away and asking others if they beat your record seems to point to MANY users who are breaking all the guidelines. In my experience a LOT of people do this...not to say they are not intelligence, but they may be irresponsible or ill-informed.

Concrete facts? There is one independent company which will insure your Phantom 2V+ (P3 not yet available).
It's $250 per year.....AND, it does not cover against loss.
It's well known that many reliable products (which don't fly) cost 10% per year to insure with damage warranties. 20% or more is the figure which would fit something which people fly...

AND, another indicator is that another company which claims to have a replacement warranty (which will obviously not cover all) has to charge $400-800 more total for a package which performs similarly.

I welcome your examples of all the other companies which are providing the same value AND your idea of a rock-solid warranty for $1,000.

Proof is in the pudding. Let us know here when you dunk yours or lose it in the woods - how you got a new one because you yapped about consumer reports.

BTW, I was in retail for over 20 years and also did importing, manufacturing and distribution. I sold heating equipment.....we had people bring in castings which were melted and claimed they were defective. But Iron only melts at a certain temperature. A few honest souls would man-up and admit stuff like they were burning particleboard in their fireplaces.

That's the heating equivalent of flying your P3 20,000 feet away.....

But, again, you keep pointing to "the way it's supposed to work"?

Can you please list out the numerous other makers of model aircraft in the $1,000 price range that "just work". I need to review them. Maybe I'm missing something.

silverqsy@gmail Posted at 2015-5-13 13:26
First, the place I flied is 4 miles away from Logan Airport, it's almost at the edge of the flight  ...

Just my two cents. I'm a Newbie in every sense of the word. But what I do know, and is anyone else aware of the fact that your drone can be hacked and stolen right out of the sky. I don't have the addresses of the articles but look around and you'll find them just as I had.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-5-3 17:56
Is it possible for you to video the App flight log?  That would be helpful to analyze what happened. ...

Sorry to post a question here with different topic. I just wonder when it says "downlink" was that just for the video signal? My telemetry was erratic also when the Video signal bar drops to NO bar. My RC signal bar was full bar at the time I have video signal Bar goes to Zero. Thank you.