Best American made drone?

[cknipp]

Hello Folks!

I fly a DJI Air2S. I think it’s a great drone. I want to buy another drone, but thought I would get a non DJI drone. Sometimes the DJI “fly safe” grounds me unnecessarily.

With that said, I thought I would buy an American made drone. In your opinion, what is the best American made drone?

I’ve heard of Skydio and Exo Drones the most.
A follow up question wound be, what are the pros and cons of different American made drones? Has any of the details on pros done any videos about this?

Thanks for your opinions and resources!

Blessings,
Chris

 

[dave canada]

dragonfly if you are rich

 

[Macinfo]

dragonfly if you are rich

They don't seem to offer hardware for the average recreational flyer. most offerings are for specific business areas.

 

[karlblessing]

Main con of skydio is that it won't let you take off at all if it's too dark, it prioritizes obstacle avoidance ability above all.

Far as being grounded. If your Air 2s is at firmware 2190 or earlier, you can use drone-hack to remove all that with the certificate hack, can even go as far as turning off aereoscope broadcasting. But haven't seen anything yet if they'll be able to retain remote id compliance next year when they do manage to exploit the latest firmware.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I think the only alternative is the Autel Evo 2 pro , but the rub is that there is almost zero customer support so you need to buy from a store that can be a quick return if you do not get a perfect drone out of the box. Also remember its a brand new eco system but many clients are very happy with not having to worry about ID and Geo Zones and its there go to..

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Evo 2 in the Rain.

 

[Tim Riesner]

I think the only alternative is the Autel Evo 2 pro , but the rub is that there is almost zero customer support so you need to buy from a store that can be a quick return if you do not get a perfect drone out of the box. Also remember its a brand new eco system but many clients are very happy with not having to worry about ID and Geo Zones and its there go to..

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Evo 2 in the Rain.

I thought that these were made in China?

 

[Meta4]

I think the only alternative is the Autel Evo 2 pro

Autel is a Chinese company with headquarters just down the road from DJI in Shenzen.
Their drones are made in China too.

 

[sar104]

I fly the Watts Prism X8, but it's overkill for most applications. At full 55 lbs takeoff weight it flies like a bus, but is very stable and will carry a 20 lb video camera.

 

[DARKSeifer]

All drones are chinese or made in china nowadays, unless Skydio maybe, is it made in china?

 

[Meta4]

All drones are chinese or made in china nowadays, unless Skydio maybe, is it made in china?

There are plenty of companies building drones in the US.
Almost all are very expensive and not consumer drones.

Drones made in the USA: the American drone companies you should know

Government rules about buying drones made in the USA means some pilots are looking away from DJI and toward American drone companies.

www.thedronegirl.com

Skydio is about the only exception.

 

[Nanny Ogg]

I think the only alternative is the Autel Evo 2 pro , but the rub is that there is almost zero customer support so you need to buy from a store that can be a quick return if you do not get a perfect drone out of the box. Also remember its a brand new eco system but many clients are very happy with not having to worry about ID and Geo Zones and its there go to..

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Evo 2 in the Rain.

I have several Autel drones in addition to several DJI drones. When I have had to contact Autel for customer support, they have responded within a day and in the case of a repair or replacement, it has been resolved within a week.

 

[Crashdummytest]

I think the only alternative is the Autel Evo 2 pro , but the rub is that there is almost zero customer support so you need to buy from a store that can be a quick return if you do not get a perfect drone out of the box. Also remember its a brand new eco system but many clients are very happy with not having to worry about ID and Geo Zones and its there go to..

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Evo 2 in the Rain.

The Autel EVO II Dual is made in the USA of foreign and domestic components at labor.

 

[karlblessing]

The Autel EVO II Dual is made in the USA of foreign and domestic components at labor.

So that would be similar to some companies take (such as Oakley now days), where it's "Assembled In U.S.A.".

 

[Ty Pilot]

Hello Folks!

I fly a DJI Air2S. I think it’s a great drone. I want to buy another drone, but thought I would get a non DJI drone. Sometimes the DJI “fly safe” grounds me unnecessarily.

If your issue is, as you say; that the DJI Fly Safe zones are the problem. There are drones out there that have solutions but you you can't have your cake and eat it too - so to speak.

Yuneec (another Chinese drone company), is - for lack of a better word - operating on fumes these days. However, they made a series of hex copters starting in 2016 and examples are still available to this day. The Typhoon H Plus and Typhoon 520 came out around 2018 and featured a camera on par with the Mavic 2P as it also has a 1" sensor. They now have the H3 which is an H Plus with a camera partnered to Leica but still has that 1" sensor.

Yuneec made available to pilots the ability to permanently remove all Geo Zones and altitude limits up to 500 meters. It required you apply for the release with drivers license and some other stuff and you signed a release taking full responsibility - but once done - no nanny ware. The pilot is responsible as it should be.

But wait there are severe downsides. In the US Yuneec support is non existent, and I'm not making a stretch - you literally are one your own. Yuneec support makes the others look like 5star service providers and i am not kidding - buy a Yuneec product and good luck. Typhoons are crude in comparison to DJI when it comes to the user/pilot experience.

For this reason I would call Typhoons a Pilot's drone and not for beginners or those who rely on things like: obstacle avoidance, smart batteries; smart RTH; trip to battery calculations that warn you to return and just about every safety feature on a DJI is either non existent or just useless for most cases. 20 minute flight time? Forget it - new battery will get you about 19 max.

Typhoons don't have precise hovering near the ground like DJI. They are the antithesis of most of the DJI line in that: they are not small, compact or light. They are very powerful and fast however, and probably one of the best consumer drones in high wind.

That said - I have an unlocked drone!!!!, with a 1" sensor that is on par with pretty much every other consumer drone in it's class to this day. It has retractable gear and a 360 camera that can be operated by a separate camera operator with a second controller. Essentially it has the functionality of an Inspire. They also can lose an engine and still make it home safely.

Having this ability along side a Mavic 2 Pro and soon a Mavic 3 classic is a pretty good match as I would be disappointed and unable to do the things I do currently with just one or the other.

 

[Tufargon]

I've been in the Autel forum since owning my X Star Premium back in the day. This arguement has gone on for years. They are NOT made in the U.S. They are made in China. Possibly assembled in the U.S. They have a U.S base in Washington but the manufacturing plant and main home base is in China. Anyone that says any different is uninformed on them.
There are a few people in here that came over from the Autel forum that all know this.

 

[mobilehomer]

I've been in the Autel forum since owning my X Star Premium back in the day. This arguement has gone on for years. They are NOT made in the U.S. They are made in China. Possibly assembled in the U.S. They have a U.S base in Washington but the manufacturing plant and main home base is in China. Anyone that says any different is uninformed on them.
There are a few people in here that came over from the Autel forum that all know this.

The ironic thing is this - Autel IS an American company. But looking at their history, ALL of their investors are now and alway have been 100% Chinese. Hmmmm?

 

[Tufargon]

The ironic thing is this - Autel IS an American company. But looking at their history, ALL of their investors are now and alway have been 100% Chinese. Hmmmm?

Autel is not an American company. They created a U.S base in Washington to make everyone think it was. They sent some of their people from China to Washington to run it. All manufacturing is still done in China. This was an ongoing discussion for years in the Autel forum. Usually because new Autel users would think they were a U.S company.

 

[waynorth]

I fly a DJI Air2S. I think it’s a great drone. I want to buy another drone, but thought I would get a non DJI drone. Sometimes the DJI “fly safe” grounds me unnecessarily.

If the geofencing is the main reason for not bying DJI, it is possible (and easy) to permanently remove the no-fly zones restrictions for many DJI drones, and it is perfectly legal. I did that with my Mavic 2 Pro and my Zoom, it works perfect. A license from www.drone-hacks.com cost me 40 Euros, totally worth it. For the Air2s you need to downgrade firmware to 02.04.2040 if you have newer.

 

[karlblessing]

For the Air2s you need to downgrade firmware to 02.04.2040 if you have newer.

It wasn't too difficult to do either if on 2190 or earlier. Though it does take some time to automate its way thru the process.

If you're on the one after 2190 (Where remotID is enabled), drone-hack isn't an option, can't be downgraded yet.

 

[PhoebeSnow]

Its not American made but the Xioami FIMI X8SE 2022 for only $400 is an incredible drone for the price. No sensors but the range beats any of my DJI drones and I don't mind risky flights should I lose it. FLying conservatively you do not need the sensors and even with the DJI drones I rarely needed them. Add in their remote and its a joy to fly.