Udrones, which has been selling ready-to-fly ArduCopters for a while, is now also selling a ready-to-fly ArduPlane. APM assembled, ArduPlane code loaded and everything tested. Just add your own RC gear. $995.
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David: done...
Maybe @Chris Anderson should re post this now on the main blog ?
625$ is a fair price for the materials and labor involved. It still needs crash proofing, but at that price it is acceptable for it not to have it. I still wish they would have a deal for 15$ 2.4 transmitter instead of only offering a DX8, but I really am glad to see that they have finally ended "operation xmas cash grab". It's always nice to be vindicated. Now they just need to get an advertising campaign going to sell these to the super-rich techno-phobic drone enthusiast impulse buyer who needs one. May I suggest "brookstone" :). Also, may I suggest that they put up some videos of the plane unboxing and flying .... just so people can watch that. It was one of the things that I really noticed as "missing" from the site. I would love to unbox one on youtube for a discount.
Incidently I recently crash proofed a bixler/sky surfer for a friend. The cost do a full crash proofing is about 50$ US when using the right vendors and includes about 2-3 hours of labor. My friend paid about 115$ from readymaderc for the plane alone, actually ready to fly with a remote, and I shipped it out to him for about 195$ including shipping. We did however use some slightly overpriced vendors due to a time constraint hence why it's over 50$. I didn't charge any money for labor though..... because I wanted to split shipping with him on some other purchases and I really want him to get into this so we can split further orders.
Don--good spot. I think they listened to the feedback! I'll post that.
@Ellison chat "There's nothing like a healthy profit to drive product development!" (or competition).
I'm not sure why we're continuing with this thread of discussion. I think that everyone agrees that the price is high, I mean Hobbyking offers the bixler plane with a radio for about $100. However some are willing to pay for the convenience of a ready made solution. On the flip side, if they lower the price you'd have way to many inexperienced people buying it, and causing all kinds of mischief.
It's a good thing that the company is making a profit, as I mentioned before it helps to keep them in business, and continue developing the software and electronics for the rest of us. There's nothing like a healthy profit to drive product development!
I think Jeff has the right idea. Some have more money than time or experience in this field and are willing to consider the real value of a complete product. I am not going to buy it, but I am in a position where I don't have to, due to my experience and time that I can dedicate to this hobby. To David's points, most products sure do have room for improvements! His list will be helpful to anyone trying to get the most out of their new toys. I hope Jeff enjoys his new plane!
@Ravi - If you look at my last post I calculated the cost of the plane factoring american labor values into the cost I quoted and I also added in assembly costs. I don't even account for the volume discount that they probably got on buying these parts. I also the factored the electronics added to the plane at their price without any quibbling. There is still at least 300$ surcharge on the plane that cannot be accounted for in parts or labor. If you would like to puchase the exact same machine I assume you .... It can be purchased for about 700$.
@ Jeff PM sent. Feel free to call me over xmas. I also hope they improve the quality of the product because as it stands at 1000$ this is not an acceptable product.
One of the best things in my newly adopted hobby is the strength and depth of knowledge of this online community and the revolution that the internet has brought to all walks of life. The collective know-how of the DIY Drones community has allowed me to move for a complete newbie (I built a flew gas powered control line models and free flying planes in the stone age on the vast plains of Iowa as a Kid) to an extremely basic understanding of what make it possible to fly my quad and collects videos during the flights.
As I recovered from back surgery earlier this year I bought a udrones ARTF quad and started this hobby. I cannot contribute much to this knowledge except to be an early adopter and what is apparently a significant costs. Please be tolerant as, because I have been lucky in life and the biotech industry, I hope this community can inspire a generation of young people to further develop technology for great purposes.
Now I am redoing the whole surgery recovery and this time I ordered a ARTF plane from udrones. It is a given that I will crash it and learn how it work it by fixing it and making it better each time. It seems like I will need to upgrade along the way as David M Eno suggests. David would it be possible for you to give me the source of some of the materials you suggest as I will have to start sourcing them so I can do repairs on Saturday afternoons after crashing the plane. I am interested in what kind of pod insert you use for your camera and electronics as I will start putting this stuff together over the holiday. Thanks for any assistance you can give.
I assume that the guys at Udrones will also read and improve their product along the way. I hope that my early adoption will drive improvements in features (crash resistance) and price.
As another fantastic day hits San Diego, cannot wait to have a chance to start flying.
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