Why is Skydio the only major American drone company? And why are they so focused on the active track and obstacle avoidance features? Most drone hobbyists buy drones for filming. Can anyone explain this?
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Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
For $30k, I’d want it to do my laundry! Jokes aside, unless you’re looking at business or military uses, Skydio is priced pretty well for what it does. I’ve got the V1 version (hard to get here in Europe), and I love it, even though I build my own FPV quads.
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
For $30k, I’d want it to do my laundry! Jokes aside, unless you’re looking at business or military uses, Skydio is priced pretty well for what it does. I’ve got the V1 version (hard to get here in Europe), and I love it, even though I build my own FPV quads.
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vene said:
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
For $30k, I’d want it to do my laundry! Jokes aside, unless you’re looking at business or military uses, Skydio is priced pretty well for what it does. I’ve got the V1 version (hard to get here in Europe), and I love it, even though I build my own FPV quads.
[deleted]
Haha, I found it, but I’m keeping her!
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
Skydio was my first drone, but I recently bought a DJI Mini 3 Pro. My Skydio can’t fly when it’s dark, which is a downside.
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
Now I want a Skydio. Thanks for the detailed reply! Really appreciate it.
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
This is the best explanation I’ve seen for them.
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
Great write-up! I’ll keep this in mind when I buy my next non-DJI drone.
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
This is why I chose Skydio for my first big drone. Thanks for explaining it so well.
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
Good overview. I agree, the 2+ platform is a fantastic drone for inspections and mapping.
Flippa said:
Honestly, you should try flying one. Take it out of the box in a steel building, turn it on, and fly it straight at the ceiling or walls. It’ll stop on its own and hover without a fuss. The collision avoidance has settings you can adjust based on how close you want to get to objects.
This is great for mapping and inspections. You can give it to a beginner and they’ll be able to move it around easily. It’s not perfect and can miss wires or small branches, but it’s still impressive.
Even without GPS, it’ll return to home in bright light. It can land on a symbol on the box without needing any special skills.
The cameras are decent for daylight. The thermal ones aren’t as good, but they’re much cheaper compared to other options. The photogrammetry and mapping features are also fun and easy to use.
If you lose the control link, the drone will start thinking its way back home. No crashes or emergency landings—it just comes back.
While Skydio might not be the best for filming, it fits a special role. For less than $30k, you have a drone that anyone can fly 4+ miles out and bring back with photos or videos.
It gives you all the info you need to make safe choices during flights. It’s great for maps, searches, and more. Skydio is worth the price for what it offers.
This isn’t good enough for professional use.
Here’s an interesting article for you to read: Drones made in the USA: American drone companies to know
LizCampbell said:
Here’s an interesting article for you to read: Drones made in the USA: American drone companies to know
Thanks! I appreciate it.
It’s tough competing with DJI.
There aren’t many American drone makers because it’s cheaper to build in China. Skydio’s drones don’t have better specs than DJI, so they focus on their obstacle avoidance and ease of use. It makes sense now that public agencies are banning DJI drones.
AerialArtisanAlex said:
There aren’t many American drone makers because it’s cheaper to build in China. Skydio’s drones don’t have better specs than DJI, so they focus on their obstacle avoidance and ease of use. It makes sense now that public agencies are banning DJI drones.
Thanks for the clear explanation!
LizCampbell said:
Why is Skydio the only major American drone company? And why are they so focused on the active track and obstacle avoidance features? Most drone hobbyists buy drones for filming. Can anyone explain this?
It’s unfortunate Skydio is lobbying to ban Chinese-made drones like DJI and Autel. I can’t support a company trying to push its competitors out by law, especially when so many people already own these drones.
The cost of research and development for drones is really high, and with a big player like DJI dominating the market, it’s hard for American companies to make a profit. I’d love to see more American-made drones, but Skydio’s prices don’t compete with DJI, and their tech hasn’t been updated much in recent years.
LizCampbell said:
Why is Skydio the only major American drone company? And why are they so focused on the active track and obstacle avoidance features? Most drone hobbyists buy drones for filming. Can anyone explain this?
I think you’re off with the ‘90% of drone hobbyists use them for filming.’ Where are you getting that from? I’ve been building drones for years and haven’t met anyone who only uses them for filming.
As for obstacle avoidance, it’s all about money. Using cameras for this is cheaper, just like how Tesla uses cameras instead of lidar. It’s a similar debate, and as tech gets better, it’ll improve.
By the way, FLIR also makes drones. Competing with Chinese manufacturing for hobby drones is just really tough.