Real simple solutions, build everything in the US.
The "Chinese" drone issue is an issue - as federal and some state agencies are prohibited from using DJI exclusively at this point.
Legislation for ALL Chinese Drones has few supporters and not really gone anywhere - as it should. This is where the DRONE COMMUNITY as a whole needs to blast Congress and get this well known. Many orgs are lobbying the FAA and Congress on our behalf - so being members of these orgs like DSPA (Drone Service Providers Alliance) is a benefit for all of us - esp the 107 community who benefit monetarily from drones - all of them.
With Autel leaving the "prosumer" space - I think is a wrong move, but welcome to Corp America / China - where common sense is not always at work. Autel has made many mistakes over the last couple of years - esp in the area of Customer / Tech Support. With Ken Booth leaving a 2nd time due to lack of support from management - that is a signal Autel doesn't need to be broadcasting. Some within Autel CS state the turnover in that one department is HUGE - which is another red flag and concern. Doesn't matter if "prosumer" or "enterprise" space - crappy customer / tech support will send customers leaving in droves. Maybe that is the plan - who knows.
I love my
Lite+. Had to send it in due to a RTH issue after the latest firmware update. Did RTH and it did not return to it's set homepoint for some reason and at it descended it hit a tree limb - sending it tumbling to the ground. In all past experiences the drone RTH'd back as designed and auto-corrected several times (very little) at several points (almost always the same heights of 80 ft, 40 ft, and about 20 ft) to land almost dead on the take-off point. Contacting Autel Support is horrible. Phone number in US doesn't go anywhere - seems like in a loop. Email is a bit better, but problematic. After about a week of back and forth with CS / After Sales Support - I finally got a reference number to ship the drone back. Sent it in and they've had it a couple of days and currently no response. The only issue I noted was the gimbal bracket holding it to the drone broke. Maybe more - won't know until Autel lets me know. Another issue with Autel is their long repair times - can be weeks before sending a drone back (from those whom have done it previously). Not even close to DJI's response of getting a drone back in like a week - not your drone, but a "refurbed" or possibly new drone under Care / Refresh. I would have had a buddy who is a drone / model aircraft repair guy fix my drone - but he can't get parts within the US from Autel. No issue with DJI. So, many huge differences in operations between DJI and Autel - which puts Autel in a bad spot when owners have to have their drones repaired. Esp 107's who use their drones for business. Being without a drone for weeks does not work unless they have more than one drone and can use it till their other drone comes back.
I own DJI's and they have been good drones. I have a Mini3 which I would trade in / sell in a heartbeat - as it's a lousy drone. Almost featureless compared to the Mini3 Pro.
If Autel WANTS to survive - corporate / exec staff have to pull their heads out and fix the massive issues they know about. Also produce "prosumer" drones again as they tend to be far better than equivalent DJI's.
Just my 2 cents on it all.
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