Did this really happen?

[Jagerbomb52]

 

[PoorMoney]

I fly four different UAV types in my small business activity. They come from three different companies, DJI, Yuneec and Autel. All companies are Chinese, and correct if I'm wrong, but I recall all are based in Shenzhen, southern China, which is literally only a few clicks over the notional border from Hong Kong.

I would take issue with Chinese workers getting paid only pennies a day, their salary is relative to that country's cost of living index - I have family living in China so do have some knowledge in that area.

One thing that China has, and to some extent so does India, is population scale. Take a look at almost everything manufactured in that country and its equivalent counterpart pretty much anywhere else in the world. Where most widgets produced in the US, or Europe can be produced at scale, the domestic market in those places is frequently not enough on its own, requiring overseas sales to 'up' the selling scale enough to help 'down' the production cost scale, while remaining economic and viable. To produce the sort of quantities China can for their domestic market alone is pretty much eye watering to the rest of us, and leaves sales to the rest of the world being a little bit of the cream on top, but which in some instances won't come close to matching their domestic sales figures.

The upside to those sort of production numbers is that any company, anywhere in the world who has a part to play in R&D, design, production, sales and aftermarket add-ons for a particular widget has every opportunity to be a part of that process, wherever the parent company is based. A 'Them' and 'Us' approach I suggest could end up being an "own goal", and for some then being unable to get back into the field of play; having figuratively shot themselves in the foot at the same time!

Happy and safe flying - from wherever your UAV has come from ? ?

If only China wasn't Communist.

 

[Twoheadlines]

Well, I suspect there are a good many Chinese citizens who look east and consider Capitalism doesn't hold many attractions for them at the moment either.
Having travelled to China two or more times a years for many years now, I would suggest to you their form of government works very well for China. It could almost be characterised as a form of "socialist capitalism".

Right now, the whole world needs to put aside the inane belief that Communism is bad and Capitalism is good. While I was brought up in the days when my time at sea as a junior rating was predicated around that whole adversarial thinking of communism being the enemy that had to be defeated at all costs, I can now say for or me I take a very different view. To contemplate visiting China or even have family living there in the 1960-70s didn't even fall into the realm of being unthinkable. Today, as a person rapidly knocking on the door of early 70s, I suggest the communism of yesteryear was driven by people who held a very different ideological perspective to the people of today who live in China. Sadly, not enough capitalist thinking seems to have changed that much over the same time.

The Chinese people today think the same as we do, and have the same hopes and dreams. What the Chinese people in my age group see is a country that inside forty years has made them very proud to be who they are and to live and work where they do. Why wouldn't they; forty to fifty years ago as young adults they were still living in a largely rural economy, facing huge privations on a regular basis we in the west never got to hear about. Today they mostly live in modern apartments, they can go almost anywhere in the country in a few hours on a high speed rail system that has no equal anywhere else in the world. A very significant population group now have the disposable income to fly anywhere is the world. Food is plentiful, good clothing is cheap, as are household goods, though luxury items are as expensive as anywhere else. There are many motor vehicle companies who produce pretty mediocre vehicles, but there are also many motor vehicle companies who produce high quality, reliable vehicles with all the luxury bells and whistles you care to name. I have seen and enjoyed their city green spaces that would knock so-called 'greenie' countries into a cocked hat, and they do not get trashed or vandalised. If cell phone towers (5G) burn down, it's more than likely because the electronics have overheated and burst into flames through overuse. The Chinese love their cellphones!

Yes, the Chinese have many problems which people will bemoan the fact that their government is not doing enough to resolve, or doing too much, dependent on the person's perspective. Not much different than very similar problems in the west though!

As I have said, "the Chinese people of today think the same as we do, and have the same hopes and dreams." They too are facing many of the same regulations around where and how they can fly a UAV.

Happy and safe flying ? ?

 

[PoorMoney]

Well, I suspect there are a good many Chinese citizens who look east and consider Capitalism doesn't hold many attractions for them at the moment either.
Having travelled to China two or more times a years for many years now, I would suggest to you their form of government works very well for China. It could almost be characterised as a form of "socialist capitalism".

Right now, the whole world needs to put aside the inane belief that Communism is bad and Capitalism is good. While I was brought up in the days when my time at sea as a junior rating was predicated around that whole adversarial thinking of communism being the enemy that had to be defeated at all costs, I can now say for or me I take a very different view. To contemplate visiting China or even have family living there in the 1960-70s didn't even fall into the realm of being unthinkable. Today, as a person rapidly knocking on the door of early 70s, I suggest the communism of yesteryear was driven by people who held a very different ideological perspective to the people of today who live in China. Sadly, not enough capitalist thinking seems to have changed that much over the same time.

The Chinese people today think the same as we do, and have the same hopes and dreams. What the Chinese people in my age group see is a country that inside forty years has made them very proud to be who they are and to live and work where they do. Why wouldn't they; forty to fifty years ago as young adults they were still living in a largely rural economy, facing huge privations on a regular basis we in the west never got to hear about. Today they mostly live in modern apartments, they can go almost anywhere in the country in a few hours on a high speed rail system that has no equal anywhere else in the world. A very significant population group now have the disposable income to fly anywhere is the world. Food is plentiful, good clothing is cheap, as are household goods, though luxury items are as expensive as anywhere else. There are many motor vehicle companies who produce pretty mediocre vehicles, but there are also many motor vehicle companies who produce high quality, reliable vehicles with all the luxury bells and whistles you care to name. I have seen and enjoyed their city green spaces that would knock so-called 'greenie' countries into a cocked hat, and they do not get trashed or vandalised. If cell phone towers (5G) burn down, it's more than likely because the electronics have overheated and burst into flames through overuse. The Chinese love their cellphones!

Yes, the Chinese have many problems which people will bemoan the fact that their government is not doing enough to resolve, or doing too much, dependent on the person's perspective. Not much different than very similar problems in the west though!

As I have said, "the Chinese people of today think the same as we do, and have the same hopes and dreams." They too are facing many of the same regulations around where and how they can fly a UAV.

Happy and safe flying ? ?

All I see when I see China is Mao's Five Year Plan and that says enough. The Chinese Nationalist should've beaten the Communist.

And yes, Capitalism has its cons but at least there is private property

 

[PoorMoney]

What also gets me is things from China used to be seen as exotic and expensive...now the Communist regime has turned it into stuff people do not want anymore and cheap. China sure has broken away from its old traditions prior to the rise of Communism

 

[Twoheadlines]

You know, Mao's first five year plan kicked off around 70 years ago, and by all accounts went well. Since then, the concept has remained pretty much a key planning platform model of the Beijing government. It has worked very well for China. Strongly conservative government hacks in China see the massive market failures of the sub-prime mortgage collapse in the US and sovereign debt crisis in Europe in the early 2000s as very good reasons to continue with economic planning "their way". But they also see the value in private investment and entrepreneurial industries. Take Huawei, Yuneec, DJI, Autel, Great Wall as a very few privately owned and operated examples.

I'm not so sure the concept of private property has the same freedoms within a capitalist system you might be alluding to. However, to counter your inference of there being no private property in China, there most definitely are transferable property rights in that country. The state might retain title to land, but the use of resources and value gained from the use of that land is completely transferable. Real Estate businesses on almost any main street are two a penny and seem to do well offering apartments and the like. Look for the price being asked per square metre, and know that if you are contemplating buying a brand new apartment off the developer, you will have to factor in the cost of a fit out as well. Proportionately it is probably cheaper to buy in downtown New York than in the CBD in Shanghai!

Continue to enjoy happy and safe flying ? ?

 

[Twoheadlines]

What also gets me is things from China used to be seen as exotic and expensive...now the Communist regime has turned it into stuff people do not want anymore and cheap. China sure has broken away from its old traditions prior to the rise of Communism

The craftsmanship I think you are referring to is still found there. Sometimes found in the most unlikely of places, but more often plying craft traditions in the same place craftsman all over the world most often do nowadays - close to the tourist spots. Old craft traditions in Jade, porcelain, lace, silk, woodwork, metal work all still exist today. In proportion to what else can be seen, those crafts are maybe not so obvious now.

 

[flyingfool]

who even removes the props on their folding drone? no reason for DJI to have quick release props when the whole thing folds up into a small package

 

[Rubik3x]

The craftsmanship I think you are referring to is still found there. Sometimes found in the most unlikely of places, but more often plying craft traditions in the same place craftsman all over the world most often do nowadays - close to the tourist spots. Old craft traditions in Jade, porcelain, lace, silk, woodwork, metal work all still exist today. In proportion to what else can be seen, those crafts are maybe not so obvious now.

Wow, what an interesting insight into Chinese life today. It's hard to shake off old prejudices and outdated misconceptions.

 

[Rocco Germani]

When are us Americans going to make a Drone company? Like...come on!

Best we've got is skydio. Good for tracking but everything else about that drone is just... Eh.

 

[Rubik3x]

Best we've got is skydio. Good for tracking but everything else about that drone is just... Eh.

Actually, it has a respectable 4K/60 camera, too. It's on the short list for my next camera drone. Unfortunately, its excellent follow functions would be useless to me.

 

[Rocco Germani]

Actually, it has a respectable 4K/60 camera, too. It's on the short list for my next camera drone. Unfortunately, its excellent follow functions would be useless to me.

Yeah the camera is good, but you can't turn off the sensors, and that would be my issue. I've seen the videos and the constant acceleration and deceleration that the drone makes due to it are not appealing to me. They need to smooth it out more or just have an option to turn it off entirely. I also hear that the range is garbage, as well as the flight controls not being very well fine tuned. So for anything other than tracking I find it not to be the greatest, however that certainly differs for the user, it overall is a good drone. A jack of all trades, master of some, so to speak.