Keeping the competition at bay.

[ZAxis]

Im sure like a number of you guys on the forum we have all taken our MR's out and had various members of the public asking questions regarding it.
Now for those of us who have flown at events and the interest is 10 fold, more than often from suspiciously curious photographers, videographers also attending the event. Usually the questions are fairly predictable.."How much did it cost?", "How hard is it to fly?" Where did you get it from" aswell as the complimentary photos from all angles.
My question is how much do you let on about it when it is obvious they are digging for information on something that we have all on these forums have taken so much time over refining. I know nobody owns the golden rights to any idea and its flattering in one sense but every so often i just want to throw a cloth over it to stop them. Just interested to see anyone else's view on this?

 

[Bartman]

it's important to keep the sun off the electronics, throw a sheet over it when you're not flying. i also tell them the amount that i have invested in my business and let them guess if it's the copter value or not.
thanks,
bart

 

[Kilby]

Bart, that's probably the best reply you could have. The price of the copter is one thing, but the price to fly it as a professional is whole different ball game.

 

[RTRyder]

it's important to keep the sun off the electronics, throw a sheet over it when you're not flying. i also tell them the amount that i have invested in my business and let them guess if it's the copter value or not.
thanks,
bart

I tell them almost anything they want to know. I know just how much time, effort, and trial and error, not mention the $ investment it took to get to the point I'm at now besides already being a fairly proficient RC heli pilot when I started. If someone with little to no RC experience thinks they can shortcut the process by picking my brain and getting a few answers to what they think are the right questions, more power to them, I have a very large headstart. Anyone that has already investigated flying a camera will be asking a different set of questions from a complete newbie, they may not get as many answers, if any, that matter...

Ken

 

[ZAxis]

Great replies guys. At this event I met a photographer who has a heli setup but is struggling to fly it safe enough hence why he was so interested in the multi rotor. Keeping the sun of the electronics is a good one, not that we have had much of a summer over here though.
its a good point that the time & effort we have all put it accounts for alot. Im preparing to see alot of second hand ones on sale after this winter

 

[Efliernz]

Great reply guys.

Like many of you, I wish I had a $1 for every person that told me "AP is easy" but they haven't done any...

I flew my new hex indoors at a promo event last Saturday. It looked awesome - perfectly steady and smooth. One by-stander commented to me that it must make photography easy. I replied "don't underestimate 25 years of rc flying and 5 flying helis and AP". "It looks this good due to many many hours of design, setting up and testing - writing a cheque for a newly built one doesn't eliminate those problems".
While that was the business-side, I also spoke about the non-commercial hobby & model-club side

I met a local semi-retired gent recently who thought that AP looked like a nice retirement job. He purchased a turn-key DW AD-8 with radio and basic mount. He had no rc experience and after 3 months (when I met him) he was still trying to understand what a milliamp was. I observed 20 minutes of indoor flying by him. I never saw him yaw it. Apparently it likes trees!
People don't recognize experience as a value - but it can't be bought.

As for the money side of things. I AP part-time and usually have work weekly. I would hate to work out my hourly rate of earnings with the amount of time I've put into it... I won't get rich but this is fun, challenging and it gets be out of my full-time work cubical

Pete

 

[DucktileMedia]

Some highly successful pointers for this situation:

1.Don't bathe for a good 2 days before going to a job site.

2.Always look angry and unapproachable.

3.Wear a cancer kazoo, or whatever those voice interpreters are for people who smoke too much. Play mute.

4.Tell them it is illegal as of tomorrow and it costs about $75,000 and you have never made more than $5000 in 5 years of doing it.

5.Ask them where they got their shirt.

 

[Breezemont]

Some highly successful pointers for this situation:

1.Don't bathe for a good 2 days before going to a job site.

2.Always look angry and unapproachable.

3.Wear a cancer kazoo, or whatever those voice interpreters are for people who smoke too much. Play mute.

4.Tell them it is illegal as of tomorrow and it costs about $75,000 and you have never made more than $5000 in 5 years of doing it.

5.Ask them where they got their shirt.

View attachment 3938

 

[mailman35]

Some highly successful pointers for this situation:

1.Don't bathe for a good 2 days before going to a job site.

2.Always look angry and unapproachable.

3.Wear a cancer kazoo, or whatever those voice interpreters are for people who smoke too much. Play mute.

4.Tell them it is illegal as of tomorrow and it costs about $75,000 and you have never made more than $5000 in 5 years of doing it.

5.Ask them where they got their shirt.

or just move to cali and its illegal anyway

 

[Droider]

or just move to cali and its illegal anyway

I did not think it was legal commercially anywhere in the US!

 

[Macsgrafs]

My mte used to get the million questions so he had a t shirt printed up with the following on the back

£2,000
about 500 metres
70 MPH

That was for his trex heli, I'm sure we could have something similar done


I don't mind telling them anything they want to know, at least I can keep quadcopters UK in business by sending them all to Geoff

As a tip..NEVER go on PH when in front of other PG's or they will naturally think its so easy keep moving the sticks & biting your lip, occasionally look around quickly at them with a worried look...works for me

Ross

 

[jforkner]

My question is how much do you let on about it when it is obvious they are digging for information on something that we have all on these forums have taken so much time over refining.

I guess I'm missing the point of this discussion. Who's the "competition"? Why the need for secrecy? If you don't want to tell someone info about your craft or anything else you're doing, politely decline. There's no need to create a "secret society" of multi users.

And how is asking a question in person different from asking the same or similar question on one of the forums? Most of the threads on this and other forums are started by someone asking a question about their machine and tring to find out what othes are doing or have done. How do you know these folks aren't the "competition"?

I just don't get the perceived attitude being perpetuated here.


Jack

 

[Bowley]

Many people on here have invested a masssive amount of time money and hair on developing a service to a standard which is marketable.I guess they dont want every swinging **** buying a readily available RTF rig and de-valuing an industry. The burgeoning MR thing is good for manufacturers and suppliers, but not so for commercial end users, which is why you find a lot of high end commercial operators offering build and sale services alongside their AP/AV services.