"TOPILOT" autopilot

[alphacenturi]

Has anyone used/heard of alfriend's UAV autopilot "ToPilot"

[dmgoedde]

Nothing on a Google Search. Funny: "ToPilot" is the word AutoPilot without the Au... [Au]toPilot. Typo on his part?

[alphacenturi]

nah. He sent me a private message with topilot. And the website is chinese.

[rob10000]

lol, maybe the fastest rip-off in history!

[alfriend]

our ToPilot is made in china, our pilot can finish autonomous takeoff and landing , at same time ,it can be Preprogrammed more than 800 waypoints. its weight is less than 50g, we begin to sell it from this year

[CenTexFlyer]

and the expected USD cost?

[alfriend]

5000$

and the expected USD cost?

[dmgoedde]

our ToPilot is made in china, our pilot can finish autonomous takeoff and landing , at same time ,it can be Preprogrammed more than 800 waypoints. its weight is less than 50g, we begin to sell it from this yearIs 50g including GPS and antenna?

[jtprouty]

5000$

$5000 - $4200 = AttoPilot! :)

[tty044]

It is 100 USD per 1g :eek:

[clolson]

$5000 - $4200 = AttoPilot! :)

Well the simple answer is that if the ToPilot has features or performance capabilities that AttoPilot does not, and you need one of those features, then it may very well be worth the price. When you are developing something yourself, you can burn through $4200 worth of time very quickly, even if you aren't paying yourself very much.

But without more information on both products and the specific needs of a particular end user, this ends up all being pure speculation. Of course, data free (or parital data) discussions are always the most fun. So hopefully no one will ruin this thread by posting too much real information. :-)

Curt.

[alfriend]

yes,include

Is 50g including GPS and antenna?

[dmgoedde]

5000$There are a lot of $5000 autopilots already on the market. What new things does ToPilot bring to the table?

[alfriend]

can you tell me which autopilots is worth 5000$? expect for Mp2028. thanks :confused:


There are a lot of $5000 autopilots already on the market. What new things does ToPilot bring to the table?

[Razor_Racer]

http://www.u-nav.com/3500.html

Those are other multi-thousand autopilots.

[spitfiremk9]

can you tell me which autopilots is worth 5000$? expect for Mp2028. thanks :confused:

Try looking at what Cloudcap and Athena have to offer! These Autopilots are world renound units, whether they are worth the money depends on your point of view, but if I were spending five Gs on an autopilot I know where I would be placing the order

[mentari]

Try looking at what Cloudcap and Athena have to offer! These Autopilots are world renound units, whether they are worth the money depends on your point of view, but if I were spending five Gs on an autopilot I know where I would be placing the order

Perhaps they are but the USA bans the export of UAV, so China, Holland and Australia are filing the void. The only way around this seems to first export to australia and from australia sell to south africa.

[mentari]

http://www.u-nav.com/3500.html

Those are other multi-thousand autopilots.

"..PICOPILOT and the 3500 autopilot have been classified by the US Commerce Department under 9A012.b which currently requires an export license for all countries except CANADA..;." :mad:

So please somebody help me out here import to Australia and then re-export to SA seems to be the only way :confused:

[spitfiremk9]

Perhaps they are but the USA bans the export of UAV, so China, Holland and Australia are filing the void. The only way around this seems to first export to australia and from australia sell to south africa.

Errm no, I think you need to look again at the rules of export! These products are not banned as you say, they are merely regulated, which means that you have to apply for a licence to have one. This is not difficult unless you are or have been a member of some nasty sect or group, if someone has connections to terrorists etc, then that person is not going to get such a licence and quite rightly so! Then, as you mention above, these people will find a way arround this by looking to countries that have a less than carfull aproach to security.

[small_rcer]

Good Day all;

When you export items under EAR or other rules such as ITAR, the rules also apply to subsequent re-export. In other words export from the US to Canada and then to a listed country under EAR is a violation of the export permit. You may often see on software words to similar effect. Words may be something like "diversion to these countries is a violation of US laws".

When you read the EAR you realize that they have tried to cover almost every conceivable item made or purchased in the US. In reading them you realize the futility, when many of the items listed are advertised and readily available around the world. The only difference is they are not US made.

The Paparazzi project, pretty much makes a mockery of the restrictions in place for autopilots. At least one UAV autopilot firm has their software on sourceforge as an open source project.

So everyone should not get too concerned about the EAR and other US only restrictions. They are only hurting US companies and individuals. In most cases equivalent or more capable products are available around the world. The big difference is the US providers seem to be better at creating a buzz about their products and have much clearer information in English readily available on the web.

Jim H

[alfriend]

Try looking at what Cloudcap and Athena have to offer! These Autopilots are world renound units, whether they are worth the money depends on your point of view, but if I were spending five Gs on an autopilot I know where I would be placing the order


how much is Piccolo II? :censored:

[Mick Molloy]

can you tell me which autopilots is worth 5000$? expect for Mp2028. thanks :confused:
Kestrel

[Gary Mortimer]

You can export to anywhere and then send down here but if its US gear you will still be breaking ITAR rules.

They call for where the gear is and what its doing!

No doubt many work arounds are being found.

Trouble is here Denel will cry foul if they see a loss of potenial earnings. There are a couple of picopilots and other devices flying in RSA.

Hoping on a plane to the USA and then bringing whichever device back or getting someone in the USA to sell you one second hand might work best.