Velos-rotors 880

[Heliman450]

Hi all,

Elsewhere, Smoggie told me that my next likely heli purchase was being discontinued. I made contact with Velos Rotors and they confirmed that they made their corporate decision based upon the low uptake from the hobby sector and that many of their 880 helis were being turned into other use rather than 3D.

Good news is that they will continue to make the spares for the 880 as the UAV uses the 880 platform. I didn't find any details on their website during a quick visit but I'll look around and see what the situation is. I wonder what their UAV costs? They claim flight times of around an hour!

Any other interested parties out there? I'd like to hear any feedback.

 

[Smoggie]

They have a dedicated web site for the UAV: Velos UAV – Fully Redundant Proven Design

The site doesnt mention price, i'm guessing it depends very much on the spec you want and they are built to individual requirements. But I know from experience with much smaller industrial application UAV's that the price will be eye watering. Even a small aerial survey multirotor UAV setup like the AscTec Falcon 8 runs in at about £15-20k (Pounds GB).. For something as big as the Velos UAV I'd hate to even speculate on a price, let alone have to pay it!

I guess the much higher margins in the industrial UAV business is why the likes of Velos are focussing on that area.

 

[Heliman450]

Hi Steve, I visited their site before starting my thread so thanks for including the link. I'm also interested to see how they tackle the price issue. I followed your AscTec link and the main issue seems to be what is the minimum package and what stages of development towards a professional business one needs. A friend of mine showed an interest in doing this and I also gave him similar guidance on what the total bill would be. A friend of mine from Zürich's building department told me the total investment would need to be around 60,000 CHF before they would give a contract to someone.

I was thinking to buy two 880 kits and as they will still be providing spares there should be no problem there. It just means will Hugo still stock parts or must I find another source. We'll see.

 

[Smoggie]

Phil,

Is there anywhere that still has the original Velos 880 in stock ?

 

[Heliman450]

Steve,

Yes, Hugo shows still in stock with a 409 CHF reduction to 1590 CHF . No idea how many kits he's got in stock but he had one built up, so I guess at least he has two.

 

[Smoggie]

That's a very good price!.. So which dealer is Hugo at?

EDIT.. i think I found Hugo.. Modellsport.ch | Der Onlineshop

 

[Smoggie]

You are a very bad man Phil, putting these ideas into my head

 

[Heliman450]

That's just the way I am

Let me know if you clean him out

 

[Heliman450]

He's got two kits left and one complete heli.

 

[Heliman450]

Hi Steve, I just got a response from Velos Rotors. Their basic UAV package works out at 20K USD. They also included a PDF datasheet in the E-Mail (attached below). Shipping is direct to the customer.