If you have been following Skydio since the beginning, you can see the Skydio 2 has put us in a different league than we played in before. In early 2018, we released the Skydio R1, our ‘Tesla Roadster’ of drones — it was sexy, sure, and showed off some of the most advanced autonomy technology ever shipped…but we still had a way to go before the drone was ready for work. The Skydio 2 is our Model 3 — a drone for the masses, that anyone can adapt to their own needs as a user. The specifications and features we chose to include in the Skydio 2, from 3.5km wireless range to its 23 minute battery life, are designed to make the drone useful.
We have been so grateful for the outpouring of support as the word of the Skydio Autonomy Engine has spread. We’ve received thousands of messages from excited customers, hundreds of requests for software integrations, and dozens of inquiries from major utilities, railways, and first responder agencies. The resounding message is that we got it right — Skydio 2 is an incredible tool.
So, we set to work thinking of what we could do for this new category of user. While R1 was designed for drone enthusiasts and outdoors junkies, Skydio 2 is an offering for the professional drone photographer, the commercial inspector, the police officer and the firefighter. Armed with the Skydio Autonomy Engine, the Skydio 2 is ready to fly in those environments. But to get it there, airborne, landed, and back home, we had to take care of two things: a rugged package so pilots can manage their gear, and a premier support tier designed to make sure that professionals counting on their Skydio drones can also count on our Skydio support. Please meet the Skydio Pro Kit and Skydio Premier Support.
The Pro Kit takes all the thinking out of going places with your drone. We designed the Pro Kit after realizing we were traveling around giving demonstrations with backpacks full of disorganized drone accessories, and spending the entire time worried about our drones getting smashed in overhead storage bins or the trunks of our rental cars. We had a rugged, water-resistant, custom case designed (and yes, Made in USA) by Go Professional Cases, who blew us away with the quality of their design. We involved our hardware team to make sure every millimeter of the case provided just the right support to protect the most crush-able parts of the drone — especially the gimbal and propellers. In a box that will fit inside a carry-on suitcase, we put:
- 1 Skydio 2 Drone
- 1 Wall Adapter
- 1 Controller
- 1 Skydio Beacon
- 1 tablet mount for controller
- 4 Batteries
- 1 Set of Extra Propellers
- 1 Dual Charger
- 1 128gb SanDisk Extreme microSD Card
- 1 SD Card Laptop Adapter
- 1 microfiber lens cloth
Why? Because that’s what we wanted to travel with for long days of drone flying. We’ve taken our Pro Kits everywhere — from the high-rises of New York and DC to ghost towns in Nevada. Everywhere we go, we feel more secure in our drone’s safety, and our overall professionalism, than we did in the days of keeping our controllers in our suitcases next to our socks.
The Pro Kit makes it so much easier to get a job done with your Skydio 2. We are just as excited to see small businesses forming and flourishing around flying drones for part time work as we are to see enormous corporations use drones to transform their operations. Whether trying to shoot a wedding as a part-time photographer or stay on schedule as a power line inspector, uptime is critical. So we designed Skydio Premier Support to maximize your uptime in three ways:
- We extend your Skydio warranty from 1 to 2 years from the time of purchase
- Our support team whitelists you, so you can get help from us in time to finish the job
- If you have a covered crash, we’ll send you a new drone before you return the old one
We are offering the Pro Kit for $2,499, and it will be available as an upgrade when people who have placed pre-order deposits return to our online store to pay their balances and select their accessories. And, because you’re committing to taking good care of your drone, so will we — the Pro Kit comes with two years of Skydio Premier Support built-in. Of course, we know there are a thousand case orientations out there for different use cases. If you choose to use a different way to take your gear with you, you can still opt into Premier Support for $500.
At Skydio, our favorite pastime is to share stories of how our users are finding new ways to create joy and value with their Skydios. With the Pro Kit and Skydio Premier Support, we just can’t wait for the possibilities as you take your drones further, and fly more, and share your stories with the world. We’re rooting for you!
