DJI recently launched its first FPV drone, a machine that can zip from zero to 60 mph in a mere two seconds before hurtling to a top speed of 87 mph.
Drone pilots across the experience spectrum have already been posting their first flights online, with some clearly more daring than others when it comes to taking on tricky obstacles.
Take Wren Weichman. The L.A.-based YouTuber and visual effects artist recently put DJI’s FPV quadcopter through its paces in a way that would leave most novice pilots quivering in fear.
Flying the $1,299 machine through a bunch of tightly packed trees in full manual mode, the flight (below) is certainly fun to watch, with the drone’s onboard camera transmitting the view straight to Weichman’s FPV goggles.
But the YouTuber — who also happens to be one of the guys behind this popular Boston Dynamics spoof video from 2019 — eventually runs out of luck when his DJI drone smacks straight into one of the many tree trunks that up to that point he’d managed to dodge.
“I hadn’t had much time to practice with the new DJI FPV drone before flying through the trees,” Weichman, a seasoned drone and FPV pilot, told Digital Trends this week. “I’d gotten an early review unit from DJI to test out and bank some footage for the release. I was still unused to the way the thing flew. I’ve since dialed in my settings way better.”
Although he’s already crashed DJI’s new FPV drone “a few times,” the device has managed to escape with only minor damage.
“As an FPV pilot you just accept that crashes will happen,” Weichman said.
Positioned somewhere between DJI’s current range of Mavic drones and a traditional FPV freestyle machine, Weichman says the DJI FPV drone is “probably not for those who already fly FPV, but also not for absolute beginners either. It’s for pilots who already have stick time in with other DJI drones like the Mavic, Phantom, Inspire, and so on. It’s for them to finally make the jump to FPV and I think DJI really nailed the way they can level up gradually to full manual mode.”
On his very first tryout with the device, Digital Trends’ resident drone pilot also managed to crash his DJI FPV drone, though not in the way you might imagine.
Want more quadcopter crashes? Then check out this collection of drone disasters that will surely encourage you to fly your own copter with extra care.
