TWO WEEKS WITH THE DJI FPV
Fright of the navigator FPV drone flying is the quadcopter equivalent of piloting a stunt plane, so we snagged DJI’s debut effort and tried extremely hard not to destroy it from R16 000 / dji.com
A rubber cover below the camera pulls up to reveal a microSD card slot and USB-C port.
Even within the drone nerddom, FPV racing sits apart, jealously protected by sniffy gatekeepers. Designed for competitive racing and aerobatics, these are fast and twitchy drones – paired with goggles for a pilot’s-eye view of where you’re flying – that you usually build yourself. And a lack of anti-collision tech can end in costly crashes. Enter the DJI FPV. Available fully built and big on safety features,
this seems to be the drone to bring first-person-view antics to the masses… but can it turn a noob into a seasoned racing pilot? We’re confronted with the copter, an FPV Goggles V2 headset, a twin-stick controller plus spare parts and charging kit. The drone is smaller than expected, but exudes a menacing air thanks to a forward-hunched poise and vaguely military finish. A camera sits beneath a plastic
This seems to be the drone to bring firstperson-view antics to the masses, but can it turn a noob into a racing pilot? 78
gimbal guard, while the large battery slides into the back. The propeller arms are fixed rather than folding, and the props themselves attach via a twist of your hand. A lurid green body cover is supplied to make it easier to spot in the wild. Build quality is superbly solid, although scratches indicate a previous reviewer pitched it into the ground on at least one occasion – so it’s certainly crashable, but sturdy enough to survive some impacts with cosmetic damage only. The headset is lightweight and comfortable, while the soft strap
makes wearing it for extended periods a breeze. There’s a microSD slot, although recording footage to the drone itself offers higher quality, plus a few controls, including a ‘5D button’ offering one-finger navigation of the on-screen menus. The controller is lightweight and sturdy too, and removable thumbsticks make it easy to transport. There are buttons to start and stop video recording, adjust the camera pitch, return to home, toggle flight modes, and engage the emergency brake. Preflight assembly is a simple, painless process.
