One of the key aspects of FPV drones is their repairability. After all, most FPV drones (particularly racing ones) are self-built by the person flying them. They’re not off-the-shelf purchases, so the person who made it and is flying it knows exactly how to tear it back down, replace parts and rebuild it. But does DJI’s new FPV drone stand up to the same self-repair scrutiny?
This teardown video from Livyu FPV shows that, while it’s not exactly an FPV racing drone, it does seem to be designed in a modular fashion that makes it fairly easy for users to repair at home when needed. And, make no mistake, with an FPV drone, you’ll almost certainly have a crash and need to do so at some point.
DJI has actually already made some replacement parts available to purchase including the landing gear, top shell and gimbal & camera assembly. It’s interesting that DJI has seemed to prioritise those three parts, as those seem to be the most likely to fail in the event of a crash according to Livyu FPV’s remarks during the teardown.
The arms are also something that seem like they might easily break if you happen to crash. As the video demonstrates, they have something of a weak point where they connect to the landing gear. DJI hasn’t made replacement arms available yet, although they do offer Arm Bracers to help increase their strength and impact resistance.
Whether or not DJI plans to expand its range of replacement parts for the DJI FPV drone remains to be seen, but it looks like user-repairability is a priority for this drone, and I can see a large 3rd party parts market popping up for this in the near future. Even if you don’t need to actually repair the drone, I’ll bet 3rd party manufacturers will be supplying parts in multiple colours and patterns to be able to customise its appearance and really make it your own.
[via Drone DJ]
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