Air 3 #2 First Flight Test & Crash

JD's DJI Air 3 #2 didn't last long. He crashed it into a river birch on its maiden test flight, putting too much faith in the craft's obstacle avoidance capability. It thought it could navigate through the heart of the foliage, but it gave up and alerted JD that the space was too narrow. By the time he got around to the stopped drone's side of the tree, a wind gust blew a branch into one of the props, sending the Air 3 tumbling to the ground. The prop was damaged, and so was the camera gimbal, permanently stuck and inoperative.

The DJI Care Refresh program is a wonderful thing. JD's first Air 3 flew just fine for neaarly 7 months until he accidentally stepped on it and cracked a propeller arm. In four days, he had this replacement, which, unfortunately, didn't complete its first flight.

JD now has a second replacement Air 3 (#3) which he has yet to test. That test will likely not involve this particular river birch. As fellow YouTube drone pilot Ken Heron is wont to say, "Trees are dicks!" Update: The test of Air 3 #3 is done and the video is here: https://rumble.com/v58plqt-dji-air-3-3-first-flight-test.html