TL;DR: Took my DJI Mini 3 for a quick spin at the boating lake, got hit by wind and drizzle, and ended up unintentionally flying it sideways into the next postcode. Managed to wrestle it back like a soggy action hero before the storm rolled in!
Earlier today, I had a brief but nerve-wracking moment with my drone.
After meeting with our wedding coordinator at the venue, I decided to take advantage of a break in the rain to head down to the private boating lake and capture a few shots with my DJI Mini 3. It’s a lightweight drone at just 249g, so I’m well aware of how susceptible it is to wind, though it usually handles okay.
I took off and flew to about 50-60 meters high and 40-50 meters out, just enough to get a good view of the area. It was no more than three minutes of flying when a strong wind warning appeared on my screen, followed by a light drizzle. Time to bring it back in, I thought.
But that’s when the trouble started.
Despite trying to fly forward, the drone wasn’t moving in the direction I expected. Flying via line of sight rather than the video feed, I initially thought I might have it facing the wrong way. After double-checking, it became clear it wasn’t a positioning issue—the wind had taken control. The drone began drifting sideways, further and further from me.
Panic started to set in. I realized I couldn’t quickly reach the drone as the boating lake sits in a valley, making access tricky. I had to think fast.
Instead of fighting the wind, I decided to work with it. Letting the drone drift past the water felt safer than risking it going down in the lake. The surrounding area was just open fields and trees, so I knew I wouldn’t hit anything, and if worst came to worst, retrieving it from dry land would be easier than fishing it out of the lake.
Once the drone cleared the water, I brought it lower where the wind wasn’t as strong. Slowly but surely, I started making progress back toward me. By this point, the drone was obscured by trees, so I had to rely entirely on the video feed to navigate. Fortunately, there were no obstacles or power lines in the area.
After what felt like ages, I managed to guide it all the way back around the lake at about 20-30 meters high and land it safely.
By the time I packed up, the rain had started coming down harder, and the wind had picked up even more. A couple of hours later, as I write this, the weather has turned downright stormy.
Location: Wyresdale Park, Scorton. (not my image, just for reference sake)
