When planning a take-off and landing location in high winds, it is advised to take off in an open field or large sheltered area. Avoid operating on the downwind side of a hill, sand dune, low building, etc, as winds flowing over these objects tend to accelerate (shown below in blue), causing a region of fast-moving wind at altitude, and also causing an area of unpredictable and turbulent wind at ground level (shown below in green).

These 2 phenomena can cause an issue for Marlyn in 2 ways;

a) The area of accelerated wind can be up to 50% higher than the ambient wind speed. If this causes Marlyn to be flying in an area above the maximum wind tolerance, it is possible that Marlyn can drift from its position above the home location or even prevent the drone from reaching this position at all.

b) Since Marlyn must always be pointed into the wind in helicopter mode, the area of turbulent wind can cause the wind direction and strength to behave unpredictably, which can make it more difficult for Marlyn to point into the wind and maintain its position over the home point.

If either of these situations is encountered unexpectedly in flight, it is best practice to place the aircraft into Manual Flight, climb above the region of air which is affected by the hill/building/etc. and land the drone in a calmer spot.

Flying in Strong Winds (35-45km/h)

Operating in Strong Winds