How unmanned helicopter may fly to the rescue of Everest climbers (The Guardian)
How unmanned helicopter may fly to the rescue of Everest climbers
After six years of research pioneering Alpine Wasp is poised for test flight Ed DouglasSaturday February 10, 2007
The Guardian
When Trevor Rogers told climber Mark Inglis he was building a helicopter that could rescue people from the summit of Everest, the New Zealand climber was sceptical. "The first thing I said was, 'Yeah, right!' I've got a real interest in helicopters, and I know a lot about their performance."
As the first double amputee to climb the mountain, Inglis also knows a lot about overcoming improbable odds. Even so, what Rogers, president of TGR Helicorp, proposed seemed like science fiction. Most helicopters are not designed to operate above a ceiling of 4,300 metres (14,100ft) and those that do have to be modified.
The highest rescue achieved on Everest was at Camp 1 in 1996, when a Nepalese pilot took his French-built Ecureuil to 6,100 metres, rescuing two climbers with severe frostbite.
But after six years of research, Rogers told Inglis, his team had developed an unpiloted full-size helicopter called the Alpine Wasp, capable of flying autonomously at altitudes up to and even beyond 9,000m, 150m above the summit of Everest, and a full 3,000m higher than anything achieved before to carry two sick or injured climbers to safety. Inglis is so convinced by what he's seen that he is acting as a goodwill ambassador for the Auckland-based company.
Built from lightweight composite materials, the Alpine Wasp has a revolutionary diesel engine and rotor blades designed to function in the thin air of high altitude. "We are going to challenge the science of aviation at extreme altitude and conquer new frontiers on Mt Everest and in Nepal," Rogers says. The lack of a pilot has left some Everest climbers a little anxious. "Who wants to be first in line to test this thing?" one veteran said. But Rogers and his team are adamant an unmanned aircraft is the way to go.
"It's not as if a pilot can get out in the death zone of Everest to help an injured climber. Not to mention which, there'd be no one keeping the helicopter in the air, something that requires 100% concentration at any altitude and is extremely difficult at high altitude."
A helicopter has already flown high on Everest. In 2005 French pilot Didier Delsalle dropped a skid of another Ecureuil, the standard search and rescue helicopter in many countries, on the summit, to the fury of the Nepalese government. "They stripped everything out and carried minimum amount of fuel," Inglis says. But adding an injured climber's weight was out of the question.
Russian MI-17 helicopters have also performed evacuations from base camp but they are operating on the limits of their specification. An expedition organised by the SummitClimb agency narrowly avoided tragedy in 2005 when a huge section of rotor blade and other debris fell on their tents after a helicopter crash at base camp. The hulk of that MI-17 has been left to rot.
TGR say their helicopter will be tested this spring in the New Zealand Alps. If all goes well, the Alpine Wasp will be stationed from spring 2008 in a specially constructed hangar in the sherpa town of Namche Bazaar, at 3440m on the route to Everest base camp.
TGR have created the Everest Rescue Trust to take over running of the helicopter, and there are plans for a frostbite treatment centre. What is less certain is how the helicopter's on-board computer systems will identify stricken climbers.
The Wasp, Rogers says, will use virtual reality systems at its base in Namche Bazaar and can even fly in fog close to the mountain to perform rescues. Climbers will be fitted with a tracking device in order to locate them, and once they are found the helicopter will lower a cable for hoisting.
"They have to be able to clip themselves on to the rope or be helped by another climber to be clipped on," a TGR spokeswoman said.
The increase in numbers attempting Everest in the last decade has led to concern that more selfish attitudes are becoming commonplace on what was once a symbol of cooperation. Inglis was in the eye of a media storm last spring when the team he joined for his ascent of Everest came across the dying British climber David Sharp on the mountain's north ridge, and were unable to do anything to save him .
Sharp's fate was condemned by Sir Edmund Hillary, and described in the New York Times as "the single macabre image that will haunt the recent climbing history of Everest".
For a while, Inglis says, he faced intense criticism. "I've had a phenomenal amount of support, and the criticism really disappeared when people heard the true story. But what happened on Everest in 2006 was a catalyst for Trevor to move their schedule ahead."
Inglis lost both his legs to frostbite after being stranded in a snow cave on Mount Cook in 1982.
At the time, he was working as a search and rescue mountaineer for Mount Cook National Park. After his ascent of Everest last year, he had 3cm trimmed from each stump after suffering further frostbite.
He says the Alpine Wasp could take pressure off sherpas and western mountaineers who put their lives at risk to perform rescues on Everest. "When Trevor first came to see me, I asked how many sorties he expected to fly in a year and he told me what I thought was an extremely low number. I would have multiplied it by 10," Inglis said.
"What most people don't realise is that on Everest so many are rescued by other teams. In 2006 [our] team rescued a significant number of people and we got caned for one person we couldn't rescue. Much of my early career was in search and rescue, and the first rule is that a rescuer doesn't put their own life at risk. This [helicopter] is one of the first ways I've seen of really being able to ensure that on Everest."
Critics will point to the environmental impact of a helicopter operating high on Everest. There are also fears that its presence will attract inexperienced climbers who may try to charter the Alpine Wasp for their own convenience.
Sherpas may fear that the Wasp could carry equipment up the mountain and destroy their livelihood.
"That's not going to happen," says Inglis. "It's for rescue. One of the most complex things is putting together the rules. No one can pay to get picked up because they're feeling a bit tired."
After six years of research pioneering Alpine Wasp is poised for test flight Ed DouglasSaturday February 10, 2007
The Guardian
When Trevor Rogers told climber Mark Inglis he was building a helicopter that could rescue people from the summit of Everest, the New Zealand climber was sceptical. "The first thing I said was, 'Yeah, right!' I've got a real interest in helicopters, and I know a lot about their performance."
As the first double amputee to climb the mountain, Inglis also knows a lot about overcoming improbable odds. Even so, what Rogers, president of TGR Helicorp, proposed seemed like science fiction. Most helicopters are not designed to operate above a ceiling of 4,300 metres (14,100ft) and those that do have to be modified.
The highest rescue achieved on Everest was at Camp 1 in 1996, when a Nepalese pilot took his French-built Ecureuil to 6,100 metres, rescuing two climbers with severe frostbite.
But after six years of research, Rogers told Inglis, his team had developed an unpiloted full-size helicopter called the Alpine Wasp, capable of flying autonomously at altitudes up to and even beyond 9,000m, 150m above the summit of Everest, and a full 3,000m higher than anything achieved before to carry two sick or injured climbers to safety. Inglis is so convinced by what he's seen that he is acting as a goodwill ambassador for the Auckland-based company.
Built from lightweight composite materials, the Alpine Wasp has a revolutionary diesel engine and rotor blades designed to function in the thin air of high altitude. "We are going to challenge the science of aviation at extreme altitude and conquer new frontiers on Mt Everest and in Nepal," Rogers says. The lack of a pilot has left some Everest climbers a little anxious. "Who wants to be first in line to test this thing?" one veteran said. But Rogers and his team are adamant an unmanned aircraft is the way to go.
"It's not as if a pilot can get out in the death zone of Everest to help an injured climber. Not to mention which, there'd be no one keeping the helicopter in the air, something that requires 100% concentration at any altitude and is extremely difficult at high altitude."
A helicopter has already flown high on Everest. In 2005 French pilot Didier Delsalle dropped a skid of another Ecureuil, the standard search and rescue helicopter in many countries, on the summit, to the fury of the Nepalese government. "They stripped everything out and carried minimum amount of fuel," Inglis says. But adding an injured climber's weight was out of the question.
Russian MI-17 helicopters have also performed evacuations from base camp but they are operating on the limits of their specification. An expedition organised by the SummitClimb agency narrowly avoided tragedy in 2005 when a huge section of rotor blade and other debris fell on their tents after a helicopter crash at base camp. The hulk of that MI-17 has been left to rot.
TGR say their helicopter will be tested this spring in the New Zealand Alps. If all goes well, the Alpine Wasp will be stationed from spring 2008 in a specially constructed hangar in the sherpa town of Namche Bazaar, at 3440m on the route to Everest base camp.
TGR have created the Everest Rescue Trust to take over running of the helicopter, and there are plans for a frostbite treatment centre. What is less certain is how the helicopter's on-board computer systems will identify stricken climbers.
The Wasp, Rogers says, will use virtual reality systems at its base in Namche Bazaar and can even fly in fog close to the mountain to perform rescues. Climbers will be fitted with a tracking device in order to locate them, and once they are found the helicopter will lower a cable for hoisting.
"They have to be able to clip themselves on to the rope or be helped by another climber to be clipped on," a TGR spokeswoman said.
The increase in numbers attempting Everest in the last decade has led to concern that more selfish attitudes are becoming commonplace on what was once a symbol of cooperation. Inglis was in the eye of a media storm last spring when the team he joined for his ascent of Everest came across the dying British climber David Sharp on the mountain's north ridge, and were unable to do anything to save him .
Sharp's fate was condemned by Sir Edmund Hillary, and described in the New York Times as "the single macabre image that will haunt the recent climbing history of Everest".
For a while, Inglis says, he faced intense criticism. "I've had a phenomenal amount of support, and the criticism really disappeared when people heard the true story. But what happened on Everest in 2006 was a catalyst for Trevor to move their schedule ahead."
Inglis lost both his legs to frostbite after being stranded in a snow cave on Mount Cook in 1982.
At the time, he was working as a search and rescue mountaineer for Mount Cook National Park. After his ascent of Everest last year, he had 3cm trimmed from each stump after suffering further frostbite.
He says the Alpine Wasp could take pressure off sherpas and western mountaineers who put their lives at risk to perform rescues on Everest. "When Trevor first came to see me, I asked how many sorties he expected to fly in a year and he told me what I thought was an extremely low number. I would have multiplied it by 10," Inglis said.
"What most people don't realise is that on Everest so many are rescued by other teams. In 2006 [our] team rescued a significant number of people and we got caned for one person we couldn't rescue. Much of my early career was in search and rescue, and the first rule is that a rescuer doesn't put their own life at risk. This [helicopter] is one of the first ways I've seen of really being able to ensure that on Everest."
Critics will point to the environmental impact of a helicopter operating high on Everest. There are also fears that its presence will attract inexperienced climbers who may try to charter the Alpine Wasp for their own convenience.
Sherpas may fear that the Wasp could carry equipment up the mountain and destroy their livelihood.
"That's not going to happen," says Inglis. "It's for rescue. One of the most complex things is putting together the rules. No one can pay to get picked up because they're feeling a bit tired."
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