Climbers who get into difficulty on Mount Everest could be rescued by an unmanned air ambulance.
The Alpine Wasp helicopter, being developed by TGR Helicorp in Auckland, New Zealand, will begin testing in the country鈥檚 Southern Alps in April. Once in operation the aircraft will fly from a base the company is building for climbers and locals at Namche Bazar in the Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal, which includes the southern half of Everest.
The pilotless craft will be able to reach an altitude of 9000 metres, unlike most helicopters, which are limited to a maximum of about 4300 metres. As well as extra-wide rotor blades to provide lift in the rarefied air at that height, the Wasp has a gearing system that can spin the blades more slowly than those of a conventional helicopter. This is needed because the speed of sound decreases with altitude, and the changes in airflow that occur when a blade breaks the sound barrier can cause potentially catastrophic instability.
Advertisement
The pilot will control the aircraft from the ground using virtual reality created with information from 10 cameras in its nose. An onboard laser ranging device will allow the pilot to 鈥渟ee鈥� what is around even in fog.
When the helicopter reaches the climber, it will lower an extendable pole with a speaker and an ultra-strong Kevlar loop at the end. The climber will be instructed to fasten themselves to this loop and will then be winched into a heated pod containing breathable air for the flight back to base. The helicopter will begin trial flights in the Himalayas in January 2008.
