The Alpine Wasp
After six years research and development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) TGR Helicorp has designed and developed an unpiloted full-size (UAV) alpine rescue helicopter – the Alpine Wasp, 
designed to operate safely and autonomously at altitudes up to and beyond 9,000m (30,000ft). It is also capable of air-lifting two sick or injured climbers from these altitudes. Using ultra-modern composite technologies, a revolutionary diesel-powered engine and TGR-developed virtual reality operating system, the Alpine Wasp represents a huge leap forward in helicopter performance and technological capability. The Alpine Wasp will soon undergo testing and systems evaluation in the harsh New Zealand mountain environment of the Southern Alps (Mt Cook). Working through the Everest Rescue Trust, TGR Helicorp will design and organise the construction of an alpine rescue base and operations headquarters at Namche Bazar in the high altitude Himalayan region of Nepal.
Why Unmanned?
A manned helicopter is no better than an unmanned one in rescue situations at high altitude, and in many ways it's a lot worse. It's not as if the pilot can get out in the death zone of Mt Everest to help an injured climber, he simply would not be acclimatised to the height and would die within minutes of either HACE or HAPE even with supplemental oxygen. 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. The pilot cannot leave the helicopter in a rescue situation in the mountains, so why put him in harm's way at all? For a normal helicopter, Everest base camp at 5,364m (17,600ft) counts as very high altitude and the summit at 8,850m (29,035ft) is another 3,470m (11,435 ft) higher still.
So, the Alpine Wasp UAV has many advantages over a manned rescue helicopter. For a start, there's no pilot to put in harm's way on a rescue and the operators don't have to struggle into down jackets and thermal layers to stay alive in the heated rescue base. The Alpine Wasp is also fitted with cameras and other cutting-edge technological innovations. The UAV rotorcraft can be made lighter, more manoeuvrable and will contain a whole lot more rescue gear that directly benefits the rescued climber.
Why a Diesel Engine?
The revolutionary diesel engine from US aircraft engine maker DeltaHawk Engines will enable the Alpine Wasp to go where other helicopters cannot because of the advantages that Jet-A1 fuel has over aviation fuel (Avgas) or normal jet engines at extreme altitudes and under super-cold conditions. Jet-A1 doesn't freeze and it doesn't become less efficient when there's less air. Jet-A1 actually works better when the fuel is cold at high altitude!
Although the Alpine Wasp's engine is a diesel (heavy fuel) engine, good quality diesel is hard to obtain in Nepal and actually turns to a gel at extreme altitude. The engine runs extremely efficiently on Jet-A1 fuel and as this is readily available in Nepal, it is the fuel of choice for the Rescue on Everest challenge.
The diesel engine running Jet-A1 fuel that the Alpine Wasp uses has the following advantages over an engine running normal aviation fuel:
Desirable Fuel Type: Low flammability and worldwide availability of heavy engine fuel is valued in all applications; current fuel for gasoline-based aviation engines is leaded and will be phased out over the coming years, making those engines unusable and fuel for them very hard to acquire.
Fuel Efficiency: The diesel DeltaHawk engine is approximately 35% more fuel efficient than normal Avgas engines. This translates to 20-30% more range per gallon.
Lower Fuel Cost: The cost per gallon of Jet-A1 Diesel is marginally less than 100LL Avgas in developed countries but the price differential is much greater in developing countries such as Nepal. As 100LL Avgas is harder to acquire, it becomes much more expensive.
Electromagnetic Noise Elimination: This diesel engine requires no ignition system, thereby reducing interference with navigational and communication systems.
Simplicity of Operation: Single-lever power operation (no mixture control).
Smoothness: A two-stroke diesel engine has four power pulses per revolution with continuous positive torque applied to the rotor (versus two pulses per revolution with approximately 30 degrees of negative torque in four-stroke/four-cylinder engines). This also puts less stress on other helicopter components.
Liquid-Cooling: Reduces overcooling in descents from altitude. Also, a reduced thermal variance in operation allows tighter manufacturing tolerances, leading to further increases in power and fuel efficiency.
Durability: The DeltaHawk diesel engine is more durable than conventional engines because:
(1) The two-stroke piston-ported design reduces the parts count by eliminating valves, valve train and cam shaft
(2) Liquid cooling reduces fatigue
(3) A unified cylinder and block design eliminates studs, gaskets and bolts. This in turn eliminates the possibility of heat distortion and potential gasket leaks
Reliability: Fail-safe design aspects have been incorporated, including backup air, redundancy of fuel pumps and limited operation at reduced power without coolant.
NZ Schools join global interactive campaign to learn about Nepal and Everest while following the Rescue on Everest Challenge at www.rescueoneverest.org
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