The Sherpas will be all the better for it. DJI has just revealed images of the first tests of its delivery drone, the DJI FlyCart 30, in the heart of Everest. Goal: to raise equipment for mountaineers to previously unrivaled heights, and to lower waste into the valley. Victory: its DJI FlyCart 30 successfully completed its task, opening new perspectives for the manufacturer… and the world of aviation.
Oxygen cylinders and waste
First on the slopes of the highest peak in the world which culminates at 8,848 meters between Nepal and China: at the end of April, the DJI FlyCart 30 braved extreme environmental conditions to transport from the base camp to Camp 1 (located between 5,300 to 6,000 meters above sea level) three oxygen cylinders and 1.5 kg of equipment. He came down with some trash.
On paper, everything may seem simple. Sending a delivery drone up to incongruous heights to drop off equipment and bring it back down might not be very complicated. Except when we talk about Everest with, here, temperatures down to minus 15° and winds up to 15 meters/second. Without forgetting the flight, considered dangerous, of the Khumbu icefall, which some helicopters do not dare to undertake.
Up to 30 kg of goods
When maneuvering, the DJI FlyCart 30 nevertheless fulfilled its mission. Dedicated to freight transport, this robust 65 kg professional drone with batteries can carry up to 30 kg of goods with a range of up to 16 km and a maximum speed of 20 m/s. Its winch allows it to drop its load without having to land, an essential condition for the experiment carried out by DJI on Mount Everest.
It was only after various tests of hovering without load, wind resistance, low temperature and weight capacity with increasingly heavy payloads that DJI kicked off the the ascent. Ascent which only required the DJI FlyCart 30 12 minutes round trip (its autonomy can reach 18 minutes on two batteries with 30 kg payload).
For comparison, it takes 6 to 8 hours for climbers and their local Sherpas to cross the Khumbu Icefall and its dangerous crevasses. Sometimes, at the risk of their lives. “Last year I lost three Sherpas there. If we are unlucky, if the timing is not good, we can lose our lives,” confirms Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, mountain guide of Imagine Nepal, associated with DJI.
35 tonnes of waste
In addition to the delivery of materials by drone, it is also the prospect of bringing waste back down into the valley via it. It is estimated that each climber leaves up to 8 kg of waste on the slopes of Everest during each ascent. Old tents, rusty oxygen bottles… even the frozen human waste which pollutes the site.
According to Reporterre, 35 tonnes of waste are currently cluttering the slopes of Everest. To evacuate them, an army of FlyCart 30 drones would have to be mobilized. At a rate of 30 kg of freight per trip, 1,166 rotations would be necessary to do the big cleanup.