DROPPING OUT OF THE SKY AND ASCENDING 6K m ASL
The Journal primarily covers serious aviation safety issues, but it is appropriate, on occasions, to lighten up a bit. Two articles today will bring you some matters of interest to our community but with fun being the primary message.
Recently, nine Members of Congress all parachuted over Normandy. Their BIPARTISAN (yes, that is possible with the current elected officials!!!) message is TO HONOR THOSE WHO JUMPED INTO HARM’S WAY 80 YEARS AGO, plus – to deliver a contemporary message:
“AMERICA IS AT ITS BEST WHEN WE COME TOGETHER, UNITE UNDER COMMON CAUSE AND PURPOSE.”
The second story is about the upper altitude that a drone can reach 6,000 ASL. It completed a mission that is not well suited to helicopters and thus demonstrates its value in delivering emergency supplies to that point on Mount Everest.
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9 members of Congress parachute jump over Normandy for D-Day anniversary
LINK TO ONE VIDEO–https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwU0YYy4ep0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwU0YYy4ep0
LINK TO ABC VIDEO–ABC VERSION
A group of American lawmakers honored the bravery of World War II veterans who took part in D-Day with a parachute jump into Normandy on Friday morning, using some of the same vintage planes that flew American paratroopers over France 80 years ago.
The lawmakers are all military veterans, and were led by REPS. JASON CROW, D-COLO., AND MICHAEL WALTZ, R-FLA. The other participants included: REPS. DAN CRENSHAW, R-TEXAS, RONNY JACKSON, R-TEXAS, RICH MCCORMICK, R-GA., MARK GREEN, R-TENN., CORY MILLS, R-FLA., DARRELL ISSA, R-CALIF. AND KEITH SELF, R-TEXAS.
Crow, an Army Ranger who served in two units that played key roles in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, said the jump was a “very personal experience.”
“To participate in the jump over the same fields 80 years to the week was an incredible experience and my way of highlighting that service and sacrifice,” Crow said.
Furlong/Getty Images
In an interview with ABC News’ Jay O’Brien before the jump, Crow said the jump is about remembering that “AMERICA IS AT ITS BEST WHEN WE COME TOGETHER, UNITE UNDER COMMON CAUSE AND PURPOSE.”
“We serve and we make individual sacrifices to do big and important things,” Crow said in an interview in Washington shortly before leaving for France. “And in an era where we’re wondering about our place in the world, about American leadership, this is a reminder that American leadership matters.”
Before departing Washington, Waltz said the jump honors World War II veterans and pays respect to their sacrifice.
Rep. Jason Crow, who is also a U.S. military veteran, shares a selfie showing preparation for a commemorative parachute jump to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, June 7, 2024.© Jason Crow/X via Reuters
“This will be the last major anniversary with the World War II veterans. The youngest that we know of is 96. The oldest is 107. We need to honor them and need to keep their story and their sacrifice alive,” Waltz said. “What better way to pass that story on to the next generation than by jumping out of a perfectly good World War II-era aircraft?”
Waltz, the first Green Beret to serve in Congress, said that “American people need to see” lawmakers from across the aisle come together, and that electing more veterans to Congress would benefit the country.
“This will be the last major anniversary with the World War II veterans. The youngest that we know of is 96. The oldest is 107. We need to honor them and need to keep their story and their sacrifice alive,” Waltz said. “What better way to pass that story on to the next generation than by jumping out of a perfectly good World War II-era aircraft?”
Waltz, the first Green Beret to serve in Congress, said that “American people need to see” lawmakers from across the aisle come together, and that electing more veterans to Congress would benefit the country.
American paratroopers, heavily armed, sit inside a military plane as they soar over the English Channel en route to the Normandy French coast for the Allied D-Day invasion of the German stronghold during World War II, June 6, 1944.© AP
In this photo provided by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, U.S. paratroopers fix their static lines before a jump before dawn over Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, in France.© U.S. Army Signal Corps/AP
“If we’re all in a tank or a ship or a plane together just a few years ago, as veterans, as Americans, we’re all willing to die together and we should be able to roll up our sleeves and get things done,” Waltz said.
Both Crow and Waltz performed a parachute jump over Normandy with French paratroopers five years ago, for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Hundreds of American paratroopers drop into Normandy, France on or near D-Day, June 6, 194
Hulton Deutsch/Corbis via Getty Images
“There’s no better way to get you out of the airplane than to be in an 80-year-old aircraft,” Crow joked. “It freaks me out a little bit. But these pilots are great. The maintenance is great. It’s a very, very safe exercise.”
Crow said that while the plane on Friday was small and noisy, it flew well.
“The pilots were fantastic … it underscored for me how more advanced our systems are,” Crow said
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Watch Video: First Drone Delivery on Mount Everest “Successfully Completed”
China-based DJI recently teamed up with Nepalese drone service company Airlift, video production company 8KRAW, and certified mountain sherpa, Mingma Gyalje, to fly the world’s first successful drone delivery on Mount Everest, reports stattimes.com.
“A DJI FlyCart 30,” explains the article, “flew three oxygen bottles and 1.5kg of supplies from the Everest Base Camp to Camp 1 (5,300–6,000m ASL). On the return trip trash was carried back down.”
The two Camps are separated by the Khumbu Icefall, one of the most perilous stages of the ascent. While helicopters can theoretically make the same journey, they are rarely used due to the significant dangers and costs.
The article continues, “Before undertaking delivery flights, DJI engineers considered the extreme environmental challenges of Everest, including temperatures ranging between ‑15° to 5°C, wind speeds up to 15m/s, and high altitudes over 6,000m ASL. Rigorous tests of DJI FlyCart 30 were then conducted, including unloaded hover, wind resistance, low-temperature and weight capacity tests with successively heavier payloads.”
Please Watch Video
Usually, the responsibility of transporting supplies and clearing rubbish on Everest are on the shoulders of local Sherpa guides who may need to cross the icefall over 30 times in a season to transport supplies such as oxygen bottles, gas canisters, tents, food and ropes. Each climber is estimated to leave 8kg of trash behind on Everest, and despite cleanup efforts, tonnes of waste remain on its slopes.
The FlyCart 30 drone can carry 15kg between camps in 12 minutes for a round trip, day or night, easing the burden on Sherpas, who repeatedly risk their lives navigating the treacherous Khumbu Icefall.
Sherpa Minima Gyalke, remarked, “We need to spend six to eight hours each day walking through this icefall. Last year I lost three Sherpas. If we’re not lucky, if our time is not right, we lose our life there.”
Christina Zhang, DJI Senior Corporate Strategy Director, commented, “Our team embarked on this endeavour to help and make cleanup efforts on Everest safer and more efficient. The ability to safely transport equipment, supplies and waste by drone has the potential to revolutionise Everest mountaineering logistics, facilitate trash cleanup efforts, and improve safety for all involved.”
The deployment of delivery drones in high-altitude regions not only improves safety and efficiency in such challenging environments, but highlights the importance of environmental conservation and sustainable practices within the mountaineering industry.
Launched globally in January, DJI FlyCart 30 has been deployed to help plant saplings in steep Japanese hillside environments; transform a solar PV installation in Mexico; assist mountain fire rescue efforts in Norway; and improve scientific research operations in Antarctica.
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