The FAI (International Aeronautical Federation) Rotorcraft Commission has confirmed the ratification of mr. Delsalle’s record ‘highest take-off’on March 3, 2006.
And no, this does not make rescuing climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ above 8000 meters by helicopter a viable option. Weather conditions are far worse then, wind speeds even exceeding the never-exceed airspeeds of the chopper, bad visibility, not to mention the extra weight of a 2 or 3-man crew including gear and winches/longlines etc.
And indeed, it was a perfectly pretty day, wind speed on the summit around 75 mph (120 kmh). So, it’s not hovering at all, its technically flying at around 60-65 knots airspeed, more or less in ground effect.
This same AS350 has been flown to 10.211 meters (33.500) on April 14, 2005 according to Eurocopter. The Mount Everest ‘landing’ was part of a series of high-altitude/high-rate of climb tests.
I do a bit of climbing and a bit of helicopter flying and used do some aeronautical engineering so let me try to get a few things straight:
It was a perfectly normal AS350 B3, stripped of most of its interior, thus saving around 250 lbs (120kgs), with half-empty fuel tanks (1 hour endurance). So, only one or two little camera’s on the chopper for weight-saving purposes.
Il y a encore, six ans après, des doutes et des contestations. Non n'importe quel pilote n'aurait pas pu faire cela, sans doute pas non plus tous les pilotes d'essais. Le manque d'air est compensé par les vents terrifiants.... et puis Didier était le "premier" grimpeur cette année-là, les conditions ayant été jusque là trop mauvaises et il ne lui a fallu pas plus de vingt minutes pour faire Lukla-Everest et retour ce qui explique sa solitude au sommet : Il était convenu qu'il ne gênerai personne
As far as a documentary video goes, this one sucks! Why didn't they have at least one other camera on the ground at the base camp for climbers? I have seen dozens of videos shot from high base camp (18,500 ft) where individual climbers can be seen summiting so why couldn't they ask an expedition to turn on a camera and point it at the summit that morning? There are more cameras attached to a teenage base jumper than to this chopper...REALLY!? frickin' french minimalism.
"On May 14, 2005 an AS350 B3 piloted by Eurocopter test pilot Didier Delsalle (fr:Didier Delsalle) touched down on the top of Mt. Everest, at 8,850 metres (29,035 feet) .[3] This record has been confirmed by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale" From Wikipedia + Rotorcraft World Records
Err... following that reasoning, airliners fly higher and their turbines use oxygenated air too, yet they don't fall down.
C'mon! Everest summit is not Space. There isn't enough air for a proper breathing during too much time, but that doesn't mean that it's 'free' of air.
The problem is not about oxygen (a turbine first stage can be designed to provide all needed, by means of high RPM and high absorbment. The problem is too thin air to provide lift.
@munyones Sorry, I didn't say it was free of air. There just isn't enough O2 for a helicopter engine to function. A plane's engine is different to a helicopter's.
I'm not sure whether the thinness of air plays a part?
@Highwaycrazy Its actually not that different in this case. It uses a turboshaft engine, so it can go pretty much as high as a normal turbofan on an airliner. the thinness does play a huge part here, because of the low density, the rotor needs to turn a lot faster
Of course the Sherpas might dispute this as it would break the record achieved by a Sherpa. However, Europcopter would have known that going in. Is there an unedited video of this? It's been chopped up. And didn't the pilot bring a GPS unit with him for confirmation as he is the only person in the chopper? And why did Eurcopter await so long to answer any questions. This would be a very big deal. You'd expect to have an easy way to verify this these days.
The native Kirat should banned pThe native Kirat should banned people from climbing Mt. Everest. Kirat consider Chomolongma(Everest) as the abode of their ancestors and Kirateswor (Paruhang & Sumnima). Mountaineers have destroy the eco-system around the Everest region. The fees collected by the Nepal government has not seen the development of Everest region either. The money goes into the politician pocket instead.
Respect the mother nature. You people can never conquer Mt. Everest.
This is an unnoficial record and this video does not look like it makes it to the top, weres the little flags? Do they get taken down in the off-season?
This video is posted on Eurocopter's official site so it must be real. Also, I would assume that since high winds prevail at the summit, and it snows a lot, and the mountain is still growing, that the little flags woud get covered over of blown off at some point and new ones would need to be placed there.
In this machien faild so much all seat are out every thing from the Landingbay is away and sooo on other ways it will be not possible to flight at 8850 m with this type of helicopter
It most likely has to do with weight. The heavier the helicopter, the more vertical thrust the blades have to produce in order to maintain equilibrium flight..
Ok, so what you're saying is that they helicopter was light with only one person going to the top, if they used the helicopters to rescue people they helicopter will be too heavy and may not be able to maintain altitude. I understand now.
this still dosent quite add up and dosent seem possbile the air is far too thin for a helicopter to fly that hight let alone land on the top of mounteverest maybe its fake its not really possbile
@stuckinadazzee Easy question to answer if u know anything about mountaineering. First of all the weather was perfect. Rare for everest. Most rescues are required because climbers get beat by bad weather and are in places ( steps, chimneys, icefalls, crevasse, in the dark at night ) that the heli cant get to anyway. The blades are huge and would require a lot of room. Only place to rescue is a summit or base camps. Weight would not be a big issue. This is the summit. Prayer flags=otherside
The FAI (International Aeronautical Federation) Rotorcraft Commission has confirmed the ratification of mr. Delsalle’s record ‘highest take-off’on March 3, 2006.
And no, this does not make rescuing climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ above 8000 meters by helicopter a viable option. Weather conditions are far worse then, wind speeds even exceeding the never-exceed airspeeds of the chopper, bad visibility, not to mention the extra weight of a 2 or 3-man crew including gear and winches/longlines etc.
Captainhelicopter 2 months ago
And indeed, it was a perfectly pretty day, wind speed on the summit around 75 mph (120 kmh). So, it’s not hovering at all, its technically flying at around 60-65 knots airspeed, more or less in ground effect.
This same AS350 has been flown to 10.211 meters (33.500) on April 14, 2005 according to Eurocopter. The Mount Everest ‘landing’ was part of a series of high-altitude/high-rate of climb tests.
Captainhelicopter 2 months ago
I do a bit of climbing and a bit of helicopter flying and used do some aeronautical engineering so let me try to get a few things straight:
It was a perfectly normal AS350 B3, stripped of most of its interior, thus saving around 250 lbs (120kgs), with half-empty fuel tanks (1 hour endurance). So, only one or two little camera’s on the chopper for weight-saving purposes.
Captainhelicopter 2 months ago
Il y a encore, six ans après, des doutes et des contestations. Non n'importe quel pilote n'aurait pas pu faire cela, sans doute pas non plus tous les pilotes d'essais. Le manque d'air est compensé par les vents terrifiants.... et puis Didier était le "premier" grimpeur cette année-là, les conditions ayant été jusque là trop mauvaises et il ne lui a fallu pas plus de vingt minutes pour faire Lukla-Everest et retour ce qui explique sa solitude au sommet : Il était convenu qu'il ne gênerai personne
xpilot13 3 months ago
As far as a documentary video goes, this one sucks! Why didn't they have at least one other camera on the ground at the base camp for climbers? I have seen dozens of videos shot from high base camp (18,500 ft) where individual climbers can be seen summiting so why couldn't they ask an expedition to turn on a camera and point it at the summit that morning? There are more cameras attached to a teenage base jumper than to this chopper...REALLY!? frickin' french minimalism.
bigncornfed 4 months ago
"On May 14, 2005 an AS350 B3 piloted by Eurocopter test pilot Didier Delsalle (fr:Didier Delsalle) touched down on the top of Mt. Everest, at 8,850 metres (29,035 feet) .[3] This record has been confirmed by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale" From Wikipedia + Rotorcraft World Records
Canoodle4Yoodle 5 months ago
I'm just a little skeptical that even a stripped AS350 could hover OGE on Everest at 28,000 ft. Seems fake to me.
jjsemperfi 8 months ago
@jjsemperfi I am too, I'm curious to know all the "data" on this flight, like winds/temps aloft, gross weight, fuel load and such
22640cal 5 months ago
Super!
Dracony345 8 months ago
shit i would rather do that than actually climb it lol
SpotTheSteez 10 months ago
I think this is fake. Where is all the junk thats on top flags ox bottles.
If it was a nice day their would be climbers on top.
WormsEatMyGarbage 1 year ago
@WormsEatMyGarbage I don’t think eurocopter would risk their reputation by faking this, but there again, who`s going to find out !
b3gunkid90 1 year ago
I would know how much the Machien have weight at this time.
12Mammut 1 year ago
How can this helicopter's engine function at 8km in the sky without any oxygen? The engine is dependent on oxygenated air.
Highwaycrazy 1 year ago
@Highwaycrazy
Err... following that reasoning, airliners fly higher and their turbines use oxygenated air too, yet they don't fall down.
C'mon! Everest summit is not Space. There isn't enough air for a proper breathing during too much time, but that doesn't mean that it's 'free' of air.
The problem is not about oxygen (a turbine first stage can be designed to provide all needed, by means of high RPM and high absorbment. The problem is too thin air to provide lift.
munyones 1 year ago
@munyones Sorry, I didn't say it was free of air. There just isn't enough O2 for a helicopter engine to function. A plane's engine is different to a helicopter's.
I'm not sure whether the thinness of air plays a part?
Highwaycrazy 1 year ago
@Highwaycrazy Its actually not that different in this case. It uses a turboshaft engine, so it can go pretty much as high as a normal turbofan on an airliner. the thinness does play a huge part here, because of the low density, the rotor needs to turn a lot faster
jkyet 1 year ago
You realy have to battle to get people to belive this hoax ..why dont you give up and admit it was an April fool ..you fools
TASHKENTGOATMAN 1 year ago
Great!!!!!!! :D
Carlsarv 1 year ago
this is fack totaly fack
arik55555 1 year ago
Of course the Sherpas might dispute this as it would break the record achieved by a Sherpa. However, Europcopter would have known that going in. Is there an unedited video of this? It's been chopped up. And didn't the pilot bring a GPS unit with him for confirmation as he is the only person in the chopper? And why did Eurcopter await so long to answer any questions. This would be a very big deal. You'd expect to have an easy way to verify this these days.
jonnygouda1 1 year ago
In 1972 Jean Boulet flew an Aérospatiale Lama helicopter to 40,814 ft.
Landing on Everest has been dogged by politics more than performance.
sproogoid 1 year ago
That's cheating!
freezinteen 2 years ago
omg he cheated the mountain
kungkeno84 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
The native Kirat should banned pThe native Kirat should banned people from climbing Mt. Everest. Kirat consider Chomolongma(Everest) as the abode of their ancestors and Kirateswor (Paruhang & Sumnima). Mountaineers have destroy the eco-system around the Everest region. The fees collected by the Nepal government has not seen the development of Everest region either. The money goes into the politician pocket instead.
Respect the mother nature. You people can never conquer Mt. Everest.
diliprai 2 years ago
Wonderful narration. Just exceptional. I gained quite astounding amounts of information from that short clip.
redemptionmyass 2 years ago
This is an unnoficial record and this video does not look like it makes it to the top, weres the little flags? Do they get taken down in the off-season?
justinhall83 2 years ago
This video is posted on Eurocopter's official site so it must be real. Also, I would assume that since high winds prevail at the summit, and it snows a lot, and the mountain is still growing, that the little flags woud get covered over of blown off at some point and new ones would need to be placed there.
CSDCHI 2 years ago
pouwhaha.. every man who knows aviation knows that its fake.. wake up, moron :)
MrHommeLibre 2 years ago
@MrHommeLibre you moron ignorant!
makinamati 1 year ago
@justinhall83 ther is on little flag look at 3:30 on the left Landingbay ther is on litle red flag :D
12Mammut 1 year ago
In this machien faild so much all seat are out every thing from the Landingbay is away and sooo on other ways it will be not possible to flight at 8850 m with this type of helicopter
12Mammut 1 year ago
that's not the summit. The summit is covered with prayflags and other stuff summiters have left behind.
f00ani 2 years ago
It most likely has to do with weight. The heavier the helicopter, the more vertical thrust the blades have to produce in order to maintain equilibrium flight..
gvstrickland 2 years ago
Ok, so what you're saying is that they helicopter was light with only one person going to the top, if they used the helicopters to rescue people they helicopter will be too heavy and may not be able to maintain altitude. I understand now.
CSDCHI 2 years ago
pretty much.
gvstrickland 2 years ago
this still dosent quite add up and dosent seem possbile the air is far too thin for a helicopter to fly that hight let alone land on the top of mounteverest maybe its fake its not really possbile
charlieiscool1000 2 years ago
@gvstrickland its nothing to do with wieght its how thin the air is at that altitude
monkeyhanger007 1 year ago
That is a question I had too, and to date have not received an answer from anyone.
CSDCHI 2 years ago
@CSDCHI make a drop from a heli to top of everest? XD
egdqv13234 1 year ago
If they can land on the top why can't they save people with the heli's
stuckinadazzee 2 years ago
@stuckinadazzee Easy question to answer if u know anything about mountaineering. First of all the weather was perfect. Rare for everest. Most rescues are required because climbers get beat by bad weather and are in places ( steps, chimneys, icefalls, crevasse, in the dark at night ) that the heli cant get to anyway. The blades are huge and would require a lot of room. Only place to rescue is a summit or base camps. Weight would not be a big issue. This is the summit. Prayer flags=otherside
BringDownTheirPride 1 year ago
que huevos el piloto y buena maquina muy bueno
huevoghm 2 years ago
This is awesome!
drdentz2 2 years ago