KATHMANDU: The drone flight test was successfully conducted at the location of both Windhorse and Guardian at Kala Patthar (18,500 ft) near Mt Everest on Tuesday morning. Michael Kronmiller, who is the convener of the Kanjirowa-Bullis STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) project, said that the drone flight test mission began with all members feeling fatigued due to low blood oxygen levels as a result of the altitude. “The drone is equipped with a thermal camera and visual First Person View camera for navigation and observation,” Kronmiler, who designed the drone in US, said. According to him, the drone tested successfully is Lotus and its weight sits under 0.5 kilo. “It is a fully modular, 3D printer deign to allow for low cost and easy maintenance as a result of the high rate of failure of drone parts in high altitude conditions,” he added. It took five minutes to set up the drone, ground station and transmitter, he shared after arriving in Capital. “Unfortunately it was discovered that the 360 degree Nikon was left onboard the helicopter after it had departed so that perspective is missing while the Nikon D3S, D500, and GoPro were present.” Drone flight proves to still be a challenge though the improvements made to the quad’s design allowed it to fly regardless of technical problems it faced, he shared. “After consulting advisors after the mission they said that if I had used carbon fiber propellers then I would’ve been able achieve lift using less power and also have my sensors on top. Regardless, I feel as though quality of life changes will need to be made to this design to allow for even simpler repair,” he added. Overall, the mission was a great success, allowing both myself and my friends at Kajirowa School in Kathmandu to learn from the problems that arose during the test, while also celebrating the success of the design as a whole, he said. “We achieved what we came to do, I look forward to the fruits of the experiment,” he concluded. According to him the drones can be used in extreme environmental as well as manmade conditions. The sensor-equipped, unmanned aircraft was previously used to locate the avalanche victims and to assist in wildlife conservation projects in Nepal, according to Theodore Kronmiller who accompanied Michaele from Virginia to Kala Patthar. What’s done? Flight 1: Drone battery voltage at 12.14v. The first flight was attempted on Lotus with the flip attached to it, the drone could not achieve flight at 100% throttle Flight 2: After fighting to drone it eventually flipped and snapped the props off one of the motors Flight 3: To reduce weight the FLIR and the top of the drone were removed, as the drone received lift, the motor tore out away from the arm. It was discovered that the bolts attached the motors became warm and melted the plastic Flight 4: I remounted the motor, additionally I hot swapped out my arm with a spare I brought and attached the motor there. The drone, after fighting it to take off, did achieve lift) Flying briefly before having to come down so it did not endanger the helicopter Fight 5: Drone tipped and shattered two props, I decided to call the mission, overall ended at 11.64v on the battery and never having to change it out. ( as stated by Michael Kronmiller)