I've just been watching Haiti Aid on TV and mused of a new design to deliver water, well, Just a thought.
Water already delivered in Haiti by Airdrops
The First 7 Days
*15,000 litres *
Three million people are in need of aid, according to the Red Cross, and so far some
14,000 ready-to-eat meals and
15,000 litres of water
have been dropped north-east of the capital, Port-au-Prince, by the US military.
At 4°C pure water has a density (weight or mass) of about 1 g/cu.cm, 1 g/ml, 1 kg/litre, 1000 kg/cu.m, 1 tonne/cu.m or 62.4 lb/cu.ft
About 1000 Litre per cubic metre
= 15 Cubic Metres Total water Dropped in 7 Days
Surely we can do better
Air Aid Droplets (AADs)
Individual 1 Litre Water droplets held within 1 Piece rubber containers/drops including self inflating parachute
I wonder if it would work?
Delivery is similar to the Flutter Down method
Think of a 3 Layer Square Handkerchief made of rubber
Insert 1 Litre of water between layer 1 & 2 and seal
Layer 3 made of more flexible rubber and only attached at the corners, acting as the parachute
Or similar
I can picture the design clearly in my head & have some good ideas.
But first we need someone to prototype & test them, any volunteers?
I can provide more details re:-
- Automated mass production
- storage, possibly frozen in a Cold Climate
I can deliver (paid for) raw materials to anyone for prototyping
If you cannot help could you forward a link to someone who can, I am not particularly interested in Patenting, why would I want to restrict others?
I would like to see this through to a conclusion, my conscience demands it of me
Enter the C-17 GlobeMaster 3
- Boeing (McDonnell Douglas) C-17 — Specifications
Cargo hold: volume 592 cubic metres
Hold dimensions: 26.8m L x 5.5m W x 3.8m (max 4.1m) H
Carrying capacity: max payload 77t (max gross takeoff 265t)
170,900 pounds
85,000 Litre = 85 cubic metres
Maximum range: 5185km (unrefueled, with 72t payload)
As far as I'm concerned the place should have been carpet bombed with 1tr droplets over 20 square miles for the first week - 3 million Litres (people) = 35x C-17 Airdrops per day
The Terrain
fig1 Port au Prince Airport
fig2 shows that Port au Prince is actually in a Valley between two mountain ranges, apprx 10 miles deep from North to South
IMHO a Lovely Airdrop Corridor
fig3 Shows the entire Country with it’s 10 Million Population
fig4 Shows the distance between Haiti & it’s neighbouring Countries, close enough to do 3 round trips a day from S.Carolina
The Drops
Operating around the Clock each C-17 can make 3 trips per day meaning only 12 C-17’s required.
Number of C-17s built
212 as of January 2010
Would many owners refuse help at cost?
And what would this overall cost be in comparison to the 150 landings per day at the airport & god knows whatever else, not that much is the answer.
Riots? what Riots?
O you mean carpet bombing the entire City with water would cause Riots!
Delivering numerous small aid packs over a wide area (possibly 10 square miles) means that everyone, not just the strongest have the chance to consume supplies as and when they find them, reducing the chances of being robbed whilst running away from distribution points with heavy sacks.
Well all II can say is
“NO ONE KILLS FOR WATER WHEN THERES ENUFF WATER!!!”
END OF!
Why would Aid Agencies not-Recommend Airdrops
Well, Most people who work at NGO’s do a sterling Job doing what they can, to the best of their abilities, however the use of Airdrops is controversial in a world where no one Size Fits all & the Boss’s make the decisions.
“Oxfam’s experience is that aid air-drops can help but typically are hugely expensive and very limited in what they can deliver,” said Jane Cocking, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Director.
One interesting thought may be that if Natural Disasters don’t provide prolonged Colourful Media Coverage then Aid Agencies have less successful Funding Campaigns. Or is this just sick thinking?
Sure the Airdrops shouldn’t continue forever, only until ……… well, you decide, it’s your money!
I fear we are in for a massive rise in PREVENTABLE DEATHS, as every day's gut-wrenching news reports reveal. Why, indeed, would anyone block air drops as part of the mix to bring some short-term relief while the long-term infrastructure repair grinds on? I think your suspicions about agencies feeling that "we own the disasters, and we know best" may well be a factor. Chilling...
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