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The sky's the limit

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University student Frank Wang Tao spends most of his leisure time with model helicopters, and one of his hi-tech creations this summer pulled off the world's first unmanned flight around Mount Everest.

In June, Wang's helicopter swooped over lakes, glaciers and a forest in Tibet during 10-days of test flights.

While his machine looks similar to a normal remote-controlled model helicopter, it is a technological leap forward. It is equipped with the global positioning system and can fly on a pre-programmed flight path.

Battery powered, the model can fly 50 kilometres at a maximum speed of 70 km/h, but can cover 200km when powered by diesel.

A camera attached to the underside of the helicopter allows it to take photographs and videos during flights, sending live images to the user on a handheld remote control unit.

When it's not on a programmed path, the user can manually steer the helicopter by viewing images on the remote control's screen.

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