What is it about flying cars? We've wanted to do this for about a hundred years. And there are historic attempts that have had some level of technical success. But we haven't yet gotten to the point where on your way here this morning you see something that really, truly seamlessly integrates the two-dimensional world that we're comfortable in with the three-dimensional sky above us -- that, I don't know about you, but I really enjoy spending time in.
为什么飞行汽车让我们痴迷? 一百年前我们就开始想建造它 回望历史有不少尝试 技术上有了一定进展 但今天我们仍然没能坐上飞行汽车 (如果成功的话)各位早上来的路上 就能够感受到它会将 我们熟悉的二维世界 和头顶的三维天空天衣无缝地融为一体- 不知道各位怎么想,但我真的是乐在其中
We looked at the historical attempts that had been out there and realized that, despite the fact that we have a lot of modern innovations to draw on today that weren't available previously -- we have modern composite materials, we have aircraft engines that get good fuel economy and have better power-to-rate ratios than have ever been available, we have glass cockpit avionics that bring the information you need to fly directly to you in the cockpit -- but without fundamentally addressing the problem from a different perspective, we realized that we were going to be getting the same result that people had been getting for the last hundred years, which isn't where we want to be right now. So instead of trying to make a car that can fly, we decided to try to make a plane that could drive.
我们回顾了以往的尝试 发现尽管事实上 今天我们有许多的 现代化创新 在以前是没有的- 我们有现代复合材料, 有无可比拟的省油 且超大输出功率的飞机引擎 我们有玻璃的座舱电子设备 提供飞行信息 坐在驾驶舱就可以一揽全局- 但不从其它视角来探索根本性问题的话 我们得到的结果 与近一百年来这些人的结果 将没什么两样 我们可不想这样 于是我们觉得与其要汽车上天 不如让飞机下地
And the result is the Terrafugia Transition. It's a two-seat, single-engine airplane that works just like any other small airplane. You take off and land at a local airport. Then once you're on the ground, you fold up the wings, drive it home, park it in your garage. And it works. After two years of an innovative design and construction process, the proof of concept made its public debut in 2008.
这就是Terrafugia陆空两用飞车 它是一个两座、单引擎飞机 就像其他小型飞机一样 在机场起降 一旦着陆后 就可以把机翅叠起来 开回家 停在车库里 它非常好使! 经过两年的研发与制作 终于在2008年 面世了
Now like with anything that's really different from the status quo, it didn't always go so well testing that aircraft. And we discovered that it's a very good thing that, when you go home with something that's been broken, you've actually learned a lot more than when you managed to tick off all of your test objectives the first time through. Still, we very much wanted to see the aircraft that we'd all helped build in the air, off the ground, like it was supposed to be. And on our third high-speed testing deployment on a bitter cold morning in upstate New York, we got to do that for the first time. The picture behind me was snapped by the copilot in our chase aircraft just moments after the wheels got off the ground for the first time. And we were all very flattered to see that image become a symbol of accomplishing something that people had thought was impossible really the world over.
就像所有 横空出世的东西一样 测试并不是一路顺风 但是这也不完全是坏事 当你一直搞不定一个问题的时候 你会学到很多 比起一次就成功的 会学会很多 尽管如此 我们一直期待 它能按计划 早日升空 第三次高速试飞 是一个寒风刺骨的早晨在纽约州北部 那一次没有办法 我身后的照片是僚机上的副驾驶捕捉到的镜头 就是飞机腾空而起后的瞬间 看到那一幕我们都无比兴奋 这象征着成就了一项 世人以为不可能完成的 任务
The flight testing that followed that was as basic and low-risk as we could make it, but it still accomplished what we needed to to take the program to the next step and to gain the credibility that we needed within our eventual market, the general aviation community, and with the regulators that govern the use of design of aircraft, particularly in the States. The FAA, about a year ago, gave us an exemption for the Transition to allow us to have an additional 110 lbs. within the light sport aircraft category. Now that doesn't sound like a lot, but it's very important, because being able to deliver the Transition as a light sport aircraft makes it simpler for us to certify it, but it also makes it much easier for you to learn how to fly it. A sport pilot can be certificated in as little as 20 hours of flight time. And at 110 lbs., that's very important for solving the other side of the equation -- driving.
后续的测试 较之简单而安全 但要把项目向前推进 就必须完成这些 才能获得来自最终我们的市场-飞行界 和监管机构-特别是负责美国境内的 使用和设计 飞行器的机构的信任 大约一年前 美国联邦航空总署 给了我们一个特许证 允许我们的飞车超重110磅 仍可列在轻航机的种类下 这听起来没什么 但其实很重要 因为只要它符合轻航机的规定 发放执照就容易些 也更加方便学员 掌握驾驶技术 轻航机的驾驶执照 只需要20小时的飞行时数 而额外的110磅 对我们解决另一个问题非常重要- 驾驶
It turns out that driving, with its associated design implementation and regulatory hurdles, is actually a harder problem to solve than flying. For those of us that spend most of our lives on the ground, this may be counter-intuitive, but driving has potholes, cobblestones, pedestrians, other drivers and a rather long and detailed list of federal motor vehicle safety standards to contend with. Fortunately, necessity remains the mother of invention, and a lot of the design work that we're the most proud of with the aircraft came out of solving the unique problems of operating it on the ground -- everything from a continuously-variable transmission and liquid-based cooling system that allows us to use an aircraft engine in stop-and-go traffic, to a custom-designed gearbox that powers either the propeller when you're flying or the wheels on the ground, to the automated wing-folding mechanism that we'll see in a moment, to crash safety features. We have a carbon fiber safety cage that protects the occupants for less than 10 percent of the weight of a traditional steel chassis in a car.
我们发现驾驶的 设计细则和规定 比飞行还复杂 这对我们一辈子生活在地上的人 是有点异想天开, 开车会碰上坑洞,石子 行人,其它车辆 还有一大堆 政府对机动车辆安全的规定要遵守 所幸 需求是发明之母 许多应用在 飞机上的高明设计 正好能够解决 陆地行驶的特定问题- 数不胜数的例子 比如无段自动变速器 液态冷却系统 能让飞机引擎在时走时停的路上 应付自如 还有专用定制变速箱 对飞行所用的螺旋桨和驾驶所用的车轮能双管齐下 还有稍后能看到的折叠式机翼 和安全设计 它有一个碳纤维安全机舱 能确保乘客安全 而重量比传统钢材汽车要轻百分之十
Now this also, as good as it is, wasn't quite enough. The regulations for vehicles on the road weren't written with an airplane in mind. So we did need a little bit of support from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Now you may have seen in the news recently, they came through with us at the end of last month with a few special exemptions that will allow the Transition to be sold in the same category as SUVs and light trucks. As a multi-purpose passenger vehicle, it is now officially "designed for occasional off-road use."
这听上去不简单了 不过还不够好 陆地交通的相关规定 从来没涉及到飞机上去 所以我们需要 美国国家公路交通安全管理局的协助 最近的新闻也许能看到 大概是上个月底 我们获得了几项豁免 陆空两用飞车可以在 运动休旅车和小型货车的分类下上市销售 因为是多功能客运工具 因此号称是“非常规越野用途的设计”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Now let's see it in action. You can see there the wings folded up just along the side of the plane. You're not powering the propeller, you're powering the wheels. And it is under seven feet tall, so it will fit in a standard construction garage. And that's the automated wing-folding mechanism. That's real time. You just push a few buttons in the cockpit, and the wings come out. Once they're fully deployed, there's a mechanical lock that goes into place, again, from inside the cockpit. And they're now fully capable of handling any of the loads you would see in flight -- just like putting down your convertible top. And you're all thinking what your neighbors would think of seeing that.
现在让我们来看看实况 它的机翼折起收在机身两侧 引擎推动的不是螺旋桨而是车轮 不到七尺高 这样就能开进标准车库 这是机翼自动收展装置 这是实时的 只要按下驾驶员座舱边的几个按钮 机翼就展开来 全部展开后 有一个机械锁定装置能将其固定 这是在驾驶舱内操作的 然后就可以象其它飞机一样 进行操作了- 就像把敞篷车车顶放下来一样 要是你们邻居看了不知道是什么反应呢
(Video) Test Pilot: Until the vehicle flies, 75 percent of your risk is that first flight.
(视频)试飞员:在没真正飞起来之前 首次试飞有75%的风险
Radio: It actually flew. Yes.
无线电1:飞起来了!耶!
Radio 2: That was gorgeous.
无线电2:太棒了!
Radio: What did you think of that? That was beautiful from up here, I tell you.
无线电:看起来怎么样? 这里俯瞰太美了,我打包票。
AMD: See, we're all exceedingly excited about that little bunny hop. And our test pilot gave us the best feedback you can get from a test pilot after a first flight, which was that it was "remarkably unremarkable." He would go onto tell us that the Transition had been the easiest airplane to land that he'd flown in his entire 30-year career as a test pilot. So despite making something that is seemingly revolutionary, we really focused on doing as little new as possible. We leverage a lot of technology from the state-of-the-art in general aviation and from automotive racing. When we do have to do something truly out-of-the-box, we use an incremental design, build, test, redesign cycle that lets us reduce risk in baby steps.
我们都为这个“超级跳”而兴奋得难以自已 而我们的试飞员 给出了前所未有的对试飞的评价 他说是“非同寻常地毫无意外” 他又告诉我们 这个陆空两用飞车是他30年试飞生涯里 降落操作最容易的机种 我们不仅仅想创造 革命性的产品 更想尽可能得创造 先进创新的东西 我们采用了大量的最尖端前沿的航空 和汽车竞技技术 而真正突破的是 我们使用了递增式概念,设计,建造,测试,再设计的循环方法 得以在起步就减少了风险
Now since we started Terrafugia about 6 years ago, we've had a lot of those baby steps. We've gone from being three of us working in the basement at MIT while we were still in graduate school to about two-dozen of us working in an initial production facility outside of Boston. We've had to overcome challenges like keeping the weight below the light sport limit that I talked about, figuring out how to politely respond when a regulator tells you, "But that won't fit through a toll booth with the wings extended -- (Laughter) to all of the other associated durability and engineering issues that we talked about on the ground. Still, if everything goes to our satisfaction with the testing and construction of the two production prototypes that we're working on right now, those first deliveries to the, about a hundred, people who have reserved an airplane at this point should begin at the end of next year.
我们是从六年前开始Terrafugia的设计 就是这样一步一个脚印走来 我们三个人 从还是研究生的时候就在麻省理工的地下室里钻研 到现在有二十多人 在波士顿郊区的一个工厂里进行开发 我们必须得克服各种挑战 比如我提到的轻航机的重量限制 还有怎样不失礼貌地回答 监管单位的官员的问题 “可是要是机翼不收起来就过不来收费站啊” (笑声) 还有许多许多刚才提及的耐用性和 地面机械工程的问题 只要目前我们正在做的 两个生产机型的 测试和制造都 一切顺利的话 头一批 到目前为止大约一百台的订单 明年年底就能出货了
The Transition will cost in line with other small airplanes. And I'm certainly not out to replace your Chevy, but I do think that the Transition should be your next airplane. Here's why. While nearly all of the commercial air travel in the world goes through a relatively small number of large hub airports, there is a huge underutilized resource out there. There are thousands of local airstrips that don't see nearly as many aircraft operations a day as they could. On average, there's one within 20 to 30 miles of wherever you are in the United States. The Transition gives you a safer, more convenient and more fun way of using this resource.
这种陆空两用飞车和其它轻航机价格相差无已 当然我不是说要你换掉家里雪弗莱 不过我认为它应该是你下一架飞机 原因就是 目前全球的商用航线 都集中在少数几个大型航空港 很多资源没有被好好利用 上千条地区性飞机跑道 使用率非常低 在美国 平均方圆二十到三十公里 就有一个 这个陆空两用飞车 能为你提供一个安全便捷和有趣的 途径来利用这些资源
For those of you who aren't yet pilots, there's four main reasons why those of us who are don't fly as much as we'd like to: the weather, primarily, cost, long door-to-door travel time and mobility at your destination. Now, bad weather comes in, just land, fold up the wings, drive home. Doesn't matter if it rains a little, you have a windshield wiper. Instead of paying to keep your airplane in a hanger, park it in your garage. And the unleaded automotive fuel that we use is both cheaper and better for the environment than traditional avgas. Door-to-door travel time is reduced, because now, instead of lugging bags, finding a parking space, taking off your shoes or pulling your airplane out of the hanger, you're now just spending that time getting to where you want to go. And mobility to your destination is clearly solved. Just fold up the wings and keep going.
对于还不懂飞行的人来说 无非是四个原因让他们不能 想飞就飞: 首先是天气 费用,及门旅运时间长 还有达到目的地后交通问题 那么现在碰上坏天气 降落 收起机翼直接开回家 下点雨也不是问题,反正有雨刷 也不同花钱租停机坪 停在自己车库就是 我们用的油就是一般的无铅汽油 比起航空用油 便宜又环保 及门旅运时间也减少了 因为不用装行李,找停泊位 脱鞋检查,把飞机从停机坪开出来 那么一大阵功夫你就能开到目的地了 而目的地交通问题也解决了 只要收起机翼继续开就好了
The Transition simultaneously expands our horizons while making the world a smaller, more accessible place. It also continues to be a fabulous adventure. I hope you'll each take a moment to think about how you could use something like this to give yourself more access to your own world, and to make your own travel more convenient and more fun.
这个陆空两用飞车拓展了我们的视野 让世界更小更触手可及 也让生活充满探险 希望你们每个人利用一点时间 想一下你能怎样利用它 让你自己拥抱更广阔的世界 让每一次旅行都便捷而愉快
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share it with you.
感谢大家让我能由此机会与你分享!
(Applause)
(掌声)