Oh, to be free like a bird. It's been the stuff of fantacy, and of reality. Sort of .A self-contained flying man. This jet pack from 1960s had barely enough fuel to fly 30 seconds. So the dream languished for decades. Everyone agreed it was completely impractical , except Micheal Moshier.
啊,像小鳥一樣的自由自在,這一直就是人類的夢想,同時我們也要面對現實。至少有一點兒吧。這是一個可以自我操縱的飛人,這個飛行器產生于二十世紀六十世紀年代,它的全部油料加起來最多只能飛行30秒鐘,就這樣,幾十年來這個夢想就被擱置起來。所有人都認為要飛是不可能的。只有邁可爾·莫舍除外。
Micheal Moshier:The pilot controls the flaps with the right-hand control stick.
邁可爾·莫舍:飛行員用右邊的駕駛桿操縱飛行器的翼。
Moshier, a former Navy-pilot-turned-entrepreneur, has spent the last five years of his life working secretly on a tiny twin blade strap helicopter called The Solotrek.
莫舍以前是一名海軍的飛行員,如今他成了一名企業家。他用了5年時間,一直在秘密研究一種小型的雙葉直升機。并給它命名為The Solotrek。
He said he had made his first cautious flight only two feet up at first.But to Moshier, two feet up was like being in the heaven.
他說他終于謹慎的進行了第一次試飛。在這次試飛中,他的飛行器只飛離地面兩英尺。但對莫舍來說,飛離地面兩英尺就像進了天堂一樣。
Micheal Moshier.: It was exhilarating beyond description. I will tell you I didin’t sleep that night or for several nights thereafter. It was a monumental moment.
邁可爾·莫舍:我的興奮真是難以形容。我告訴你吧,試飛成功的那個晚上和后來的幾個晚上我都幸福得睡不著。這真是一次具有歷史意義的經歷。
With a little more work, he says, the machine will zip around the treetops at 80mph, stabilized by computer. He can picture the army using it to get over rugged terrain, police on search and rescue missions,and if an occasional daredevil wants to beats traffic, well, Moshier believes a pilot who can walk and chew gum with minimal training should be able to get on the aircraftsuitably. There’s just this one nagging question, the machine will fly, but will the idea? True , Moshier has help from the Defense Department and from NASA, but won’t the machine be noisy or dangerous or hard to park?
只要再稍加努力,這個飛行器就可以靠電腦控制其穩定性,以每小時80英里的時速在樹頂上盤旋。他預測軍隊可以利用這種飛行器在地勢崎嶇的地區飛行。警察可以利用他們執行搜索營救任務。如果有誰想避開交通堵塞的話,只要稍加訓練,任何人都可以一邊輕松的嚼著口香糖,一邊操縱他的飛機安全飛行。可是還有一個讓人困擾的事情。這個飛行器會飛起來,可是這個概念會不會讓人接受呢?莫舍確實得到的美國國防部和美國宇航局的幫助。但是這個飛行器會不會噪音很大,太危險,或者很難停靠。
Jeffrey Schroeder (NASA scientist): I think we can do it but it would be expensive. The challenge is to make it so that it has more of a mess appeal.
杰夫里·施羅德:(美國國家宇航局科學家)我想這個飛行器是可行的,但是價格不菲。現在面臨的問題是如何使普通大眾對這個飛行器感興趣。
Perhaps we are only destined to dream of only flying without wings and never do it. On the other hand, Micheal Moshier was two feet up.
也許我們命中注定只能在夢中做無翼飛行,而在現實中永遠也做不到。不過在此同時,邁可爾·莫舍已經離地兩英尺了。