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,像小鸟一样的自由自在,这一直就是人类的梦想,同时我们也要面对现实。至少有一点儿吧。这是一个可以自我操纵的飞人,这个飞行器产生于二十世纪六十世纪年代,它的全部油料加起来最多只能飞行30秒钟,就这样,几十年来这个梦想就被搁置起来。所有人都认为要飞是不可能的。只有迈可尔·莫舍除外。
(Movie Toy Story: To infinity and beyond!)
(《玩具总动员》:飞向无限! )
Micheal Moshier:The pilot controls the flaps with the right-hand control stick.
迈可尔·莫舍:飞行员用右边的驾驶杆操纵飞行器的翼。
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.
莫舍以前是一名海军的飞行员,如今他成了一名企业家。他用了5年时间,一直在秘密研究一种小型的双叶直升机。并给它命名为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.
他说他终于谨慎的进行了第一次试飞。在这次试飞中,他的飞行器只飞离地面两英尺。但对莫舍来说,飞离地面两英尺就像进了天堂一样。
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.
迈可尔·莫舍:我的兴奋真是难以形容。我告诉你吧,试飞成功的那个晚上和后来的几个晚上我都幸福得睡不着。这真是一次具有历史意义的经历。
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 aircraft suitably. 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,这个飞行器就可以靠电脑控制其稳定性,以每小时80英里的时速在树顶上盘旋。他预测军队可以利用这种飞行器在地势崎岖的地区飞行。警察可以利用他们执行搜索营救任务。如果有谁想避开交通堵塞的话,只要稍加训练,任何人都可以一边轻松的嚼着口香糖,一边操纵他的飞机安全飞行。可是还有一个让人困扰的事情。这个飞行器会飞起来,可是这个概念会不会让人接受呢?莫舍确实得到的美国国防部和美国宇航局的帮助。但是这个飞行器会不会噪音很大,太危险,或者很难停靠。
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·施罗德:(美国国家宇航局科学家)我想这个飞行器是可行的,但是价格不菲。现在面临的问题是如何使普通大众对这个飞行器感兴趣。
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.
也许我们命中注定只能在梦中做无翼飞行,而在现实中永远也做不到。不过在此同时,迈可尔·莫舍已经离地两英尺了。