The Economist经济学人精读[33]
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选自 December 16 2017 Science and Technology 版块
Air Travel
When push comes to shove
#Eva💭说#
飞机无法自主推出登机口延长了旅客等待的时间。已经有公司研发出了马达动力前轮可以使飞机自身产生后退的动力推出登机口。虽然这种设计增加了飞机重量，进而增加了燃料消耗和排放。但是，对乘客来讲，节省时间和尽快起飞是最重要的，这也弥补了安装马达动力前轮不助于节能减排的不足。
#以上，个人总结和理解，欢迎批评指正，欢迎留言讨论#
#有输出才有进步#
Motorisednose wheels will let planes leave the gate by themselves[装上马达的前轮可以是飞机自主离开登机口]
The frustrations of air travel are many and varied[飞机旅行的失望很多而且多样]: enduring thescrum[挤，争夺]to board[忍受登机时的争抢];rummaging[翻寻]for room in the overhead lockers[寻找头顶储物空间]; waiting patiently for “the last two remaining passengers” to be extracted from the shops[耐心等待从商店中拽出来的“剩下的最后两位乘客”]. After all that, those on the aircraft often find that it has failed to push back from the gate in time to meet its take-off slot[在所有的这些之后，飞机上的人们发现飞机并不能及时推离登机口到达起飞地点]. Because, under their own power, planes can only go forward, they rely on atug[拖车]when reversing from a gate[因为，飞机只能依靠自己的动力前进，当倒出登机口时需要依靠拖车]. If such is not available, has lost its driver or hasbroken down, at thegate the plane must stay[如果缺少拖车司机不在或是拖车坏了，飞机就必须停在登机口].
This may soon change, though[但是，这样的情况会很快改变]. WheelTug, a company in Gibraltar[WheelTug，直布罗陀的一家公司], has spent over a decade developing electric motors to drive an aircraft’s nose wheel[已经花了超过10年的时间研发可以驱动飞机前轮的电动马达]. This month it employed Stirling Dynamics, an engineering firm in Bristol, England, [这个月这家公司雇佣了一家英国布里斯托尔的工程公司]to help prepare the device for certification by air-safety authorities[帮助其准备航空安全认证的设备]. It has tested aprototype[原型]and hopes its motorised wheels will be available in 2019 for fitting onto versions of the Boeing 737, and later onto other aircraft[这家公司已经在飞机原型上进行了测试，并希望马达车轮在2019年可以安装在波音737上，之后安装到其他机型]. The company says 22 airlines are alreadykeen[公司说，已经有22家航空公司非常渴望（安装马达车轮）].
In theory, planes could leave gates using the reverse-thrust baffles[反推力板]deployed[发挥作用]to slow them during landing[理论上讲，飞机可以使用在着陆时用于减速的反推力板离开登机口]. This, though, would meanrevving[快速运转]the engines up so much that it would be safe neither for ground staff nor for other aircraft in the vicinity[但是，这意味着发动机需要快速运转，这对地勤和临近的飞机都不安全]. So, some sort of system would still be needed tomanoeuvre[操控]aircraft when they were near the terminal[因此，当飞机在航站楼附近时需要一些系统操控飞机]. Motorised nose wheels are just that[很精炼的表达], says Isaiah Cox, WheelTug’s boss[WheelTug的老板Isaiah Cox说，马达前轮正是起到这样的作用]. Using them planes could push back andtaxi[(飞机)在地面滑行]to the runway with their engine sticking over[发动机空转][使用马达前轮可以使飞机后退，并在跑道滑行时让发动机空转]. This would, Mr Cox says, reduce noise,save fuel and cut emissions[这样可以减少噪声，节能减排].
TheWheelTugincorporates[包含]the elements of an electric motor, such as thestator[固定片]and therotor[转子], inside thehub[轮毂]of each of the 737’s twin nose wheels[WheelTug将含有固定片和转子的电动马达安装在每一架737两个前轮的轮毂中]. Instead of a battery, these motors drawcurrent[电流] directly from theauxiliary[辅助的]power-unit[这些马达不用电池，而是直接使用辅助电力组件的电流], a small generator in the rear of an airliner that is used on the ground to run its electrical services[辅助电力组件是安装在飞机后侧的在地面上用于驱动电子设备的小型发电机]. For a long taxi, they can also take power from the generators driven by the aircraft’s jet engines[对于长时间的滑行，这些轮子也可以使用通过飞机引擎带动的发电机产生的电].
A rival idea is the TaxiBot, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries[一个有竞争力的想法是由以色列航空航天机构研发的TaxiBot]. This is a semi-autonomous tug with ahy brid diesel-electric motor that is controlled directly by a plane’s pilot, who can use it to drive the aircraft from the gate to the runway with the jet enginesswitched off[这是一个半自动的油电混动力拖车，可有机长直接操控，可在飞机引擎关闭的状态下使飞机离开登机口到跑道]. The TaxiBot is already used at Frankfurt airport, but means planes stillrely onthe services of another machine[TaxiBot已经在法兰克福机场使用，但着也意味着飞机还是需要借助于其他设备]. A motorised nose wheel provides independence, although it also adds weight—and therefore increases fuelconsumption[马达前轮提供了独立性，但是增加了飞机重量，进而增加燃料消耗]. But the value of the time saved by fasterpush-backs wouldmore than compensate for that[但是更快的从登机口后退所节省的时间可以弥补这一不足]. Passengers do not mind how they depart, as long as they do so promptly[乘客不关心他们是怎样起飞的，只要起飞及时].
20171222 495 words
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