VOA常速英语2015--备用电机或可挽救飞行员的生命（在线收听）

Backup Motor May Save Pilots’ Lives 备用电机或可挽救飞行员的生命

In case of engine failure, multi-engine aircraft often have enough power to land safely, but single-engine planes have a very small chance of avoiding a fatal crash. Now, two Spanish inventors say their backup power system, designed specifically for small planes, can significantly improve those odds.

More than 550 people are killed each year, on average, in accidents involving small, mostly single-engine airplanes, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

美国运输部的调查显示每年有超过550人因为主要是单引擎飞机所造成的小事故死亡。

Pilots like Miguel Suarez say engine failure on a light propeller-driven plane does not offer much chance for survival.

而飞行员米格尔·苏亚雷斯表示轻型飞机螺旋桨的引擎故障代表着没有不会有任何生还机会。

“In this case, there is no other option other than to try to save anything that you have, you try to land but the accident is ensured, it will occur," said Suarez.

“在这样的情况下,除了试图抢救你的任何东西外再无他法,你尝试着落但意外无疑会发生。”

In cooperation with Madrid’s Universidad Carlos III, Suarez and his partner, engineer Daniel Cristobal, developed a battery-operated auxiliary motor that gives a stalled plane an additional seven minutes of flight.

与马德里的卡洛斯三世大学合作,苏亚雷斯和他的搭档工程师丹尼尔·克里斯托瓦尔发明了一种电池辅助电动机,给予失灵的飞机7分钟的飞行时间。

“We integrated in series an electric motor with a clutching system that isolates the main engine when it fails and then the pilot has an additional 20 kilometers when the main engine fails to find a safe place to land," said Suarez.

“我们将电动马达与稳定系统一体化在主要失灵时进行隔离,然后飞行员有额外的20公里寻找安全的地方降落。”

The backup power comes from a high-efficiency lithium-ion battery with electronic control.

这样的备用电源来自电控高效锂离子电池。

With a simple switch, the pilot can disengage the propeller from the main engine and start the electric motor to keep it spinning.

只需一个简单的开关,飞行员就可以断开主发动机的螺旋桨并启动电动机使其继续工作。

During normal flight, a charger makes sure that the battery is always fully charged.

在正常飞行期间会有一个充电器确保电池总是充满电力的状态。

But the auxiliary motor can also be used in other circumstances.

但其他情况下也可以使用辅助电动机。

“The system is not only a security system, it's also a hybrid system that permits to add more power to the main engine when you need more power, for example during the take-off you can have until [up to] 40 horsepower extra power," said Cristobal.

“这样的系统不仅为生命安全保驾护航,而且也是混合系统, 当你需要的时候它能给主引擎增加更多电力,例如在起飞时可以获得40马力额外的力。”

Another advantage is that the motor can be installed in most existing two and four-seater light planes, as it fits between the gasoline engine and the propeller.

另一个优势是电动机可以安装在现有大多数2座及4座轻型飞机上,因为它可以在汽油发动机及螺旋桨之间完美安装。

Axter Aerospace engineers are now trying to reduce the weight of the system while waiting for a certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency.

Axter航空航天工程师们现在正尝试为这套系统减重,同时等待欧洲航空安全局的审批。