Name: 你搭不起的飛機——協和式的故事（Why You Couldn’t Afford To Fly Concorde）
Uploaded: 2021-01-31T07:59:03.000Z
Duration: 13 min 42 s

In the 1950s, a flight from London to New York was a grueling 13 hours.

1950年代，搭一趟倫敦到紐約的飛機得煎熬13小時（道格拉斯 DC-7）

副詞型分詞構句

All the while enduring the noise and vibration of piston engines and that occasional white-knuckle

而且還得忍受活塞發動機的噪音、震動，還有因為要飛越北大西洋

They flew above the weather, and a flight from London to New York was cut

噴射機可以在雲層上空不受天氣影響的飛行，而且兩地飛行時間也

噴射機時代改變了航空運輸業的形態

But an even bigger leap forward was just around the corner.

但是另一個更大的躍進就近在眼前

In the upcoming supersonic age, airliners would travel twice the speed of sound, and

在即將來臨的超音速年代，客機可以以音速兩倍（M 2.0，2馬赫）的速度飛行

Cutting a trip from London to New York down to just three and half hours.

把兩地的飛行時間更進一步縮到三個半小時

It was supposed to be the next giant leap forward.

But instead, going supersonic would end up as one of biggest missteps

不過事實證明，超音速反倒是航空業史上

In 1947, a rocket-powered plane breaks through the sound barrier.

The first time in history an aircraft is recorded flying faster than the speed of sound.

1947年，一架火箭動力的飛機突破了音障（貝爾 X-1）

The monumental achievement tputs to rest doubts about whether man or machine could even withstand

也是紀錄中史上首次有飛行器飛的比音速還要快

這項里程碑般的成就打消了人們對於人跟飛機到底能不能

New speed records quickly followed as supersonic flight became widely understood.

And it wasn't long before military aircraft were routinely flying

隨著超音速飛行變得更廣為人知，紀錄也陸續被打破

If a commercial airliner could be built to do the same, a trip across the Atlantic could

be cut down to just a couple hours, pulling the world closer together.

如果民航機可以做到一樣的速度的話，那樣跨大西洋航班的飛行時間

But flying at supersonic speeds requires engines at least twice as powerful

就只需要幾個小時就好了，也可以讓世界各地更緊密的連在一起

不過以超音速飛行也需要比亞音速飛機

Streamlined wings and airframes, and materials that can withstand the high temperatures caused

流線型機翼跟機身，還有可以承受空氣摩擦而造成的

With these technical hurdles, there were doubts about whether supersonic

有著這些技術難點之下，對於民航機能否超音速飛行，

But only a decade earlier, there was similar skepticism around the switch

不過在10年前左右，從螺旋槳升級到噴射機

Even so, the transition to jet age happened quickly and it left many aircraft builders

就算如此，轉變到噴射機時代的步伐如此之快，讓很多製造商都

The upcoming supersonic age could end up doing the same.

In 1949, the British stunned the world with the first jet airliner.

接下來的超音速時代也有可能得出同樣的結果

It flew faster and higher than any airliner before it.

1949年，英國人造出了讓世界震撼的首款噴射客機(德哈維蘭 彗星式)

The Comet was revolutionary, and with it, the British were going to lead the world into

它比之前的任何一款客機都要快要高

而這也是革命性的，有了它，英國人就可以在

That is, until a design flaw caused a string of deadly accidents, temporarily grounding

直到某個設計缺陷導致一連串致命事故

Which gave the rest of the world time to catch up.

By 1960, for every Comet sold, the Americans were selling another ten jetliners of their

也讓世界其他國家開始跟上來了

到了1960年代，每賣出一架彗星式，美國人就已經賣出

And the British quickly lost their early lead in the jet age.

But if supersonic air travel was the next evolution, Britain would have another chance

而英國就這樣失去了噴射機時代的先發優勢

如果超音速航空旅行這項革命性改變成真的話，英國

By 1961, the British had come up with an early design for a supersonic airliner.

At the same, the French were also working on a similar concept.

到了1961年，英國人設計出了超音速客機的早期設計

As both efforts advanced, it made sense to join forces.

與此同時，法國人的概念機也差不多成型

And after a little creative deal-making and political maneuvering, the two countries partnered

隨著各自的進展，他們一起搞也就很合邏輯了

to launch the Concorde program, signing a treaty in 1962.

經歷一連串“交易的藝術”跟政治動作之後，英法兩國

Britain and France, once fierce aircraft-building rivals would now work together to reinvent

他們倆，曾經在飛機製造方面鬥個你死我活，現在居然坐下來一起

Thousands of the brightest French and British engineers were put to work making supersonic

多位抱樂觀態度的英法兩國的工程師開始

Aside from maybe the Apollo moon landings, Concorde was the most technically ambitious

可以說除了阿波羅登月計劃之外，協和計劃算得上是20世紀在技術上

It would cruise at twice the speed of sound, with enough range to fly across the Atlantic.

Although it would burn more fuel, Concorde would make two flights in the same time a

飛機可以在帶夠燃料飛行的情況下以音速兩倍的速度跨大西洋飛行

雖然會更耗油，不過協和式可以用別人飛一趟單程的時間

Offsetting higher fuel costs by reducing the number of aircraft needed for each route.

By 1963, mockups were capturing the world's imagination and dazzling the press.

以每條航線更少的飛機來抵消高昂的燃油費

And Airlines placed orders for more than 70 Concordes.

1963年，這台飛機的模型已經吸引到全世界的想像力，還讓媒體感到很亮眼

A number expected to grow to at least 200 by 1975.

航空公司更下訂了70架以上的協和式

And beneath Concorde's elegant lines was triumph of engineering.

到了1975年更是加訂到最少200架飛機

It's delta wing took over 5,000 hours of wind tunnel testing to perfect.

協和式優美的線條簡直高居工程學上的王座

An ingenious shape that allowed Concorde to fly beyond Mach 2, but also slow enough to

這對三角翼是用了超過5000小時的風洞測試才調整好的

一個可以讓協和飛出音速兩倍以上的速度，但是又可以讓它

Afterburning turbojets were sourced from a Cold War-era bomber.

But they were re-engineered with an innovative intake system that allowed for cruise at supersonic

而那四個渦輪噴射引擎是從冷戰時期的轟炸機搞來的（發展自阿芙羅 火神 的發動機-奧林匹斯593）

speeds for longer than aircraft in history.

重新設計後的發動機有一個創新的進氣道系統

With a streamlined airframe, Concorde's sleek nose obscured the pilot's view.

能讓協和式比歷史上任何一台航空器更能保持在超音速速度

The solution was a nose cone that lowered to provide better visibility during takeoff

流線型的機身也導致了協和式的飛行員視野會被修長的機鼻擋住

而解決方案則是鼻錐可以在起降期間

The sheer number of innovations was astounding.

But by 1967 Concorde was ready to be unveiled to the public.

在這架飛機上創新的東西多得讓人震驚

As Concorde landed, dozens of people telephoned the airport to complain about the noise.

但到了1967年協和式對外亮相的時候

For those who live near the runways at Kennedy Airport claim it's just the noiset plane

它降落的時候倒是讓很多人打電話去機場抗議飛機的噪音

對於住在肯尼迪機場（KJFK）跑道附近的居民來說，這架更是

Zero Zero Two didn't help with matters when it left with the loudest takeoff ever recorded

“002號機（G-BSST）在東京國際機場（RJTT，羽田機場）起飛的時候

This magnificent machine is a prime producer of a sound that nobody wants.

更是留下了當地最吵的記錄，對噪音問題更是無補於事”

“這台美麗的機器是一台聲音製造器——不過是沒人想要的那種噪音”

The National Science Foundation of the United States Government has...has indicated that

“到目前為止，有7000人抗議過（協和式的噪音）”

there will be severe environmental damage to the ozone layer...

“美國國家科學基金會已經顯示出”

“（協和式）會對臭氧層造成嚴重的環境損害”

Too dare, too small, too dirty, and too noisy.

“人們都說這飛機的存在就是個錯誤”

Your biggest customers have...have gone down the drain.

“太大膽，太小，太髒，而且太吵了”

No they haven't gone down the drain, they...they've….

“你的大客戶都...付之東流了”

The Concorde has always seemed to me to be  part of particularly French patriotism….

“沒沒沒，他們還沒流失呢，就是....”

If you kill it, what do you put in its place.

“在我看來協和式計劃就是當成法國人的愛國主義的存在”

I do not kill it....It never lived...It never lived.

“如果你斃掉它的話，你會用什麼頂替它”

There was no future for Concorde from the beginning.

“我可沒有斃了它...這台飛機早就胎死腹中了...”

By the early 1970s, Concorde was facing a perfect storm.

“從一開始協和式就沒有未來了”

There were even doubts about whether the plane would make it into service.

到了1970年代，協和式的情況更是雪上加霜了

For one, Concorde's afterburning turbojets were twice as loud on takeoff compared to

甚至有質疑覺得這台飛機有沒有辦法可以如期服役

jetliners of the day And it led to protests around the world.

其一，它自帶後燃器的引擎在起飛的時候比當時的噴射機都要

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你搭不起的飛機——協和式的故事（Why You Couldn’t Afford To Fly Concorde）

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