Name: 为何空客几乎没有发生：A300的故事（Why Airbus Nearly Didn’t Happen: The A300 Story）
Uploaded: 2021-05-30T03:42:32.000Z
Duration: 11 min 25 s

基礎被動語態

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In 1973, a new kind of jet lands in America.

1973年時，一種新客機降落在美國

It's called... an Airbus, and it's more efficient and technically advanced than any

它被稱為......空中巴士，它比以前的客機都更高效與科技化

“Well I think it's a very big improvement, you know that the widebody concept is more

我覺得這是一項很大的進步，廣體機艙讓能讓乘客更舒適的乘坐

In an effort to impress airlines, Airbus sends its new jet to nearly every corner of the world.

為了給航空公司留下深刻印象，空中巴士幾乎把新客機送往世界各地

但只有少數人相信這款飛機有未來

The odd European airliner and Airbus itself are unproven and many doubt that the company

這架奇怪的歐洲客機跟空巴本身都不被認可，甚至有人還擔憂空巴是否能在幾年後持續生存

Because it's one thing to build a new airliner, and another altogether to take on American

因為打造一架新客機是一回事，能與波音這樣的美國巨頭共存則是另一回事

In the 1950s, Europe introduced jet travel to the world.

But whatever lead they may have had in civil aviation was quickly lost.

1950年代時，歐洲展示了用噴射機前往世界各地

Because by the mid-1960s, the world was flying American.

但不論他們在民航機有什麼優勢，都很快就失去了

As global demand for long range jets skyrocketed, industry giants like Boeing and McDonnell

因為在1960年代中期，美製客機幾乎稱霸全世界

隨著全球對長程噴射機的需求猛增，像波音和麥克唐納道格拉斯這樣的航空業巨頭似乎幾乎勢不可擋。

By the 1960s, the Americans were building over eighty percent of the world's airliners.

In Europe, once iconic aircraft builders struggled.

1960年代時，世界上超過80%的客機都是由美國製造

Because none had the scale or resources to compete directly with the Amercians, leaving

在歐洲，曾經為標誌性的飛機製造商們正陷入困境

each to more or less build aircraft for their own countries.

因為沒有一個國家有足夠的規模或資源直接與美國人相提並論，讓他們各自或多或少地為自己的國家製造飛機。

And that meant Europe's manufacturers simply weren't selling enough planes to stay competitive.

But the solution to Europe's problems was already taking shape in the Concorde.

這意味著歐洲的飛機製造商根本沒有賣出足夠的飛機來保持競爭力。

Not the plane, but the way it was being developed; by working together.

但歐洲解決問題的方法已經在協和號上可見

Concorde was the most ambitious civil aviation project of century, and by teaming up, the

不是飛機本身，而是飛機被開發的過程:共同合作

French and British achieved what neither could have done alone.

協和號是本世紀最雄心勃勃的民用客機，同時藉由合作，法國人跟英國人意識到他們絕不可能憑一己之力成功

But Concorde was largely a politically-motivated project, and it wasn't going to save Europe's

但協和號在很大程度上是一個政治動機的項目，並無法拯救歐洲的航空業

Because by the end of the 1960s, cheaper, not faster, was the name of the game.

And with air travel booming, what airlines really needed was an efficient jet to move

因為在1960年代末期，"便宜"取代"更快"成為這場遊戲的代名詞

隨著航空業的蓬勃發展，航空公司真正需要的是一款高效的噴射客機，以便在較短的航線上運送乘客

A large 'people mover', which was already being referred to as an 'air-bus'.

Europe's aircraft builders had already sketched concepts for air-buses.

巨大的"運人機器"已經被重新定義為"空中巴士"

But none had ever built a large airliner.

歐洲的飛機製造商已經模擬了空中巴士的概念

So like the Concorde program, the only way forward was to work together.

所以就像協和號計畫一樣，唯一的辦法就是共同合作

In 1967, France, Britain and West Germany kicked off the project.

And they were soon joined by other European nations.

1967年時，法國、英國跟西德提出了計畫

Manufacturers in each country would leverage their expertise.

不久後，其他歐洲國家也相繼加入

這些國家的製造商都會負責製造不同的結構

The French would engineer the cockpit and control systems.

The wings would be developed by the British and the control surfaces by the Dutch, while

法國則會開發駕駛室與控制系統

機翼由英國開發，而襟翼等控制面則由荷蘭生產，西班牙則負責水平尾翼

It was cooperation on an unprecedented scale.

But to compete, the newly formed consortium would also have to build a truly next generation airliner.

More efficient and versatile than anything the Americans were building.

但為了競爭，新成立的集團必須建造一架真正的下一代客機

The first ever Airbus would be a plane that airlines couldn't afford to ignore.

而且必須要比任何一架美國人正在建造的客機更高效與靈活

Because the A300 would simultaneously haul more passengers and cargo, thanks to its widebody

第一架空巴客機將是一架無法被忽視的飛機

因為多虧了廣體機身以及提高的客艙地板，A300可以輕易的承載更多旅客及貨物

A supercritical wing would improve efficiency and allow it to out-climb any other airliner.

And the A300 would use composite materials in it's construction.

超臨界機翼可以提高效率，並且允許它比其他客機飛得更高

同時，A300也是世上第一架在製造時使用複合材料的客機

And feature a host of new automation and safety features.

But what really set the Airbus apart were the engines.

並且具有一系列新的自動化和安全功能

There were just two of them, when every other American jet of this size had three or four.

但真正使它與眾不同的是發動機

It meant the A300 would be inherently more efficient and easier to maintain.

飛機只配有兩具引擎，同尺寸的美製飛機需要3～4具

And to get the A300 built, Airbus pulled off an extraordinary feat of logistics.

這就意味著A300在本質上更高效，且更易於維護

With Europe's manufacturers scattered across the continent, components would have to be

為了建造A300，空中巴士完成了一項非凡的物流壯舉

因為歐洲的生產商分布在各處，飛機組件需要透過陸運、海運及空運

Often from more than a thousand kilometers away, arriving just in time for final assembly.

因為組件生產商分布在歐洲各處，飛機組件需要透過陸運、海運及空運

But by the time the first Airbus debuted, the challenge wasn't building the plane,

組件通常從上千公里外運來，並及時到達進行最後組裝

但當第一架空巴首次亮相時，挑戰不只是建造飛機而已

Because, Airbus had only sold a handful of jets.

The new company and its twin engine widebody were unproven.

因為空巴只賣出了幾架飛機而已

And nowhere was the skepticism more intense than in America, where foreign products were

這間新公司跟它的"雙引擎廣體機"並不被認可

not only seen as bad investments, but bad publicity.

在美國，這種懷疑最為强烈，外國產品不只被視為糟糕的投資，甚至也不被大眾接受

So, in a bold move, Airbus decided that the best way to convince airlines, was to have

囙此，空巴大膽地决定，說服航空公司的最好辦法就是讓飛機證明自己

In 1973, Airbus sent an A300 directly to the Americas.

On board were a slick sales team, engineers and tonnes of the finest champagne available.

1973年時，空巴直接將一架A300派往美國

Over the next six weeks the plane embarked on an unprecedented sales tour.

機上有一組精明的銷售團隊、工程師和幾噸最好的香檳

Performing nearly forty demonstration flights for dozens of Airlines.

在接下來的6週，飛機踏上了前所未有的銷售之旅

為數十家航空公司進行近四十次示範飛行

我覺得這是一項很大的進步，廣體機艙讓能讓乘客更舒適的乘坐，我們現在可以藉由廣體機身提供中程旅客同樣的舒適性

And we are offering now to the medium-range passenger, the same comfort that they can

如果有跡象表明空中巴士是為打入美國市場而設計，A300一直使用英制單位設計，而不是歐洲的公制單位

And if there were any doubts that Airbus was determined to break into the American market

, the A300 had been designed using imperial units, not Europe's metric system.

配合操作的語言不是法語或德語，而是英語

The operating language wasn't French or German, it was English.

而提供A300動力的也是兩具美製的通用電器渦扇引擎

And powering the A300 were American built General Electric Turbofans.

事實上，飛機結構的三分之一是由美國製造的部件組成的

In fact, one third of the aircraft's value was made up of American made components

這架飛機應該已經給美國航空公司的高層留下深刻的印象

This plane should've impressed American Airline execs.

在世界上所有的演示飛行無法改變許多人懷疑空中巴士公司前途的的觀點。

All the demonstration flights in the world couldn't change the fact that many doubted

一名波音副總認為A300只是一個典型的政府計劃，並預測空中巴士公司在只賣出十幾架飛機後就會完全失去訂單

A Boeing Vice president dismissed the A300 as a typical government program, predicting

that Airbus would only sell a dozen or so planes before going out of business.

在1975年12月至1977年5月，空巴連一架飛機也賣不出去

Between December 1975 and May of 1977, Airbus couldn't sell a single jet.

全球經濟衰退和石油危機讓公司的銷售工作陷入停頓

A global recession and oil crisis ground the company's sales effort to a standstill.

已完成組裝的A300閒置在工廠裡，還有人呼籲完全停止生產

Completed A300s sat unsold and there were calls to stop production altogether.

看起來像整個空巴計畫已經失敗

It was starting to look like the entire Airbus initiative had failed.

A300是我們最大的新投資。它很安靜，省油，而且十分寬敞

“The A300 is our biggest new investment. It's quiet, fuel-efficient, and specious.

但是，如果我們的組員讓你感到不舒適，飛什麼飛機都白搭。我選擇東方航空......

But if our crew doesn't make you feel comfortable, it won't what plane you fly. I fly Eastern…”

這可能是航空公司歷史上最甜蜜的交易，空客免費贈送了四架A300

In probably the sweetest deal in airline history, Airbus gave away four of it A300's for free.

1977年時，美國東方航空公司允許免費試用這些飛機6個月

In 1977, America's Eastern Airlines was allowed to try the jets at no cost for six months.

由於A300很快被證明更可靠，至少更易於維護

Because the A300 quickly proved to be more reliable, easier to maintain and at least

並且比東方航空的機隊效率高出20%