会飞的汽车--始于1950年的梦想终于实现

　　旧金山--科技的高速发展日新月异，我们甚至还没有搞定自动驾驶汽车，如今已然到处充斥着关于飞车的新闻。

　　In fact, the dogged pursuit of an airborne escape from traffic has been with us for more than half a century, from the limited-edition Aerocar of the 1950s to the host of contemporary companies now taking pre-orders for their airborne vehicles.

　　事实上，我们锲而不舍地追求一种空中运输工具来避免交通堵塞的愿望已经伴随我们半个多世纪。从1950年代的限量版飞车到当今企业开始接受预定的空中机车。

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　　Dutch startup PAL-V announced last week that it was taking $10,000 deposits for its $400,000-and-up two seat Liberty flying car, while Slovakia-based AeroMobil began doing the same for its $1 million-plus machine due out in three years. Both models would require a runway and a pilot’s license¹.

　　荷兰的PAL-V公司于上周宣布可以花10000美元来预定其价值400000美金以上的两座自由飞车，同时，坐落于斯洛伐克的AeroMobil公司也开始以同样的形式接受其价值百万美金以上飞车的预定。两款车都要求有机动车和飞行员驾照。

　　Other big players include Massachusetts-based Terrafugia, whose XF-T looks like a car with wings folded by its sides and, notably², can take off and land vertically³, using so-called VTOL technology. The company’s site claims flying an XF-T won’t require a full pilot’s license.

　　其他主要的参与者包括马萨诸塞州的Terrafugia公司，旗下的XF-T型号飞车在双翼收回两侧的时候看起来像一辆汽车，值得一提的是，该车运用了所谓的垂直起降技术，可以垂直起飞和降落。该公司网站宣称，驾驶一辆XT-T不需要有完全的飞行员驾照。

　　Would you pay $1.3 million for a flying car?

　　你愿意花130万美金买一辆飞车吗？

　　Last fall, Uber published a white paper that suggested the ride-hailing giant, which is in the middle of a series of cultural crises, was going to seriously pursue not just autonomous⁴ cars but also self-flying VTOL aircraft. The paper sketched⁵ out a future filled with on-demand air transportation that would shorten a two-hour San Jose to San Francisco drive to a 15-minute VTOL breeze.

　　去年秋天，优步公司发表了白皮书建议乘坐海陵巨人，这是在一系列文化危机中，准备认真追寻一种不仅仅是自主车，同时也是一种自主飞行的垂直降落飞行器。该白皮书勾勒出了一个按需进行空中运输的美好未来，可以使圣何塞到旧金山的路程时间缩短两小时，仅仅需要15分钟的垂直起降飞行便能轻而易举完成。

　　"We believe in the long term, VTOL will be even less expensive than owning a car," the paper notes, citing high demand that would trigger high production and lower vehicle costs.

　　报告指出，由于高需求会带来高产量从而降低飞车成本，“从长远看来，垂直起降飞机甚至比拥有一辆车更便宜。”

　　In the meantime, the high-tech⁶ tinkering continues in workshops around the world, driven as much by innovation as by the simple desire to get out of earth-bound gridlock.

　　与此同时，高科技在全球的车间进行不断的修正，使地球摆脱交通堵塞的简单愿望通过创新变革逐渐成为可能。

　　"Everyone’s had the same dream," says Brauer. "You’re stuck in traffic, and you imagine yourself simply flying away."

　　布劳尔说，“每个人都有同样的梦想。”“当你遭遇交通堵塞的时候，你会想象自己能够轻而易举地飞走。”

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