When ET took to the sky on a BMX, he made it look like child’s play. This world-first human-powered flying bike, however, has taken a bit of blue-sky thinking to get it off the ground.
當(dāng)外星人ET騎著輛BMX小輪車(chē)飛到天上時(shí)，看上去是那樣的輕而易舉。但是全世界的第一輛人力自行飛車(chē)卻需要有點(diǎn)創(chuàng)新思維才能真正起飛。

Comprising an ungainly mix of a bike with wings, a fan, a motor and a parachute, the invention, known as a Paravelo, can reach 4,000ft and speeds of up to 25mph.
這輛名為Paravelo的自行飛車(chē)上安裝了滑翔翼、螺旋槳、馬達(dá)和降落傘，雖然外觀不怎么優(yōu)雅，但卻能飛至4000英尺的高空，最高速度可達(dá)每小時(shí)25英里。

On the ground, the Paravelo is an ordinary two-wheeled bike – albeit one that is towing a trailer with a large biofuel-powered fan. But with a bit of space to act as a runway, the trailer can be docked with the bike to transform it into a flying machine capable of running for three hours on a full tank of fuel.
Paravelo在地面行駛時(shí)，與普通兩輪自行車(chē)沒(méi)有太大區(qū)別，只是它多了一個(gè)拖車(chē)，上面裝有使用生物燃料的大螺旋槳。但要是有足夠空間做跑道的話，拖車(chē)就能與自行車(chē)部分結(jié)合，變型成飛行器，在滿(mǎn)油狀態(tài)下可飛行三小時(shí)。

Its British creators, John Fordon, 37, and Yannick Read, 42, said they were inspired by cycling in their childhood when creating the Paravelo, which costs ￡10,000. They believe their creation will revolutionise the way people travel to work.
自行飛車(chē)的制造者是兩名英國(guó)人：37歲的約翰-福頓和42歲的亞尼克-里德，他們說(shuō)設(shè)計(jì)Paravelo的靈感來(lái)自于兒時(shí)騎單車(chē)的經(jīng)歷。自行飛車(chē)售價(jià)1萬(wàn)英鎊，但他們相信這項(xiàng)發(fā)明能給人們的上班方式帶來(lái)革命性轉(zhuǎn)變。

Mr Fordon said: ‘We were enchanted by the connection between cycling and the birth of powered flight – the Wright brothers were former bicycle mechanics – so we designed the Paravelo to recapture that pioneering era.’
福頓先生說(shuō)：“我們對(duì)自行車(chē)和動(dòng)力飛行器之間的聯(lián)系非常著迷——發(fā)明飛機(jī)的懷特兄弟以前就是修自行車(chē)的——所以我們?cè)O(shè)計(jì)了Paravelo，重現(xiàn)他們那段開(kāi)拓創(chuàng)新的時(shí)代?！?/div>

The Paravelo comes with a GPS tracker to plot its movements, and flying it does not require a pilot’s licence. The inventors hope the Paravelo will become a mainstream form of transport, and claim it costs the same as a small family car to run.
自行飛車(chē)上裝有全球定位裝置，據(jù)此可以調(diào)整飛行方式，而且無(wú)需飛行員駕照就能直接上手。Paravelo的設(shè)計(jì)者希望它能成為主流交通工具之一，還說(shuō)它的價(jià)格和小型家庭轎車(chē)相差無(wú)幾。

They say it is ideal for commuting as it can be folded away in a compact space, such as an office. The Paravelo’s development was supported by the Environmental Transport Association.
兩位設(shè)計(jì)者稱(chēng)，這輛自行飛車(chē)十分適合遠(yuǎn)程上下班，因?yàn)樗梢哉郫B，能放在諸如辦公室一類(lèi)的狹小空間中。這項(xiàng)發(fā)明還獲得了環(huán)境運(yùn)輸協(xié)會(huì)的大力支持。

The charity’s director, Andrew Davis, said: ‘For generations the car has been king, but it could now play second fiddle to the flying bicycle.’
協(xié)會(huì)董事安德魯-大衛(wèi)說(shuō)：“對(duì)好幾代人來(lái)說(shuō)，汽車(chē)在交通中一直占主導(dǎo)地位，但現(xiàn)在可以讓位于這種會(huì)飛的自行車(chē)了?！?/div>

Mr Read, from London, said: ‘If you have a thirst for adventure, but are without a storage space or bank balance large enough for a helicopter, then the paravelo is for you.’
來(lái)自倫敦的里德先生說(shuō)：“如果你一直渴望去探險(xiǎn)，卻苦于沒(méi)有金錢(qián)或空間購(gòu)置一架直升機(jī)，那對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)，Paravelo就再適合不過(guò)了?！?/div>

The inventors promise that the paravelo will make traffic jams, parking fines and road rage things of the past. They also claim that no licence is needed to fly it and that it costs about the same as a small family car to run.
發(fā)明者保證：有了Paravelo自行飛車(chē)，交通擁擠、停車(chē)罰單和怒路癥就都將成為歷史。他們還說(shuō)，無(wú)需考取執(zhí)照就能駕駛飛車(chē)，而且價(jià)錢(qián)只有一輛小型家用轎車(chē)那么多。

Powered by bio-fuel, this eco-friendly contraption can reach heights of 4,000 feet. To take off,? this bio-fuel is used to start up an electronic motor. This motor then powers the fans that lift the paravelo off the ground.
自行飛車(chē)采用生物燃料，環(huán)保無(wú)污染，最高可飛到4000英尺的高空。在起飛時(shí)，生物燃料運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)電馬達(dá)，電馬達(dá)帶動(dòng)螺旋槳，使這個(gè)飛行器升離地面。

An optional extra for paravelo are the NightFire strobe handlebars. They have been specifically designed for the flying bike and contain xenon gas strobes that can be seen from two miles away. The handlebars can be add to a 1 inch or 1.25 inch handlebar clamp but it does not connect to brake levers or gear shifters.
Paravelo的另一個(gè)附加設(shè)計(jì)是NightFire閃光車(chē)把，里面含有氙氣閃光燈，最遠(yuǎn)可見(jiàn)范圍兩英里。這是特意為自行飛車(chē)設(shè)計(jì)的。車(chē)把手上還附有1-1.25英寸的夾鉗，但不與車(chē)閘杠桿或變速器相連。

Paravelo contains quirky feature including a built-in tent, perfect for festival-goers. The inventors say this is a perfect addition because it enables the owner to detach the tent, set up camp, and then cycle off to explore the area.?
Paravelo造型奇特，還有個(gè)內(nèi)置帳篷， 對(duì)于假日出行者來(lái)說(shuō)無(wú)疑是上好選擇。發(fā)明者認(rèn)為增加帳篷是個(gè)絕妙的設(shè)計(jì)，因?yàn)檫@樣車(chē)主就可以在野外安營(yíng)扎寨，然后騎車(chē)探索周邊環(huán)境。

猜你喜歡