This is the VOA Special English Tec

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

You could fill the sky with all the ideas people have had for flying cars -- or what Carl Dietrich calls "flying-driving vehicles."

CARL DIETRICH: "Since the turn of the twentieth century, there have been many hundreds of published concepts for flying-driving vehicles. And some of them have actually been built and flown. But at this point the Transition is the closest to actually getting to the marketplace.”

Carl Dietrich heads a company in Massachusetts called Terrafugia.

CARL DIETRICH: "Terrafugia is developing the Transition street-legal airplane, which many people have characterized as the first practical flying car. And the Transition is designed to really be a general aviation airplane, like a Cessna or a Piper, a propeller-powered airplane that can fold up its wings, drive down the road and park in a single-car garage.”

He says the Transition Roadable Aircraft easily changes to a car.

CARL DIETRICH: "It takes about twenty seconds. It’s like putting the top down on a convertible, only instead of folding up your roof, we’re folding up our wings and we’re transferring power from a propeller to the wheels for driving on the ground.”

Development began in two thousand six, and the first road and flight tests took place in two thousand nine.

The Transition had to meet federal safety standards for cars and aircraft. Last year the Federal Aviation Administration agreed to let it weigh more than other light sport aircraft. But even fully loaded, says Mr. Dietrich, it still weighs about half as much as an average car.

The windows, for example, weigh less than traditional automotive safety glass. Terrafugia got permission for that last month from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Carl Dietrich says the aircraft can climb to more than three thousand meters. It can carry two people at speeds over one hundred sixty kilometers an hour in the air. And on the ground it can drive at highway speeds, around one hundred thirteen kilometers an hour.

The plane needs an airport for takeoffs and landings, but it uses automotive gasoline.

The company expects to complete the building process for its flying cars within the next few months. Then it will began an intensive year-long testing program. Terrafugia expects the Transition to reach market by the end of twenty-twelve, at a price of around two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

Carl Dietrich says nearly one hundred people have already signed up as buyers. He hopes to sell as many as a thousand a year in the near future.

CARL DIETRICH: "That will not have any appreciable or noticeable impact on the air traffic control infrastructure in the foreseeable future today. Now, twenty years down the road, who knows?"

And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. You can watch a flight test of the Transition at voaspecialenglish.com. And how do you feel about flying cars? Write to us at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.

Kết quả (Việt) 1:

Đây là VOA Special English Technology báo cáo.Bạn có thể điền vào bầu trời với tất cả mọi người ý tưởng có bay xe--hoặc những gì Carl Dietrich gọi "bay-lái xe."CARL DIETRICH: "kể từ lần lượt của thế kỷ XX, đã có hàng trăm các khái niệm được công bố cho bay-lái xe. Và một số người trong số họ đã thực sự được xây dựng và thực hiện. Nhưng tại thời điểm này chuyển đổi gần nhất để thực sự nhận được trên thị trường."Carl Dietrich đứng đầu một công ty ở tiểu bang Massachusetts gọi là Terrafugia.CARL DIETRICH: "Terrafugia đang phát triển máy bay street-pháp chuyển tiếp, nhiều người có đặc điểm là chiếc xe đầu tiên bay thực tế. Và quá trình chuyển đổi được thiết kế để thực sự là một chiếc máy bay hàng không chung, như một chiếc Cessna hoặc một Piper, một máy bay cánh quạt hỗ trợ có thể gấp lên cánh của nó, lái xe xuống đường và công viên ở một đơn-xe ô tô."Ông nói rằng máy bay Roadable chuyển tiếp một cách dễ dàng để thay đổi một chiếc xe hơi.CARL DIETRICH: "mất khoảng hai mươi phút. Nó giống như đặt phía trên xuống trên một chuyển đổi, chỉ thay vì gấp lên mái nhà của bạn, chúng tôi đang gấp lên cánh của chúng tôi và chúng tôi đang chuyển điện từ bộ cánh quạt to the bánh xe cho lái xe trên mặt đất."Phát triển bắt đầu vào hai nghìn sáu, và các bài kiểm tra đường bộ và chuyến bay đầu tiên diễn ra vào hai nghìn chín.The Transition had to meet federal safety standards for cars and aircraft. Last year the Federal Aviation Administration agreed to let it weigh more than other light sport aircraft. But even fully loaded, says Mr. Dietrich, it still weighs about half as much as an average car.The windows, for example, weigh less than traditional automotive safety glass. Terrafugia got permission for that last month from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.Carl Dietrich says the aircraft can climb to more than three thousand meters. It can carry two people at speeds over one hundred sixty kilometers an hour in the air. And on the ground it can drive at highway speeds, around one hundred thirteen kilometers an hour.The plane needs an airport for takeoffs and landings, but it uses automotive gasoline.The company expects to complete the building process for its flying cars within the next few months. Then it will began an intensive year-long testing program. Terrafugia expects the Transition to reach market by the end of twenty-twelve, at a price of around two hundred fifty thousand dollars.Carl Dietrich says nearly one hundred people have already signed up as buyers. He hopes to sell as many as a thousand a year in the near future.CARL DIETRICH: "That will not have any appreciable or noticeable impact on the air traffic control infrastructure in the foreseeable future today. Now, twenty years down the road, who knows?"And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. You can watch a flight test of the Transition at voaspecialenglish.com. And how do you feel about flying cars? Write to us at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Steve Ember.