《经济学家》读译参考：志存高远－中国筹划研制大飞机

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:09:06 13:24:12
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

Lofty ambitions
志存高远

China hopes to build a wide-bodied airliner to challenge Boeing and Airbus
中国希望造出一种大型客机，以挑战波音和空中客车

WHEN Xu Guanhua, Chinas science and technology minister, listed the nations research priorities for 2007 at a conference in Beijing last month, top of the list was the development of a wide-bodied passenger aircraft, a plan that senior officials first made public last year. In part, China is keen to develop a domestic competitor to Americas Boeing and its European rival, Airbus, so as to capture part of the booming domestic market. Boeing predicts that 2,880 airliners worth $280 billion will be sold in China in the next two decades, making it the worlds fastest-growing market for such aircraft. （1）But the aim is also to foster progress in other fields, since building large airliners requires (and demonstrates) mastery of disciplines from aerodynamics to software. A formal timetable has not been announced, but officials hope Chinas first home-grown large aircraft will be airborne[1] in 10-15 years.

上个月在北京的一次会议上，中国科技部部长徐冠华明确了2007年该国科研工作的重点，而重中之重是大型客机的研发工作，中国高层官员在去年首次对外宣布了此项计划。从某种程度上看，中国这么做是因为它渴望研制出一种可以同美国波音和欧洲空客相抗衡的国产大型客机，进而夺取正在飞速发展的国内市场的一部分。波音预测，未来20年在中国，客机销量将达到2880架，总价值2800亿美元，中国也将成为全球发展最快的客机市场。另一个目的则是希望籍此推动其它领域的发展，因为无论是空气动力学还是软件设计，都是制造大型客机的关键技术，而且一旦中国造出来了，也能证明其掌握了制造大型客机的一切技术。正式时间表尚未公开，但官方希望在10到15年后中国第一架自产大型客机能够升空。

It has a long runway ahead. Small and medium-sized aircraft, often based on Russian designs or reverse-engineered from Western models, are already made in China. some, such as the twin-propeller, 60-seater MA60, are exported to African and Asian countries. China also makes fighter aircraft, helicopters and transporters. But the depth of expertise needed to build a wide-bodied airliner is still lacking. As in other fields, the government has encouraged foreign investment to help the industry develop.

任重而道远。中国现已可以根据俄罗斯设计方案或仿照西方模型采用“反向工程”技术制造中小型飞机，其中有些如60座双推进器新舟60（MA60）飞机已出口到亚非国家。中国制造的飞机还包括战斗机、直升机和运输机，但制造大型客机所需的高精尖技术尚属空白。跟其他领域一样，中国政府鼓励引进外资发展航空工业。

（2）Boeing and Airbus are taking different approaches to China. Boeings activities grew out of President Nixons visit in 1972 and the company now buys parts from Chinese suppliers for all of its aircraft, including doors and wing panels for the 737, wing-ribs for the 747 and the rudder[2] for the new 787. Airbus has taken a bolder step, announcing last year that it would establish a final assembly line, its first outside Europe, in the northern city of Tianjin. Production of A320 airliners, Airbuss most popular model in Asia, is expected to begin in 2009.

波音和空中客车跟中国“打交道”的方式各不相同。1972年尼克松访华为波音叩响了中国的大门，现在该公司所有飞机的零部件，如737的舱门和翼片、747的翼肋及787新机型的方向舵，都购自中国供应商。空中客车的胆子更大。去年它宣布将在中国北部城市天津设立该公司在欧洲以外地区的首个总装线，其在亚洲最受欢迎的机型A320客机有望2009年在那里投产。

Smaller manufacturers, such as Embraer of Brazil and Bombardier of Canada, are also establishing ties with China. Both firms have set up production facilities in the hope of boosting sales of their regional jets, and to fend off competition from the ARJ21, a locally manufactured regional jet being developed by AVIC I, a state-owned aviation company. The ARJ21 is a 95-seater twin-jet aircraft that strongly resembles the DC-9, and is due to go on sale in 2009 after several delays. (A joint venture with McDonnell Douglas in the 1990s to build a Chinese version of the DC-9 failed.)

小型制造商也正在同中国建立纽带关系，比如巴西的英布拉尔（Embraer）和加拿大的庞巴迪（Bombardier）。这两家公司均已在中国建立了生产线，期望以此提高其支线喷气式飞机的销量，并抵御ARJ31的竞争。后者是由国有航空公司中国一航（AVIC I）研发的一种中国国产支线喷气式飞机，95座，双喷气式发动机，外观极像DC-9，经过数次延期之后预计将于2009年上市。[与上世纪90年代麦克唐纳尔•.道格拉斯（McDonnell Douglas）合资制造中国版的DC-9未能成功。]

Diamond Air, an Austrian aircraft-maker, announced the opening of Shandong BinAo, a $42m joint venture with the government of Shandong province, at the Zhuhai Airshow in November. It will initially build under licence Diamonds DA40 single-engine planes, and later its twin-engine DA42, both of which are used to train pilots. Production is expected to be 150 aircraft this year, rising to 1,000 a year if there is demand. （3）Pilots are sorely needed in China—each year the airlines require roughly another 2,000 of them—and flying schools are setting up in droves. Gerald Seebacher, general manager of the project, says the Chinese-built DA40s will also be sold abroad.

在去年11月珠海航展上，奥地利飞制造商钻石航空公司（Diamond Air）宣布，与山东省政府联合投资4200万美元的山东滨奥飞机制造公司投产。该公司目前拿到的是钻石单发机型的制造许可证，后期会再生产双发DA42，两种飞机都用于飞行员训练。这种单发机型今年产量有望达到150架，而且如果有需求，年产量可望增至1000架。在中国，飞行员十分紧缺——航空公司每年大约短缺2000名飞行员，许多飞行学校也相继成立，（因而对这种训练机型的需求也就越来越大）。中奥合资项目总经理杰拉德•.塞巴赫（Gerald Seebacher）说，中国制造的DA40飞机还将销往国外。

Airbus and Boeing do not have much to worry about yet, but Chinas aviation industry is developing rapidly and the goal of building a wide-bodied airliner is not out of the question. But getting such an aircraft off the ground is only half the battle. （4）The issue is not whether the Chinese can develop the aircraft, notes AeroStrategy, a consultancy, but rather “whether they can develop one that is good enough to win against the best that Boeing and Airbus can deliver. Operational performance and reliability are two key areas.”

空客和波音目前对此并不是很担忧，但中国航空工业发展迅速，制造大型客机的目标绝非没有实现的可能。不过，飞机下线不能说明万事大吉。AeroStrategy咨询顾问公司强调，问题不在于中国人能否研制出这种飞机，而在于“他们所研制的飞机，能否在性能上胜过波音和空客的‘拳头产品’，”“关键在于操控性和可靠性如何”。

（5）Another problem is certification: Chinas civil aviation authority would have to be officially recognised by its American and European counterparts before Chinese aircraft could be exported to America or Europe. And then there is the matter of convincing buyers that the aircraft is safe. Last month Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwes president, was dismayed to find that his usual Boeing 737 was unavailable to take him and his family to Asia. Air Zimbabwe offered him a Chinese-built MA60 instead—but, citing safety concerns, he refused to embark.

还存在一个（适航）合格证的问题：中国飞机要想出口到美国或欧洲，中国民用航空当局必须得到美国和欧洲民用航空管理部门的官方认可。拿到适航合格证后，问题又来了：是否买家对飞机安全感到放心。上个月，津巴布韦总统罗伯特•.穆加贝（Robert Mugabe）由于其常乘坐的波音737飞机因故不能飞行，导致其与家人无法前往亚洲，郁闷得很。津巴布韦航空公司（Air Zimbabwe）为他提供了一架中国产的MA60，可他就是因为放心不下安全问题，最后拒绝登机。

[NOTES]

1. airborne adj. (a) [attrib 作定语] transported by the air 空运的. 空中传播的. 空气传播的. 风媒的: airborne seeds 空气传播的种子. (b) [pred 作表语] (of aircraft) in the air after taking off （指飞行器）起飞後在飞行中: Smoking is forbidden until the plane is airborne. 飞机升空时禁止吸烟. (c) [attrib 作定语] (of troops) specially trained for operations using aircraft （指部队）受过空战训练的: an airborne division 空降师.

2. rudder n. (a) broad flat piece of wood or metal hinged vertically at the stern of a boat or ship, used for steering （船的）舵. (b) similar piece of metal on the rear of an aircraft, for the same purpose （飞机的）方向舵.