7月23日VOA聽力：備用機電或能搶救飛翔員的性命
More than 550 people are killed each year,onaverage,in accidents involving small,mostly single-engine airplanes,according to the U.S. Department ofTransportation.
Pilots like Miguel Suarez say engine failure on a lightpropeller-driven plane does not offer much chancefor survival.
“In this case,there is no other option other than to try to save anything that you have,you tryto land but the accident is ensured,it will occur."
In cooperation with Madrid's Universidad Carlos III,Suarez and his partner,engineer DanielCristobal,developed a battery-operated auxiliary motor that gives a stalled plane anadditional seven minutes of flight.
“We integrated in series an electric motor with a clutching system that isolates the main enginewhen it fails and then the pilot has an additional 20 kilometers when the main engine fails tofind a safe place to land."
The backup power comes from a high-efficiency lithium-ion battery with electronic control.
With a simple switch,the pilot can disengage the propeller from the main engine and start theelectric motor to keep it spinning.
During normal flight,a charger makes sure that the battery is always fully charged.
But the auxiliary motor can also be used in other circumstances.
“The system is not only a security system,it's also a hybrid system that permits to add morepower to the main engine when you need more power,for example during the take-off you canhave until 40 horsepower extra power."
Another advantage is that the motor can be installed in most existing two and four-seaterlight planes,as it fits between the gasoline engine and the propeller.
Axter Aerospace engineers are now trying to reduce the weight of the system while waiting fora certificate from the European Aviation Safety Agency.
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