航空傳奇:波音公司交付第7500架737飛機
In the time it takes you to read this story, more than 600 Boeing 737s will have landed or taken off, somewhere in the world.
本週交付的第7500架波音737飛機駛出西雅圖波音公司的油漆車間This week, Boeing delievered its 7,500th 737, to MAlaysia-based Malindo Air. There are a further 3,100 orders for 737s, making it the most commercially successful air liner in history.
在你閱讀這篇文章的短短時間裏，在世界各地的機場裏就會有超過600架的波音737飛機在起降。Boeing's 737 output single-handedly outnumbers the entire Airbus fleet. And the plane recently got a new engine and a new "Sky Interior."
本星期波音公司向總部在馬來西亞的馬印航空公司交付了該公司生產的第7500架波音737飛機。目前波音公司還持有3100架737飛機的訂單，使該飛機成爲史上最成功的商用飛機。
The hype surrounding Boeing's workhorse can't compare to that of the Airbus A380 (the largest jet ever built) or the Boeing 747-8 (the longest) or the Boeing 787 (the most high-tech).
波音公司僅737飛機單一型號的產量就超過了空客飛機全部型號加在一起的產量。最近737飛機又有了新引擎和被稱爲“天空內飾”的新內飾。It's not glamorous, it's not eccentric, and it's often overshadowed by its bigger, sparklier peers. But the 737's success lies in its ability to continually reinvent itself.
737是波音公司生產的一種結實耐用的飛機，用在737飛機上的宣傳廣告不多，與對空客A380（迄今爲止最大的噴氣飛機），波音747（世界上最長的飛機）或波音787（最高科技的飛機）的大肆宣傳不可同日而語。The original series
早期的型號系列The first 737 -- the 100 model -- entered service in February 1968. With a typical two-class seating capacity of 85 and a range of only 2,850 kilometers, the 737-100 wasn't terribly popular.
第一架737飛機——100型——於1968年2月投入營運，典型的座艙佈置爲兩個等級85座，航程僅爲2850公里。737-100飛機賣得不是很好。Launched simultaneously, however, was the 200 model. With slight increases in length and fuel capacity, the 200 could carry 97 passengers up to 3,500 kilometers on roughly the same amount of fuel. A far better proposition for airlines, Boeing sold 1,114 of the 200 model, compared with just 30 of its 100s.
737-200型飛機幾乎與100型同時推出，這架飛機的機身長度和燃油容量略有增加，在用幾乎相同燃料的情況下可以載客97人，航程增加到3500公里，對於航空公司而言737-200飛機是更好的選擇。波音賣出了1140架737-200，相比之下737-100只售出了30架。Superseding the 737-200 was the 200 Advanced, with technological improvements to thrust-reversal, flaps and two larger, more fuel-efficient engines, giving operators yet another 15 percent increase in payload and range.
替代737-200飛機的是200 Advanced（200先進型），這個型號的飛機對反衝、襟翼做了技術改進，使用了兩個更大，更省油的引擎，爲營運商增加了15%的載荷和航程。The classic era
經典系列時代In the early 1980s, Boeing completed its first major overhaul of the jet, with the release of three new models in what is now called the “Classic” series. The updated aircraft offered more power, more range, more seats and a shiny, new, digital flight deck.
在1980年代初期，波音公司完成了對於噴氣飛機的第一次大整合並且發佈了三種新型號的飛機，這些型號的飛機如今被稱爲“經典”系列。所有改進過的飛機有更強勁的動力，更長的航程，更多的座位，還有新的數碼飛行甲板。The 737 Classics were up to 36.5 meters long, 20 percent longer than the popular 737-200, and had a range of 4,200 kilometers or more with 25 percent better fuel efficiency.
經典系列的737飛機長度增加到了36.5米，比737-200飛機增加了20%，航程爲4200公里，燃油效率提高了25%。The catch for the new, more-powerful jets was that they were too big to fit on the wings, resulting in a redesign into a shape aptly dubbed the “hamster pouch.” Even so, the jets still had an uncomfortably shallow 46 centimeter ground clearance.
這架動力強勁的新飛機給人的感覺是機身太大以至與機翼不相匹配，結果設計師們進行了重新設計，使機身巧妙地安放在一個“倉鼠車”上。即便如此，這架飛機仍只有較低的46釐米地面淨空，給人的感覺不太舒服。The Classics also inherited the then-new 757's funky new interior. All together, 1,988 Boeing 737-300s, -400s and -500s were built.
經典系列的737飛機也沿用了當時尚屬新機型的757飛機的時髦內飾。波音公司一共生產了1988架737-300、737-400、737-500型號的飛機。
