EXPLORATIONS - Aviation Hall of Fame

EXPLORATIONS - Aviation¹ Hall of Fame
By Paul Thompson

Broadcast: Wednesday, February 11, 2004

(THEME)

ANNCR:

This is Doug Johnson. Today on Explorations in VOA Special English we tell about some men and women who are members of the Aviation Hall of Fame. They have been honored² for what they did for flying.

 
Harriet Quimby was America's first woman pilot..
The National Aviation Hall of Fame is in Dayton, Ohio. It opened in nineteen-sixty-two. Since that time, the Hall of Fame has honored one-hundred-seventy-eight men and women for their work in aviation. Four more will be honored this year. Those honored will include Harriet Quimby, the first woman pilot in America.

The first two people chosen as members of the Aviation Hall of Fame were Orville and Wilbur Wright. They lived and worked in Dayton. The Wright Brothers were the first humans to make and fly a powered aircraft.

ANNCR:

Their story is well known. Another early member of the Aviation Hall of Fame is Charles Lindbergh. His record-setting flight across the Atlantic Ocean began on May twentieth, nineteen-twenty-seven.

 
Neil Armstrong on the moon.
Neil Armstrong is another member of the Hall of Fame. He was the first human to walk on the moon. The story of the Apollo Eleven landing³ on the moon is also well known.

Today, Mary Tillotson and Steve Ember tell about other members of the Aviation Hall of Fame who are not as famous.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Have you ever heard the name Edwin Link? Probably not. Yet many pilots know him. Mister⁴ Link was a pioneer in flight training. He invented a machine that helped teach new pilots to fly.

Edwin Link was born in nineteen-oh-four and died in nineteen-eighty-one. He became a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame in nineteen seventy-six.

The device⁵ he invented is called the Link Trainer. Link Trainers did not really fly. But they were designed to copy flight. New pilots could use flight controls and instruments as if they were inside a real plane. A new pilot learned⁶ how to fly in the air by flying a Link Trainer that never left the ground.

The Link Company improved their trainers over time. More experienced⁷ pilots used them to learn to fly using only flight instruments to find their way. Edwin Link made it possible for many pilots to learn difficult skills in complete safety.

VOICE ONE:

Just south of the city of San Diego, California is a small hill that looks toward⁸ the Pacific Ocean. A huge airplane wing rises out of the ground there. It is a monument to John Montgomery, another member of the Aviation Hall of Fame.

Not many people remember John Montgomery now. Yet many aviation experts believe he was the father of basic flying. He flew in gliders¹⁰...aircraft that have no power.

John Montgomery built gliders for more than twenty years. He died in a glider⁹ accident in nineteen-eleven. Mister Montgomery made most of his flights before anyone understood how to control an aircraft in flight.

Montgomery's study of flight and his attempts at flying led the way for the many others who followed. He became a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame in nineteen-seventy-three.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Giuseppe Bellanca is another name you probably do not know. He became a member of the Hall of Fame in nineteen-ninety-three. He came to the United States from Sicily before World War One. Mister Bellanca designed and built airplanes for the Wright Aircraft Company in the eastern state of New Jersey¹¹.

 
Charles Lindbergh.
Charles Lindbergh decided¹² to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in nineteen-twenty-seven. He wanted to use a Wright-Bellanca aircraft. Lindbergh met with Giuseppe Bellanca. Mister Bellanca said his airplane could make the flight. He was very excited about Lindbergh's plan. The Wright company, however, did not approve of him using one of the company's planes. Company officials thought Lindbergh might fail. Charles Lindbergh had to find a different airplane to make his famous flight.

Later, a Wright-Bellanca airplane was the first to fly the Atlantic Ocean in both directions. And, in nineteen-thirty-one, Giuseppe Bellanca designed and built an airplane that became the first to fly across the Pacific Ocean without stopping. It was called the Miss Veedol. It flew from Samishiro Beach, Japan, to the town of Wenatchee in the western state of Washington. Clyde Pangborn was the pilot of Miss Veedol. He is remembered more in Japan than he is in the United States. He became a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame in nineteen-ninety-five.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Only a few aviation experts can tell you about Charles E. Taylor. His friends called him "Charlie." He became a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame in nineteen-sixty-five.

 
The Wright flier.
On December Seventeeth, nineteen-oh-three, Orville Wright became the first human to fly in a powered aircraft. Orville and his brother Wilber designed and built the aircraft. Charlie Taylor built the small gasoline¹³ engine they used.

The three men designed the engine. They drew pictures on pieces of paper. Then Charlie Taylor built the needed part. He made the complete engine in only six weeks using almost no equipment. Today, you can see the Wright airplane when you visit the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington D-C. Just to the left of the controls is Charlie Taylor's very important engine!

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen-ten, a newspaper publisher offered fifty-thousand dollars to the first pilot to fly an airplane across the United States. He said the trip must be made within thirty days. Many pilots tried. All failed.

No one was able to collect the prize. But one man did succeed in flying across the United States. His name was Calbraith Perry Rodgers. He became a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame in nineteen-sixty-four.

Calbraith Rodgers started his famous flight on Sunday, September Seventeenth, nineteen eleven. He took off from Sheepshead Bay, New York, on the eastern coast of the United States. Bad luck followed him all the way. He crashed several times.

Each time the plane was rebuilt. The weather was often terrible and kept him on the ground for days. The thirty days he was supposed to fly to collect the prize passed, but Rodgers continued the flight.

His plane crashed nineteen kilometers short of the Pacific Ocean. He was badly hurt. Newspapers said he had successfully completed the flight. Rodgers did not agree. Four weeks later, he was helped into his airplane and flew the remaining distance to the Pacific Ocean. He landed December Tenth on the beach, the tires of his airplane wet from the Pacific Ocean. The trip had taken eighty-four days to complete. Calbraith Rodgers had succeeded in becoming the first pilot to fly across the United States.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Jacqueline Cochran was chosen as a member of the Aviation Hall of Fame for many reasons. She was the first women to pilot a jet¹⁴ airplane faster than the speed of sound. She won a top prize for flying racing¹⁵ planes.

She also won the highest award given to a pilot in America -- not once, but fourteen times. During World War Two, she helped organize a group of women pilots who flew military airplanes to help in the War effort. For this work, she became the first civilian¹⁶ ever to be given Americaąs Distinguished¹⁷ Service Medal.

In the early nineteen-sixties, Jackie Cochran was a test pilot for the Lockheed Company. She flew a fighter plane two-thousand-two-hundred-eighty-six kilometers an hour. That is more than two times the speed of sound. It was at that time the fastest speed ever reached by a female¹⁸ pilot.

Jackie Cochran died of a heart attack in nineteen-eighty. At the time of her death, she held more flying records for speed, distance and height than any other man or woman in aviation history.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Many of the men and women in the Aviation Hall of Fame designed, built and flew different kinds of airplanes. Some are honored for their service to the United States in time of war. Some are honored for the famous aircraft they designed. Others for the aviation companies they started.

Members of the Aviation Hall of Fame helped make flying safe for the public. Some were killed in their efforts to improve aviation. And some of those honored have led the way to the exploration of space.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This Special English program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Mary Tillotson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS program on the VOICE OF AMERICA.

1 aviation   

n.航空，航空学，飞机制造业

参考例句：

• Ten years ago,they began to develop the aviation. 十年前，他们开始发展航空工业。
• Pilots of large aircraft are masters of aviation.大型飞行器的驾驶员是航空学方面的专家。

2 honored   

adj.光荣的：荣幸的v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I hope to be honored with further orders. 如蒙惠顾，不胜荣幸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is a time-honored custom. 这是一个古老的习俗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 landing   

n.登陆；着陆；楼梯平台

参考例句：

• Owing to engine trouble,the plane had to make a forced landing.由于发动机出了毛病，飞机不得不进行迫降。
• When are we landing?我们什么时候着陆？

4 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

5 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

6 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

7 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

8 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

9 glider   

n.滑翔机；滑翔导弹

参考例句：

• The glider was soaring above the valley.那架滑翔机在山谷上空滑翔。
• The pilot managed to land the glider on a safe place.那个驾驶员设法让滑翔机着陆到一个安全的地方。

10 gliders   

n.滑翔机( glider的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The albatross is the king of gliders. 信天翁是滑翔鸟类之王。 来自《用法词典》
• For three summers, may bested and improved their gliders. 他们花了三个夏天不断地测试、改进。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

11 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

13 gasoline   

n.(美)汽油

参考例句：

• This car runs 5 miles on a gallon of gasoline.这部汽车一加仑汽油可以行驶五英里。
• There is still some gasoline left in the tank.油箱里还剩下一些汽油。

14 jet   

n.喷气发动机，喷气式飞机；v.喷出，喷射

参考例句：

• Put a match to the jet to light the gas.将火柴放在煤气喷嘴上点燃煤气。
• I don't see the jet of your plan.我不明白你的计划的要点。

15 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

16 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

17 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

18 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。