全球首个电动飞机成功起飞，虽然续航时间超短

The world's first fully electric plane has flown successfully for almost 15 minutes.

世界上第一架全电动飞机成功飞行了近15分钟。

The world's first fully electric commercial aircraft took its inaugural test flight on Tuesday, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and offering hope that airlines may one day end their polluting emissions.

周二，世界上第一架全自动商业飞机进行首次飞行测试，从加拿大温哥华起飞，这表明有一天飞机也许有希望结束污染排放。

"This proves that commercial aviation in all-electric form can work," said Roei Ganzarski, chief executive of Seattle-based engineering firm magniX.

位于西雅图的工程公司magniX的CEO罗伊·甘扎斯基（Roei Ganzarski）说，“这证明了全电动形式的商业航空是可行的。”

The company designed the plane's motor and worked in partnership with Harbour Air, which ferries half a million passengers a year between Vancouver, Whistler ski resort and nearby islands and coastal communities.

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该公司设计了飞机的马达，并与海港航空公司（Harbour Air）合作，后者每年要运送50万名乘客往返于温哥华、惠斯勒滑雪场及附近的岛屿和沿海的社群。

Ganzarski said the technology would mean significant cost savings for airlines -- not to mention zero emissions.

甘扎斯基说，这项技术将给航空公司省下巨额费用--更不用说零排放了。

"This signifies the start of the electric aviation age," he told reporters.

他告诉记者说，“这表示着电动航空年代的开始。”

Civil aviation is one of the fastest growing sources of carbon emissions as people increasingly take to the skies and new technologies have been slow to get off the ground.​

民用航空是碳排放量增长最快的来源之一，因为人们越来越多地乘坐飞机出行，然而新技术进展缓慢。

At 285 grammes of CO2 emitted per kilometre (mile) travelled by each passenger, airline industry emissions far exceed those from all other modes of transport, according to the European Environment Agency. The emissions contribute to global warming and climate change, which scientists say will unleash ever harsher droughts, superstorms, and sea-level rise.

根据欧洲环境署，每位乘客每航行一公里（英里）就要排放285克二氧化碳，航空业的排放远超其他的交通形式。

The e-plane -- a 62-year-old, six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver seaplane retrofitted with an electric motor –- was piloted by Greg McDougall, founder and chief executive of Harbour Air.

电动飞机由一架有62年历史的六座DHC-2德哈维兰海狸水上飞机改造而成，由海港航空的创始人和总裁格雷格·麦克杜兰（Greg McDougall）驾驶。

"For me that flight was just like flying a Beaver, but it was a Beaver on electric steroids. I actually had to back off on the power," he said.​

他说，“对我来说，这次飞行就像驾着海狸飞机一样，但那比海狸快得多。事实上，我不得不关闭电源。”

McDougall took the plane on a short loop along the Fraser River near Vancouver International Airport in front of around 100 onlookers soon after sunrise.

麦克杜兰日出后驾驶飞机在温哥华国际机场旁的弗雷泽河绕了个小圈，大约有100个旁观者。