After 50 Years, the F100 Is Going Hypersonic
After 50 Years, the F100 Is Going Hypersonic
It's sleek and shimmering, gliding through sun-tinted clouds. It's moving at nearly four times the speed of sound – faster than the famous SR-71 Blackbird, which set the airspeed record some 50 years ago.
它优美闪耀，在阳光照射下滑翔。它以接近音速的速度移动-比50年前创下空速纪录的著名的SR-71黑鸟更快。
Its name is Quarterhorse, its mission is to be the world's first high-Mach autonomous aircraft, and its creator is the U.S. startup company Hermeus.
其名称为Quarterhorse，其使命是成为世界上第一架高马赫自主飞行器，其创造者是美国初创企业Hermeus。
But powering the futuristic aircraft and its ambitious goals is an engine familiar to aviation enthusiasts – the Pratt & Whitney F100.
但是为未来飞机及其宏伟目标提供动力的引擎对于航空发烧友而言并不陌生，那就是普惠-惠特尼的F100。
Rather than build a new engine, Hermeus will use a modified F100, a propulsion system with 30 million flight hours and a track record aboard the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Falcon, which celebrates 50 years of flight in 2024.
Hermeus将使用F100的修改版，F100具有3000万的飞行小时数，并在F-15鹰式战斗机和F-16猎鹰式战斗机上有记录，在2024年的50年飞行庆典中展现了其实力。
Now, the engine is looking toward its next 50 years.
现在，这个引擎正迎来它的下一个50年。
"Fifty years of life combined with the opportunity to remain in service for another 50 years is something that's unique," said Josh Goodman, senior director of the F100 program. "Pratt likes to do hard things, and utilizing the F100 in this solution gives us the opportunity to once again go solve hard problems."
F100项目的高级董事Josh Goodman表示： "五十年的使用寿命加上保持服役另外五十年的机会是独一无二的。普惠喜欢做困难的事情，利用F100解决这个问题再次给了我们解决困难问题的机会。"