Goodyear Blimp Blog

Want to fly the blimp?

Early this week, we had a nice, normal day of passenger flights scheduled at our home base, and it's always entertaining when the group includes children. We try to make the flights extra special for kids by letting them try on the co-pilots headset during flight so they can listen in on the conversation between the pilot and the crew chief at the base. Our first flight of the day included three adults and three children, and the youngest passenger asked for the headset right away. Since there is a built-in microphone, she had a lot of fun telling me I was "cleared for landing."

We also let children help move the elevator wheel, which makes the blimp go up and down. Most young passengers love to see the reaction of the airship as we rotate the wheel backward and forward. When I asked my new "co-pilot" if she'd like to help fly the blimp, she had a unique response: "Isn't that your job?"

Well, it certainly is, and I will be back at it this weekend at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., for ESPN the Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Picture perfect

We finally made it home after a successful week in Daytona, and the crew is taking a much deserved break. I just posted some photos from the weekend, including an amazing picture of the Thunderbirds.

In the meantime, check out our sister airship, the Spirit of America, which will be flying over the Academy Awards for KABC and E! this Sunday in California.

50 years of Daytona plus one day

We launched yesterday for coverage of the 50th running of the Daytona 500. I think it's odd that the first race of the season is the biggest race of the year. Upon arrival at the speedway, we noticed a few things that were different this year from past 500s. First off, the opening flyover was not just a few cool military jets but the Thunderbirds! They did a fantastic job, and flying over them in formation flight is a rare opportunity. The control tower had us climb to 2500 feet, and the Thunderbirds made three passes under us. We wear active noise-reducing headsets while flying, but as they passed below, we could hear and feel the jet engines. The pre-race show was also impressive from the air with the synchronized dancers, music legends like Chubby Checker and Kool & The Gang, and the classic NASCAR cars on the track.

After all of the build up, the actual race lived up to its billing right down to an exciting finish with a lead change in the final lap. All went well, but we did notice the winds increasing as the evening progressed. We knew today would bring a struggle to get back home to Pompano.

As suspected, we are here in the Daytona area for an extra day. The headwinds in advance of a cold front are too strong for a southbound flight. I really can't feel sorry for myself, though. I just flew the Daytona 500 and now we have another day on the beach.

Speed Weeks media blitz

It has been a busy few days since we arrived in Daytona. We started with a nice, big story from the folks at USA Today that featured Larry Chambers, pilot-in-charge for the Spirit of Innovation. We also had guests from the Orlando Sentinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal and Fox 35 in Orlando.

This past Sunday, we hosted members of a film crew, who were completing footage for a Fox pre-race special set to air Feb. 17 before the Daytona 500. I always enjoy flying with new people, especially when they haven't flown in an airship before. During the flight, I quizzed the cameraman about the camera he was using. As the pilot of an aerial platform for TV networks, I like to keep up-to-date on the latest video equipment. After we landed, I took a closer look at the camera. The view through a high definition wide angle lens was amazing.

He said our short flight was the "coolest" thing he has done. This was just after he shared a story about filming in the Oval Office with the President. I think I take for granted how great flying this airship is sometimes.

Cold fronts and Speed Weeks

We left this morning to fly the airship to Flagler County Airport (just north of Daytona) to set up for aerial coverage of the Speed Weeks races and the 50th running of the Daytona 500. This is a special treat for us also as the Goodyear blimp has flown above nearly every Daytona 500.

We departed our home base in South Florida and enjoyed the beautiful sights over the beaches, as well as a tailwind. Our nice day didn't last long as we hit a cold front around Ft. Pierce, Fla. I have no idea why it didn't dawn on me to bring my jacket knowing that we were to pass through a cold front in flight. We climbed to 3000 feet to avoid strong headwinds at the lower altitudes. The temperature also dropped, and now even with the cabin heater running at full steam it was quite cold -- 55 degrees.   

We also had the door on the right side of the gondola removed to accommodate the installation of our camera gear, which we'll use to capture those pretty aerial shots of the race track during the network telecasts. This gave us a brisk breeze. We complained about the temperature until we landed at Flagler County and thawed out. Seems silly, but I don't think I will forget my jacket again on a northbound flight past a cold front.

Blimp camera