From our friends in Ohio

While I was on vacation last week in Tampa enjoying 80 degree weather, Greg Poppenhouse, the pilot-in-charge of the Spirit of Goodyear in Akron, Ohio, provided an update:

Flying over the hangar in Suffield, Ohio, I look down on the results of the big snowstorm of 2008 that swept through Ohio recently and compare my day to that of our Florida crew, who considers 55 degrees cold. Hey, Marty, try 30 degrees and 18 inches of snow!

If you are wondering if the blimp can fly in snowy, blizzard-like conditions, the answer is no. The Spirit of Goodyear stayed safe and warm in its hangar while the inclement weather swept over us. This week, however, we are finally out and flying about. It's still cold, but the sun is shining, and more importantly, the blimp's heater is working fine.

The blimp handles the same in temperatures of 30 degrees as it does at 70 degrees. In fact, the blimp has better lift in cold air, especially if there is sunshine on the envelope. This creates a great opportunity for "superheat," which is the term for the difference between the temperature of the air outside and the helium inside the envelope, creating better buoyancy.

Hope you catch us around the Cleveland area over the next few days. Next up, we will be covering the Cleveland Indians home opener on March 31st for WKYC.

Thanks for checking in.