Goodyear Blimp Blog

Winds and Mohawk haircuts

I now feel guilty about our weather down here in Florida after speaking with Greg. This week, though, has been frustrating at best. The wind started blowing last weekend and hasn't quit, so we have been grounded.

I'm used to seeing the unexpected in airship operations, but when I walked into the morning safety meeting, I noticed something looked a little different about Jose Herrera, our senior radio and TV technician. Of course, I knew there was a story, and it seems he was involved with an event sponsored by St. Baldrick's Foundation. Volunteers shave their heads to benefit research for childhood cancer. It's a great cause, and Jose can pull off a Mohawk haircut.

We just enjoyed a few days off for the holiday, but hopefully we'll get some flying in before our two-week hangar period begins this weekend.

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.

Visiting California pilot

This week, we are joined by Kristen Davis, a newly hired Goodyear blimp pilot from our sister operation in California. Unfortunately, I was not able to fly with her the past few days because of high winds and thunderstorms. The down time gave us an opportunity to plan our summer tour schedule and catch up.

Kristen is from Chicago originally and was hired last year as a pilot for our Los Angeles-based operation. I asked her what she liked about flying in Florida. She mentioned the clear ocean water, which offers a great view of the sea life below.

While she is a new pilot for Goodyear, she is far from a "new" pilot. She already has accumulated more than 1,500 hours in the air and has the rare "Lighter Than Air -- Airship Rating" on her commercial pilot's certificate. Because Goodyear blimps are larger airships and feature two ballonets -- one forward and one aft -- instead of one, the company has its own extensive training program that a pilot must successfully complete.

Kristen has done a great job with her training so far, and I wish I had the opportunity to fly with her on this visit. I'm actually going on a short vacation until Friday, and I will miss the chance. I'm headed to Tampa Bay for some fishing....will post some good pictures if we catch anything.

ESPN The Weekend

We had a fun weekend at Walt Disney World covering many of the broadcasts for ESPN The Weekend, plus the Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers spring training game. Our fears that the weather might move in and delay our trip home were unfounded. We had a strong headwind, but not enough to stop the "Spirit of Innovation" from going home.

On a side note, the Fantasy of Flight Museum and private airport served as our home away from home during our weekend in Orlando. For those of you traveling to this area, I recommend a visit to the museum. This is the home of one of the largest private collections of aircraft in the world. I think any aviation buff would enjoy the displays and interactive exhibits.

Our schedule has us operating out of our home base in Pompano for the next few weeks as we gear up for summer tour. We are typically on the road for much of May through October. I can't say where we will end up, but anything east of the Rockies is fair game.