Goodyear Blimp Blog

LIVE on Miami Beach

This week we provided aerial coverage for the popular morning show LIVE with Regis and Kelly.  They were shooting the show here in Miami Beach at the amazing Fontainebleau Resort.  There were two very nice things about this assignment.  First, the resort is on the Atlantic Ocean and flying along the beach is both scenic and smooth making the flights very enjoyable.  Second, the show is live and only lasts for an hour, much shorter than many of the events that we cover.  

 

All went very well over the week and for Thursday’s show I had the pleasure of flying with Art Moore, vice president of programming and executive in charge of production for the show.  He was a very nice fellow and enjoyed the experience of viewing his show from 1000 feet above.  Art communicated live from the airship with Regis and Kelly on the set below.  We planned and tested our equipment to allow him to be on the air from the blimp during the open of the show.  About two minutes before airtime, one piece of our equipment failed and we lost the picture.  James Wilson, my chief radio and TV technician, saved the day by fixing the problem with literally seconds to spare.

We had great look-ups at the blimp during the show all week, and the LIVE team was as excited to have us there as we were to be there.  Our team on the ground even got to meet American Idol finalist Matt Giraud.

 All in all, a very productive and fun week.  Always nice to do something different…

Latin Billboard Awards with Guest Writer: Pilot Corky Belanger

As the first guest on Marty’s Goodyear blimp blog, I must say I’m excited. This is my first time writing a blog…ever.

On April 23, I had the pleasure of flying the 20^th Annual Latin Billboard Awards at the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami.  I was told I would have a guest fly along with me for live coverage inside the blimp.  It turned out that Natalia Villaveces, a host and producer for Telemundo Nitido, had the honor of going for her first blimp ride. We launched from our base here in Pompano Beach, Florida, and headed south.  Natalia, not knowing what to expect from her first flight on the blimp, was a bit nervous.  She enjoyed the beautiful scenic flight down the shoreline and took many pictures so she could post them on her blog and write about her experience.

When we arrived at the show, the red carpet was packed with media, celebrities, and fans trying to get a glimpse of their favorite Latin stars.  As Natalia helped me with the stars’ names and their backgrounds, she hurried to get ready for her live TV hit.  Suddenly, I realized I was a bit nervous as the language coming over the radio from Telemundo’s production team was Spanish!  Natalia translated for me, and I knew if I just kept the airship circling the red carpet, she would take care of the rest.

After a very successful show, we watched the fireworks above the red carpet and headed back to home base. I think Natalia enjoyed the flight just as much as I did and we hope to have her back next year. Now I’m on my way to buy the Spanish edition of Rosetta Stone and hope to be able to communicate back for next year’s show!

Teaching a Marlin to Fly

 The plan for today was to tape a segment for Billy’s Bunch.  For those not familiar with Billy’s Bunch, this is a very popular children’s program that features “Billy the Marlin,” the mascot for the Florida Marlins.

The concept for the show was that Billy wanted to become an airship pilot; I would teach him and then give him a check ride.  Now, I have trained several actual pilots in airship flight, but a Major League Baseball mascot in full costume was a first.  

Since Billy cannot “speak” and only communicates with animated gestures and whistles, the flight became very interesting. 

We launched and flew out over the ocean and I let Billy take the wheel for a bit.  I communicated with mainly hand gestures, since Billy couldn’t wear a headset.  He couldn’t hear me, but he did well.  The producer in the backseat got a little nervous when I had Billy dive the airship toward the ocean, but all in good fun.

At the end of the day, we determined that Billy had potential but needed more practice and had to continue to study and keep his grades up to become a Goodyear Blimp Pilot!

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.