New Panoramic Photographs of The Goodyear Blimp
By John Potter
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| Go straight to the panorama |
providing 210 hp thrust to move the blimp up to 40mph
I’m excited to have been allowed to photograph one of America’s great icons up close…The Goodyear Blimp!
The folks at Goodyear simply asked that I not use the photos for commercial purposes, so please don’t ask me to sell you copies. I can’t say enough nice things about these folks. I am greatly thankful for their hospitality and their patience as I asked a million questions.
This Goodyear Blimp, “The Spirit Of Innovation”, is based at The Pompano Beach Air Park. The Pompano Beach Air Park was constructed during World War II as a training field serving the Naval Air Station located at what is now The Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood Airport. After the war the city purchased the place for general aviation use. It’s a lively little airport with helicopters, corporate jets and all types of aircraft coming and going.
and the blimp of course
Goodyear has about thirty two and a half acres on the west side of the airport, including a 45,000 square foot hanger large enough to hold two fully-inflated Goodyear Blimps. Goodyear also has some administrative buildings on the premises. The thing that is amazing is that this hanger is small in comparison to the ones in Akron, Ohio.
The Spirit Of Innovation is 192 feet long, 59.5 feet tall and 50 feet wide and is supported by a crew of 16. The large tripod looking assembly is called a mooring mast and is the blimps primary connection to the ground. In the hanger you may see that it is also tethered to two vehicles, but when outside it is usually just tethered to the mast and allowed to swing freely in a 384 foot circle which demands large space requirements when the blimp lands.
To learn more about the Goodyear Blimps at http://www.goodyearblimp.com
If you go through the Blimp Anatomy section of Goodyear’s website you will be able to locate most of the parts of the blimp in the panoramic photos. Something rather surprising to me is that you can see the ballonets in the panoramic photos as darker ares in the envelope.
Once again…Thanks to the staff at the Goodyear Blimp Base in Pompano Beach, Florida.
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| Go straight to the panorama |
