Our June program featured a lecture by Captain William Bayliss on the history of the Goodyear blimps and the new Goodyear Wingfoot Two Zeppelin. Bill shared some amazing facts about these magnificent airships which have been flying around the South Bay for decades and used by Goodyear for advertising since 1925. Back then, Goodyear launched a blimp called the Pilgrim and over the past 90 years dozens of blimps of various types have served as “Goodyear Blimps.” But now, for the first time in its long history, the “Goodyear Blimp” technically isn't a blimp at all as they've recently replaced its fleet with semi-rigid Zeppelin NT airships. Unlike a blimp, which has no internal structure and maintains its shape from the pressure of the gas inside, the Zeppelin is built around a framework of high-strength, lightweight carbon-fiber and aluminum, and all the ship’s major components — cabin, engines, and tail assembly — are mounted on the rigid structure. Plus, as Bill happily reported, the new zeppelin is also significantly faster than the old blimps; the new airship has a maximum operating speed of 73 mph (compared with the 50 mph for the blimps).
Thanks again to Captain Bill and we look forward to sharing the South bay skies when the airship returns from it's scheduled annual in Akron, Ohio! Captain Bill might be returning in the brand-new Wingfoot 3.