Blimps Gallery
PHOTOS (54)
Toys for Tots collection at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's blimp hangar in Suffield Ohio.
Robin Roberts, co-anchor of ABC TV's "Good Morning America" prior to christening The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One, on August 23, 2014.
Sunrise beckons on the Spirit of Innovation blimp at the Goodyear Airship hangar at Wingfoot Lake Park in Suffield, Ohio.
Inside Goodyear's Wingfoot Lake hangar, near Sufield, Ohio, the airship Spirit of America stands watch over the envelope of what would become Goodyear's newest blimp.
The Spirit of Goodyear blimp soars over The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's Wingfoot Lake airship base near Suffield, Ohio.
Goodyear's new fleet of semi-rigid airships grows by one with the completion of Wingfoot Two, seen here on the mast at Wingfoot Lake next to her sister ship, Wingfoot One, now based in Pompano Beach, Fl.
GZ20A blimp Spirit of Innovation (SOI) flies in formation with new model semi-rigid "blimp" Wingfoot One. Note the tail number on SOI is N4A, changed from its originally assigned N2A, as that number was made available for use on the second semi-rigid model, Wingfoot Two.
Sitting in the rumble seat of Wingfoot Two, the 2016 NBA Championship Larry O'Brien trophy, won by the Cleveland Cavaliers in a rugged post season battle with the Golden State Warriors, gets the best view out the back window.
Looking down on championship city Cleveland, Wingfoot Two provided live aerial views on June 22, 2016 of 1.3 million cheering fans as the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers earned a place in NBA history by defeating the Golden State Warriors in 7 games.
Looking down on championship city Cleveland, Wingfoot Two provided live aerial views on June 22, 2016 of 1.3 million cheering fans as the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers earned a place in NBA history by defeating the Golden State Warriors in 7 games.
Looking down on championship city Cleveland, Wingfoot Two provided live aerial views on June 22, 2016 of 1.3 million cheering fans as the 2016 NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers earned a place in NBA history by defeating the Golden State Warriors in 7 games.
The newest model Goodyear airship sits outside the hangar at Wingfoot Lake.
Goodyear's newest model airship, a semi-rigid Zeppelin design, flies above the world headquarters for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, Ohio.
A night landing at Wingfoot Lake. Wingfoot One makes it look easy.
Wingfoot One hovers above Daytona International Speedway. Goodyear is the official tire of NASCAR.
Wingfoot One is captured between a flock of birds and a USAF Thunderbird. Slow, slower and really fast.
Savannah James (LeBron James Family Foundation)
Four Goodyear blimps fly in formation over the company's Wingfoot Lake airship hangar near Suffield, Ohio following the christening of the Spirit of America in 2002.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's blimp Defender became the first airship in the world to carry a lighted sign. Named Neon-O-Gram, 10 removable aluminum framed panels were attached to the side of the Defender allowing a static text to be displayed using neon light tubes. Each frame weighed 35 pounds and stood six feet tall and four feet wide.
Spirit of Goodyear Blimp---- ned Number 41-2000-01
Nitesign side
Beginning in 1940, it wasn't unusual for a blimp to tow a banner or talk! Banner-towing Goodyear blimps would occasionally advertise commercial offerings such as soft drinks.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One, flies over the Akron Innovation Center in as part of its first flight on March 17, 2014.
In 1940, equipped with a record player, microphone and attached loudspeaker, the Goodyear blimps Reliance and Ranger would blimpcast recordings and live greetings to the public below.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp flies over the company's headquarters during its first flight on March 17, 2014.
Lesa France Kennedy (left), president of International Speedway Corp. and a member of NASCAR's Board of Directors, christens The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's Spirit of Innovation blimp along with Lynn Keegan, wife of then Chairman Bob Keegan.
Just two years after his harrowing solo transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis, Charles Lindbergh enjoyed a more leisurely ride in the Volunteer, Goodyear's blimp based in Los Angeles. Like other early airships, the Volunteer carried four passengers and a pilot. The Defender was a frequent visitor to the Rose Bowl and, in 1932, the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Robin Roberts, co-anchor of ABC TV's "Good Morning America" in the gondola of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One. Roberts christened the new blimp on August 23, 2014.
Matthew and Kristi Harrelson, with daughters Kaitlin and Kendra. Harrelson won The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's first-ever Name the Blimp contest with his entry, "Spirit of Innovation" in 2006.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One, flies over the new corporate headquarters building in Akron, Ohio as part of its first flight on March 17, 2014.
Four Goodyear blimps fly over Akron, Ohio, home to The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's corporate headquarters.
Dr. Karl Arnstein, designer of the airships U.S.S. Akron and U.S.S. Macon and the Goodyear Airdock in Akron, Ohio, stands a safe distance behind his wife as she christens the Goodyear blimp Mayflower on May 22, 1929.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp is 246 feet long, 54 feet longer than its predecessor. It is just 18 yards shorter than an American football field.
Robin Roberts, co-anchor of ABC TV's "Good Morning America," christens The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One, on August 23, 2014.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's airship, Spirit of America, flies over Graceland - home of late music legend Elvis Presley - in Memphis.
Goodyear's Pilgrim, built in 1925, was the first commercial non-rigid airship flown using helium. With a landing wheel replacing bumper bags and the first passenger car held flush against its bag by internal cables, Pilgrim's contributions to aeronautics were recognized by the Smithsonian Institution, which exhibited the airship as a milestone in aviation progress. The mast, called a belly mooring, was an experimental portable design developed in 1930 to enable cross-country operations independent of permanent hangars.
With the shell of the Goodyear Airdock rising in the background, the Goodyear blimp Mayflower is christened in 1929. The ship was named after the America Cup defenders in international yachting, as were the Puritan, Volunteer, Vigilant and Defender. Mayflower became the first Florida-based Goodyear airship.
Goodyear's original Akron-based blimp fleet launched from Wingfoot Lake on Nov. 4, 1930, and flew in formation over Akron and the Goodyear Airdock. The aerial blimp parade included the Pilgrim, Neponset, Vigilant, Mayflower, Defender and Puritan.
Famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart (holding beaker) christened the Goodyear blimp Defender in 1929 at the National Air Races in Cleveland.
For the first time in the history of its airship program, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, in 2006, launched a blimp without an official name. Instead, the company unveiled the blimp at its airship base near Suffield, Ohio, bearing the world's largest nametag, and launching a nationwide contest to name the new blimp.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One, in flight over Akron, Ohio following its christening on August 23, 2014.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest addition to its airship fleet, Wingfoot One, is 246 feet long, 54 feet longer than its predecessor.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One, flies over some of the more than 2,000 people who attended its christening on August 23, 2014.
A crowd of more than 2,000 gather at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's airship hangar in Suffield, Ohio for the christening of Wingfoot One on August 23, 2014.
The new Goodyear Blimp as it was being built at the company's Wingfoot Lake Hangar in Suffield, Ohio. This is the first of a project to build new-design airships to replace The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's current fleet of blimps.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, Wingfoot One, in flight over the company's Akron headquarters.
The Airship Akron, circa 1911, with the lifeboat attached.
Wingfoot One, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's newest blimp, flies over the company's airship hangar at Wingfoot Lake in Suffield, Ohio.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's new Goodyear NT(New Technology) airship as it was under construction at the company's Wingfoot Lake blimp base near Akron, Ohio.
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's Wingfoot Lake Airship Hangar in Suffield, Ohio.
The new Goodyear Blimp as it was built at the company's Wingfoot Lake Hangar in Suffield, Ohio. This is the first of a project to build new-design airships to replace The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company's current fleet of blimps.
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