Spirit of Goodyear to bow out at Daytona 500

The oldest Goodyear Blimp is going down to Florida to retire.

For the past 14 years, the Spirit of Goodyear — based in Akron, Ohio — has logged more than 41,000 hours in the sky, carried celebrities, provided stunning views of some of the most exciting events in athletics and elicited countless shouts from spectators of “Look, it’s the Goodyear Blimp.”

“We’ve done every sport there is — except curling,” said Edward Ogden, the blimp’s spokesman.

The iconic airship will take its final ride Sunday during the Daytona 500, accompanied by its sister airship the Spirit of Innovation, which is based in Pompano Beach. After the checkered flag drops, the Spirit of Goodyear will be disassembled, and the helium that keeps it afloat will be recaptured.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is hoping to find a museum to display the airship’s gondola, which hangs underneath the blimp and carries the crew. The company headquartered in Akron also is working with the Guinness Book of World Records to apply for the record of longest continuously operated airship.

The tire company is building a faster and more agile airship to replace the Spirit of Goodyear that will be able to accommodate more passengers. The company maintains a North American fleet of three airships. A third blimp — called the Spirit of America — is based in Carson, Calif., near Los Angeles. Goodyear has budgeted $60 million to replace the fleet, starting with the Spirit of Goodyear, Ogden said.

Because the Spirit of Goodyear is being retired in South Florida, two Goodyear blimps will be at the Daytona 500, which is normally covered by only one airship. The company has been providing tires to NASCAR for 60 years, marking one of the longest relationships in sports.

This week, the airship ferried a cab full of passengers from the New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport to Daytona International Speedway and back. The gondola rocked back and forth as the ground crew held lines to keep the airship steady. Then the blimp floated upward.

“You don’t get too many days better than this for flying,” said Michael Dougherty, who has been piloting the blimp for seven years.

He climbed to an altitude of 1,000 feet and piloted the airship parallel to the coastline. The engines buzzed, and the wind blew through the open front windows. The 34-year-old pilot turned an elevator wheel on the floor with his right hand to control altitude and used two rudder pedals at his feet to steer the airship. Dougherty compared flying the blimp to steering a large boat.

The Ponce Inlet Lighthouse peaked up above a canopy of green. In the distance, the Kennedy Space Center punctured the horizon. The blimp drifted over the ocean, and down below, ripples of white-capped waves crashed onto the shore. A few sailboats interrupted the seemingly endless expanse of blue. A trio of dolphins poked their heads above the azure water. Tiny beachgoers frolicked in the sand, flanked by a row of condos and hotels.

The airship cruised at a speed of about 30 mph. Blimp travel isn’t about speed, and the Spirit of Goodyear tops out at about 50 mph. Dougherty said he once spent 14 hours in the airship flying against a strong headwind from Akron to Louisville, Ky., for the Kentucky Derby, a lengthy flight made less pleasant by the blimp’s lack of restroom facilities.

Getting a chance to pilot the airship seems like a dream job for many. Pilot-in-training Kyle Thompson said some people he meets don’t believe him when he tells them he flies the Goodyear Blimp. The 24-year-old Kent State University graduate said flying “low and slow” in a blimp is a less automated form of aviation.

“It’s a very romantic way to fly, you can feel every movement beneath you.” – Kyle Thompson

When it comes to marketing, the Goodyear Blimp is the original social media — broadcasting the tire company to a large audience at countless events. It’s been one of the most successful marketing tools ever, Ogden said.

Goodyear flew its first blimps in the 1920s and built airships to patrol America’s coasts during World War II. In 1955, Goodyear covered its first event — the Rose Bowl and Parade. Since then, the airship has covered the Olympics, college football bowl games, the NBA Finals, the U.S. Open golf tournament and other big-name competitions.

Rides are by invitation only and typically offered to sales clients and for charity. Debbie Aaron, 50, who works for a charter company at the airport, was lucky enough to snag a ride on the blimp this week.

“You forget how beautiful the area is until you see it from a different perspective,” Aaron said. “It was a postcard up there.”

via – News-JournalOnline.com.