Goodyear blimp returns
By Barbara A. Schmitz
 "Follow me to
Oshkosh."
The Goodyear blimp said
it succinctly Sunday as it flashed the message below to aviation
enthusiasts preparing for today’s opening of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
2007.
The Spirit of Goodyear
arrived at the fly-in and convention grounds Sunday night, following an
earlier appearance at a Brewers versus San Francisco Giants game at
Milwaukee’s Miller Park. But it advertised Oshkosh during the game and
its four-hour flight here as it cruised at about 30 mph at between 1,000
and 3,000 feet.
One thing is certain: It
is difficult to miss. The airship is 192 feet long and nearly 60 feet
tall. It is equipped with more than 165,000 computer-controlled LEDs,
flashing messages and photos.
It will be on the
AirVenture site through July 27, moored near Pioneer Airport for
up-close viewing when it’s not flying.
A Goodyear blimp last
visited EAA AirVenture in 1988. However, this is the first visit of the Spirit
of Goodyear since it was christened and placed into service in March
2000.
Based at Goodyear’s
Wingfoot Lake Airship facility in Suffield, Ohio, its name honors the
employees of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The airship primarily
travels throughout an area of the United States bordered by the Rocky
Mountains to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Gulf of
Mexico to the south, and Canada to the north. |
