Airship "Spirit of America" Christening

On September, 2002

At Goodyear's Wingfoot Lake Airship Base at Suffield, OH.

The Goodyear airship, "Eagle", based in Carson City, CA was being retired and replaced by "Spirit of America".

On this occasion, four airships were in attendance at Akron and flew together as the largest group of Goodyear airships at one location at any time during the last forty years.

 

Above left: Airships "Eagle" based in California, "Stars and Stripes" based in Florida, and "Spirit of Goodyear" based at Akron, cruise over the Wingfoot Lake Base hangar awaiting "Spirit of America" christening and her joining them for a flight of four airships. 

Above right:  Airship "Eagle" positions her shadow over the hangar containing the to be christened "Spirit of America" which will replace "Eagle" for the next several years in California. 

 

Above left,  "Spirit of America", attached to her mooring mast, awaits movement from the hangar while at right, the crew is positioned in the control car. 

 

 Above left and right are views of the left and rear of the control car.

     

Above left is the rear view of the ship prior to its' movement out for its maiden flight.

Above right shows a section of the more than 160,000 LEDs which are positioned on both sides of the ship.  There is the capability of presenting fixed or moving messages and images during the day or night. 

   

At left is the lower fin and rudder.  At right, "Spirit of America" is moved out of the hangar following her christening. 

   

 "Spirit of America" is launched and climbs out to join her sister ships, "Eagle", "Stars and Stripes" and "Spirit of Goodyear".

   

At left is Don with Ren Brown, retired Goodyear pilot.  Ren flew airships fifty years ago.  Don worked here at Wingfoot Lake sixty years ago during his high school years.

At right, "Spirit of Goodyear" cuts out of the formation, preparing to land.  The ship had been flying for about five hours.

 

Having burned several hundred pounds of fuel, the ship is very light here and must execute a "light landing" maneuver.  The ship must head into the wind with nose down while applying a lot of engine power in order to approach the landing crew. The crew must grab the bow handling lines until they can secure the control car onto the ground.  Passengers would then be added or replaced, fuel replenished, or lead shot ballast put aboard in order to bring the ship into near neutral buoyancy, prior to again going aloft.

 

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