Speaking of Blimps...

Above, Spirit of America in Carson, California in 2012. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Speaking of blimps (i.e., the Sao Paulo blimp crash), I paid a visit to the Carson, California Goodyear blimp airship operations field back in 2012. There, the Goodyear blimp Spirit of America was moored. 

I took a few pictures of it.

Above, another view of the Spirit of America in 2012. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Spirit of American was replaced by its sister ship, Spirit of Innovation in 2015. This was the interim period before the new semi-rigid generation of Goodyear blimps were put into service.

According to GoodyearBlimp.com:

Carson, CA, July 26, 2015 – Goodyear Airship Operations is retiring its Los Angeles-based Goodyear blimp "Spirit of America." The GZ-20A model airship will be decommissioned in mid-August 2015. The blimp will be replaced in the Los Angeles market by its twin ship "Spirit of Innovation" in late September 2015. The transition is taking place as Goodyear celebrates 90 years of lighter-than-air publicity and introduces a new fleet of high-tech, next generation NT Zeppelin model airships.

Goodyear invites the community to get a final up-close look at the blimp during a retirement celebration, which will be held on Friday, August 7 and Saturday, August 8 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. The event will be free to the public. RSVP at http://goodyearblimp.eventbrite.com.

"Spirit of America" has continued to provide aerial coverage to a series of final events in July including the ESPYS, Crossfit Games and Special Olympics World Games LA 2015 Opening Ceremony. Its final months have involved a 29-day West Coast Tour from Los Angeles to Olympia, Washington for the U.S. Open in June; an honorary flight with NFL Arizona Cardinals 2015 draft pick Gerald Christian for Irrelevant Week on July 9; and an exclusive ground tour for more than 110 Special Olympics World Games athletes representing five countries at the Carson blimp base on July 23. 

"Spirit of America"

Christened on Sept. 5, 2002

Retiring August 10, 2015

Above, a zoom shot of the Spirit of America gondola. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before moving to New Mexico in 2018, I did get some photos of the new Wingfoot Two in Carson.

Here's one:

During my 2015 trip to Japan, I did see a blimp in Tokyo:

Above, an advertising blimp (MetLife) near Asakusa, Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Blimp Rides: Maybe Now Is Not The Time?

Who else worries that President Biden, to demonstrate his toughness, might overreact?  - Larry Elder.

Above, Goodyear blimp "Wingfoot Two" in Carson, California. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Maybe now is not the time to take a ride aboard the Goodyear blimp?

A Little L.A. Goodyear Blimp History

Above, the new Los Angeles-based Wingfoot Two in December 2017. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The new Los Angeles Goodyear blimp, Wingfoot Two, is not a blimp technically. It is a semi-rigid airship larger than the Goodyear blimps of the past.

As it has framing inside the envelope, it requires some protection from the elements. The former blimps sat out in an open field in Carson, California. It replaced the last real blimp, the Spirit of America in 2017.

A new inflatable hangar was introduced last year. For details, go here.

Above, Goodyear blimp Columbia at Point Mugu circa 1967. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the Spirit of America in Carson, California in 2013. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The old blimps in Los Angeles weren't always out in the open. Decades ago, there was a big Goodyear plant in South-Central Los Angeles and there was a blimp hangar, or dock near the Florence Ave. side of the plant. We used to pass by it often, but we never saw a blimp inside.

Here is what the old blimp dock looked like:

Above, this was Building 57, known as the airship dock at the
 then-Los Angeles Goodyear plant. National Park Service photo.

A side note: Just before the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, I attended a baseball game at Dodger Stadium. During the game, two Goodyear blimps circled the stadium. Besides the Goodyear blimp based in Los Angeles, Columbia, another blimp (America) was brought over by Goodyear to also cover the Olympics.

Goodyear Blimp "Wingfoot Two"

Above, Wingfoot Two in Carson, California. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since I am going to be renting a dumpster next week to clear out junk that has accumulated over the years, in preparation for my move at the end of the month, my roommate Jess decided that it would best for her to spend a few days at her mom's in Orange County.

While I was driving her there, we passed the Carson, California Goodyear Airship Operations station that sits next to the freeway. As luck would have it, the new Los Angeles Goodyear blimp, Wingfoot Two, was sitting out in the open. Had I thought of it, I would have brought along my Canon camera to take some zoom shots of it. At least I had my phone/camera with me.

I decided that if it is still there on my return trip, I would snap some photos.

As I was driving the RV, I didn't see that the station had enough parking space for it. It didn't matter as the blimp was facing the station. I found a side road where I pulled off to the side and snapped my photos through a chain-ink fence.

Here's three of them:

Above, Wingfoot Two from the I-405 freeway. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Wingfoot Two. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Wingfoot Two. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Goodbye, Spirit of America

The Goodyear blimp, Spirit of America took its final flight on Monday.

It was flown from the Carson blimp station to the Tustin Hangar for decommissioning. A new blimp (actually a semi-rigid dirigible) will take its place in 2016.

Above, the Spirit of America. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Goodyear Blimps At Airships.net

Above, the Goodyear blimp Columbia over Point Mugu in 1967. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For those of you who are fans of airships (blimps and zeppelins), a website (http://www.airships.net/) that should satisfy your passion.

Above, Columbia at Point Mugu in 1967. This blimp was in service from 1963 to 1969. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The page that intrigues me is one on the history of the Goodyear blimps. This pages has the history of all Goodyear blimps including photographs. Goodyear recently put into service their first semi-rigid zeppelin, Wingfoot One.

Above, the current L.A. Goodyear blimp, Spirit of America, at its base in Carson. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Goodyear blimp page at Airships.net can be reached by going here: http://www.airships.net/goodyear-blimp

Goodyear Unveils Newest Generation Blimp and Contest to Name It

Above, the Spirit of America at its base in Carson, California is one of the blimps to be retired. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company unveiled its newest generation of blimps Friday.

According to the Mercury News:

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- The next generation of the well-known Goodyear blimp is getting ready to take flight as the company moves toward replacing its old fleet of airships with a new trio. 

The helium-filled airship, assembled at an Akron-area hangar and unveiled there Friday, is bigger, quicker and more maneuverable than earlier models, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. said. 

The 246-foot airship fits 12 passengers and has a semi-rigid internal skeleton, a feature that wasn't present in earlier models and raises questions about whether it is truly a blimp, though the company still refers to it as such. The structure is covered by a silver, balloon-like body emblazoned with Goodyear's yellow logo on a blue background.  

It can travel at up to 73 mph and has custom computer-controlled avionics, an upgrade from the manual flight system used by the blimp pilots since the 1920s, the company said. It plans to build two more.

Also, Goodyear announced that the public is invited to join in on a contest to name the new blimp. The winner will be awarded "personal use" of the blimp for a day. For contest details, go here.

To read more and to see the new blimp, go here. 

Pentagon To Launch Blimps To Guard Against Cruise Missiles

Above, a Goodyear blimp in Carson, California. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

An article caught my attention (and a friend will find this interesting as well).

CBS News reported:

THE PENTAGON -- The Pentagon has discovered a gap in the defenses of Washington, D.C., and it's about to test a solution. 

But depending on your point of view, the solution is either vital for national security or a threat to American privacy. 

Starting this fall, two blimps will float at 10,000 feet over the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland in an attempt to develop a defense for the nation's capital against cruise missiles fired from ships offshore.

My friend is a blimp fan and he'd love to see a lot of blimps floating around. Maybe the Pentagon will accommodate him?

To read more, go here.

Goodyear Airship Operations - Carson, CA

Above, the "Spirit of America."  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area, you may want to take a drive down to the juncture of the Harbor (I-110) and San Diego (I-405) Freeways in Carson.

There, you will find the Goodyear Airship Operations base where the Goodyear blimp, Spirit of America is based.  (See map below.)  You may be lucky to see the blimp moored there as I was last month.

Above, the "Spirit of America" moored at its Carson base.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For the Goodyear blimp website, go here.

"Spirit of America"

On the way back to the San Fernando Valley from the L.A. Travel & Adventure Show in Long Beach, I stopped off at the base in Carson, California of the Goodyear blimp Spirit of America.

The blimp's base is near the interchange of the Harbor (I-110) and San Diego (I-405) Freeways.  It can be easily seen from these freeways.  I figured if the blimp is moored at its base, I'd stop and snap a few photos.

According to Goodyear's airship website:

The Spirit of America was christened September 5, 2002 during a ceremony in Akron, Ohio. The name of the ship was chosen as a tribute to the patriotic spirit of the United States. Performing the christening was Mrs. Letitia Driscoll, mother of NYPD Officer Stephen Driscoll, who was killed in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on Sept.11, 2001.

In addition to the four pilots, the Spirit of America operation has a crew of 16 including aircraft mechanics, radio and television technicians, riggers, heavy-duty maintenance mechanics, ground handlers, and a public relations manager. Three support vehicles complement the Spirit of America's operations, including an 18-wheel tractor-trailer mobile maintenance vehicle, a 22- person MCI bus, and a nine-passenger van.

Here's my photos: