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.

Sao Paulo, Brazil Blimp Crash

I have a friend in L.A. who is a blimp fanatic. He's not going to like this!

 

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 "Columbia" At Point Mugu

Back in the 1960s, Goodyear operated two blimps, the Mayflower (based on the east coast) and Columbia (N2A) (based in the Los Angeles area).

In late 1967, we went to the annual Point Mugu Airshow at the navy base near Oxnard, California.  The Goodyear blimp Columbia was there and I took these photos of it with my Kodak Instamatic 104 camera.

Above, the Goodyear blimp "Columbia" rising up over the Point Mugu runway.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a few seconds after the first photo, the blimp flies further down the runway.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, "Columbia" flies over the Point Mugu Airshow crowd.  Unfortunately, the photo is damaged.
Photo by Armand Vaquer.

My grandmother always wanted to take a ride on the blimp (you can never get her in an airplane, though), but she never did.

What really happened to the Hindenburg...

A friend (who happens to be an airship enthusiast) sent me this: