Goodyear (airship)

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Four Goodyear blimps

Along with Zeppelin, Goodyear is a long-established company in airship construction and operation. The company can look back on an uninterrupted history of airship production, including in cooperation with Zeppelin, and had a similar importance in impact airship construction as Zeppelin in rigid airship construction. According to its own information, the company manufactured more than 347 airships from 1917 to 1995, 239 of them on the Wingfoot Lake airship base .

history

Beginnings

Goodyear built the first balloon in 1912. In the same year it also made the envelope for the Akron airship , which, however, would kill five men a little later. The following year, Goodyear's long history of balloon construction and flight began. In 1916, Goodyear bought some land southeast of Akron for use as a manufacturing facility and airfield. Construction of US military airships began in 1917 when the US Navy ordered 16 Type B impact airships . Nine of these were built by Goodyear, five by Goodrich and two by Connecticut Aircraft .

A famous employee in the early 1920s was the American airship pioneer Thomas Scott Baldwin .

The civil blimp " Pilgrim ", which was built in 1925, is considered to be the ancestor of all modern impact airships . It had a volume of 1560 m³ and a radial engine in the rear of the nacelle. The gondola was attached directly to the hull. The Pilgrim made 4,765 trips, then it was transferred to the Smithsonian Museum .

Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation

In 1924 the joint venture Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation was founded, in which the German Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH held a third. When the company was founded, all Zeppelin airship patents were transferred to the newly founded joint venture .

By 1941 Goodyear had built a fleet of eleven civil impact airships. They had envelope volumes of up to 5200 m³ and could carry six to ten passengers. Between 1925 and 1941, these ships carried 151,800 journeys in 93,000 hours on a distance of 6.75 million kilometers without accidents, 405,500 passengers. They were also used for flight training, material tests or the development of flight operations. The airships visited many cities and already had moving illuminated advertising on the hull. They monitored traffic, helped fishermen and were used in forest fires and floods.

In 1928 the Good Year Zeppelin Co. was awarded a contract to build two large airships , the USS Akron and USS Macon , valued at eight million dollars.

After the Second World War

In the mid-1940s, the company sponsored a transcontinental airship project. In addition to a luxury version for 112 and a regular version for 288 passengers, a version as a transport airship was also considered, which should transport up to 90 tons of cargo within the airship deck. In 1947 Hugo Eckener even worked as a consultant for this project for seven months. However, due to a lack of government funding, the idea never got beyond the conception phase.

Even after World War II, Goodyear continued to manufacture military airships for the US Navy. Among other things, Goodyear built the world's largest impact airship, the ZPG-3W . An airship of this type, of which four were built, was the last military airship Goodyear delivered to Lakehurst on April 4, 1960 .

After that, only civilian airships were built, known as "Goodyear Blimps". No other airship is so closely associated with the name "Blimp". These small advertising airships have been featured in various films and can often be seen at major events, where they also function as relay stations and camera platforms for radio broadcasts. Goodyear operated up to eight airships simultaneously after the Second World War.

In May 1959 the company made a name for itself by presenting a study of an impact airship powered by nuclear power, which should have a long range and could have been used primarily for surveillance purposes. A two-story airship gondola would have been attached to the bow, while the nuclear reactor would have been attached to the middle of the ship. However, the study was not pursued any further and the airship was therefore not realized.

Sale of airship production

The “Goodyear Aerospace Corporation” was sold to Loral ( Loral Defense Systems Inc. ) in 1987 and to Lockheed Martin in the early 1990s, including the type certificates for the GZ-20 and GZ-22 airships . The existing Goodyear airships will continue to be serviced by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and refurbished from time to time. However, no more ships are being built.

In 2005, three Goodyear Blimps of the type GZ-20 were stationed in North America, the "Stars and Stripes", christened on June 18, 1998, the "Spirit of America" ​​(type: GZ-20A) on September 5, 2002 in Akron , Ohio, and the Spirit of Goodyear (Type GZ-20A-N3A) was baptized on March 15, 2000.

Purchase of Zeppelin NT airships

The Zeppelin NT Wingfoot One , shortly before the christening

At the beginning of 2011, Zeppelin announced that Goodyear had ordered three Zeppelin NT , which would strengthen Goodyear's advertising airship fleet and replace older airships. This also revived a long tradition of collaboration between Zeppelin and Goodyear. The first Zeppelin Wingfoot One made its maiden flight on March 17, 2014. It replaces the Goodyear Blimp Spirit of Goodyear , type GZ-20A, which ended its service in October 2013 at the Wingfoot Lake airship base .

Wingfoot Two was presented to the public on April 8, 2016 in the Wingfoot hangar.

Airship fleet

Goodyear blimps

The "Puritan" 1933
Goodyear Blimp N2A Europe 1972
N3A "Stars & Stripes" 1995

The following list contains an incomplete list of airships that were and are used civilly. In some cases, blimps were given to the military or received back. Due to the modifications and re-use of gondolas and hulls on other similar airships, the history of the naming and continuity is not always completely understandable or contradicting the sources. In addition, some of the airships were renamed depending on their location. For military airships see: US military airship .

  • The “Wingfoot Air Express” caught fire on its third voyage over Chicago. Four of the five people on board carried parachutes, three survived the jump. The fuel tanks fell on fire on a bench with 150 employees. A total of 11 dead and 28 injured.
  • Goodyear Pony Blimp 1920-1923; Length: 95 feet and powered by a Ford Model "T" engine. The engine, pilot and up to two passengers were housed in an open gondola that was suspended under the cover. Carrying gas: hydrogen. The term pony blimp also appears in connection with other small airships of this time.
  • " Pilgrim " 1925–1931, first Goodyear commercial blimp; first commercial helium-filled airship
  • "Puritan" 1928; second Goodyear promotional blimp; first airship from Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation
  • “Volunteer” NC-8A maiden voyage: April 27, 1929; 128 feet long, D = 36 feet, volume 86,000 cft helium. until the end of 1929; afterwards conversion with a larger shell and stronger engine; later further modifications and changes to the skin.
  • "Resolute" 1929, from 1942 with the US Navy designation L-4
  • "Enterprise" training airship at the time of World War II in the US Navy, L-Class : L-5
  • "Defender" 1929, sold to the US Navy on October 5, 1935; there with the designation G-1; lost in a collision with L-1 on June 8, 1942.
  • "Reliance" training airship at the time of the Second World War in the US Navy, there L-Class: L-5
  • "Rainbow" training airship at the time of World War II in the US Navy, L-Class there: probably L-7
  • "Ranger" (NC-10A); sold to the US Navy on February 1, 1941, L-Class: L-2
  • "Neponset"
  • "Vigilant"
  • Mayflower
    • "Mayflower", baptized: May 22nd, 1929 by Mrs. Arnstein, wife of Dr. Karl Arnstein after a yacht from the Americas Cup. On November 4, 1930, the Goodyear Blimps Pilgrim, Neponset, Vigilant, Mayflower, Defender and Puritan took part in an airship parade.
    • "Mayflower IV", case number D-219; completed on May 24, 1948; The envelope was from L-8
    • "Mayflower II" 1960; 132,500 cft
    • "Mayflower" (new ship from 1963, picture 1973 with identification N1A, type GZ-19A)
    • "Mayflower" (ship during the filming of "Help" in the Bahamas from February 1965 with registration N4A)
  • "America" ​​(N10A) maiden voyage: April 25, 1969; baptized September 23, 1969 by Mrs. Charles Hooks, Jr. of Houston; Envelope # D-640 at 202,700 cft; L-8 gondola converted to GZ-20 standard; drove until the end of 1973; then a new hull (D-643) was installed and flight operations continued until mid-1982. The ship was then disarmed and replaced by N3A "America.
  • "Columbia" 1968–1992 (N4A), since Jan 25, 1968, stationed at the Goodyear airship base in Carson / California.
  • "Eagle" 1992–2002, based in Carson / California; The Eagle replaced the "Columbia" and was itself replaced by the "Spirit of America".
  • "Stars & Stripes" (N3A) was replaced in 1998 by the "Stars & Stripes" of the same name with the identifier N1A
  • " Spirit of Akron " (N4A), type GZ-22, first flight 1987, last airship built by Goodyear, irreparably damaged on October 22, 1999 and then replaced by the "Spirit of Goodyear".
  • "Stars and Stripes", christened on June 18, 1998, (N1A) Type GZ-20A stationed in Pompano Beach , Florida replaced the ship of the same name and technically almost identical with the designation N3A. The measurements were 192 ft long, 50 ft wide and 59.5 ft high. The "Stars & Stripes" had an accident on June 16, 2005 at 6:42 pm (Eastern daylight time) in Coral Springs / Florida in a severe thunderstorm. After the weather was too bad for landing and the thunderstorm had reached the destination Pompano Beach Airpark , where the ship had also started at 3:30 p.m., the pilot wanted to avoid the storm. However, this did not succeed. The ship got out of control in the heavy thunderstorm and had to make an emergency landing in an industrial park. It also interrupted some power lines, which led to a power outage for around 1,400 residents. The two occupants were not injured, but the airship was damaged. After the emergency landing, the helium was released from the envelope immediately.
  • "Spirit of America" ​​(Type: GZ-20A) was christened on September 5, 2002 in Akron, Ohio. Godmother was Letitia Driscoll, mother of NYPD officer Stephen Driscoll, who died in the World Trade Center collapse on September 11, 2001. The ship operates from Carson (California) between Long Beach and Downtown Los Angeles . The "Spirit of America" ​​replaced the "Eagle", which was previously stationed at the same location. On the night of December 3, 2003, the airship landed in a tree nursery while attempting to land. The two crew members got away with minor wounds, but the damage was so severe that the airship was only able to return to the Carson base 10 months later in October 2004.
  • "Spirit of Goodyear" (Type GZ-20A-N3A) was christened on March 15, 2000 by America's first female astronaut Sally Ride . She is stationed at Goodyear's Wingfoot Lake Airship Facility in Suffield Township , Ohio.

ABC blimps on behalf of Goodyear

Spirit of Europe II

Goodyear also deployed three ABC A-60 + airships built by the American Blimp Corporation and operated by The Lightship Group . (As of 2001)

  • "Spirit of Europe 1" (N2017A, No03) in Europe (crashed on June 12, 2011 in Germany)
  • "Spirit of Europe 2" (N12ZP, No12) in Europe
  • "Spirit of the Americas" (N604LG, No14) in South America

Goodyear does not commercially offer tours. Carpooling is usually given to advertisers as well as the press and the media, who then decide on their occupation.

Zeppelin NT airships (from 2014)

  • Wingfoot One (2014)
  • Wingfoot Two (2016)
  • Wingfoot Three (2018)

Technical data of the Goodyear types

GZ-20A

Goodyear airship from below

GZ stands for "Goodyear Zeppelin". The GZ-20 type is based on the K type , which was built for the US Navy during World War II.

  • Length: 58.52 m (192 ft)
  • Beam: 15.24 m (50 ft)
  • Height: 17.98 m (59.5 ft)
  • Volume: 5740 cubic meters (202,700 cft)
  • Maximum take-off mass 5824 kg (12,840 pounds)
  • Top speed: 80 km / h (50  mph )
  • Cruising speed 48 km / h (30 mph)
  • Engines: 2 × 155 kW (210 PS) air-cooled piston engines with injection
  • Propeller: two-bladed propeller, not adjustable, diameter: 1.98 m
  • Passengers: 6 + pilot
  • Flight altitude 300-1000 m (3000 m peak height)
  • Cab: aluminum welded construction with a length of 6.93 m and permanently installed chassis
  • Ladder: polyester fabric on aluminum and steel framework in "+" configuration
  • Cover: two-ply, neoprene- impregnated polyester fabric
  • Illuminated billboard: over 165,000 LEDs with more than 256 colors

GZ-22

The "Spirit of Akron" (N4A) was the only GZ-22 airship. the first flight took place in 1987, the type certificate was issued on August 31, 1989. It was damaged on October 28, 1999 when the ship landed in a group of trees after losing lifting gas. Then it was replaced by the "Spirit of Goodyear". To date (as of 2016) it is the only airship equipped with gas turbine engines ( turboprop ).

Accidents

The "Spirit of Safety" on the day of the accident over Oberursel

A serious accident occurred on the evening of June 12, 2011 near Reichelsheim in Wetterau (Hesse). The Goodyear impact airship "Spirit of Safety I" of type ABC A-60 + was completely destroyed and the pilot was killed.

The G-TLEL airship was operated by the British company The Lightship Group and used commercially for advertising purposes and sightseeing flights. Its deployment in the summer of 2011 was part of a road safety campaign by Goodyear, the Deutsche Verkehrswacht (DVW) and the Automobile Club of Germany . On the day of the accident, the "Spirit of Safety" started at around 6:08 pm from the Reichelsheim airfield for a sightseeing flight over the Hessentag site in nearby Oberursel . In addition to the 52-year-old Australian pilot, there were three journalists on board who wanted to take aerial photos.

After the return flight, when attempting to land at around 8.15 p.m., there was a hard ground contact during which the landing gear broke and the fuel system was damaged. Gasoline leaked and ignited. The three passengers were able to leave the burning airship in time. The pilot was no longer able to do this, however, as the airship quickly rose again due to its now significantly reduced weight. The ground team tried to reach the holding ropes, but came too late. After about 5 minutes it finally crashed into a nearby meadow and burned out completely. The pilot could only be recovered dead from the rubble. The three passengers suffered a shock, but were otherwise uninjured. The crash landing was probably caused by overload.

Web links

Commons : Category: Goodyear Blimps  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: Hessentag: Airship crashes on fire - pilot dies  - news

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.naval-airships.org/resources/Documents/VINTAGE.RADIO.0111.pdf accessed on December 31, 2016
  2. ↑ Peter Kleinheins, Wolfgang Meighörner (ed.): The large zeppelins - The history of airship construction . 3. revised Edition. Springer, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-540-21170-5 . Page 14
  3. ↑ K. Clausberg: Zeppelin: The story of an improbable success. Augsburg 1990, p. 172.
  4. ↑ J. Bleibler: The fifties and sixties - large airship projects in Germany and the USA. In: W. Meighörner (Ed.): Airships that were never built. Friedrichshafen 2002, p. 152 f.
  5. ↑ W. Meighörner (Ed.): Airships that were never built. Friedrichshafen 2002, p. 90 (color images).
  6. ↑ J. Bleibler: The fifties and sixties - large airship projects in Germany and the USA. In: W. Meighörner (Ed.): Airships that were never built. Friedrichshafen 2002, p. 156 f.
  7. ↑ Press release ZLT May 2011, (PDF; 51 kB) ( Memento from September 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ a b Rich Heldenfels: A new blimp is christened: Wingfoot One makes its formal debut . In: Akron Beacon Journal , August 23, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2016. 
  9. ↑ first accessed on September 13, 2016
  10. ↑ Chicago Tribune, July 22, 1919 pp. 1-3; online at http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1919/07/22/page/1/article/blimp-burns-kills-ii accessed on September 12, 2016
  11. ↑ Flight, A SPORTING dirigible; Edition: April 15, 1920; Pages 413-415; online as PDF-S.413 , PDF-S.414 and PDF-S.415 accessed on December 26, 2016
  12. ↑ http://www.catalinagoose.com/pacificmarine.html Pictures and Goodyear commercials for the Pony Blimp; Retrieved December 26, 2016
  13. ↑ BLIMPS; Aviation; October 1940 issue page 49; online behind the registration barrier in the Aviation.com archive ; Retrieved December 19, 2016
  14. ^ Photograph of the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society together with LZ126 in the hangar in Lakehurst, online at http://www.nlhs.com/uploads/2/6/6/6/26666064/9337960_orig.jpg
  15. ↑ THE GOODYEAR "PURITAN"; Flight; October 25, 1928 page 942; Online archive: https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1928/1928%20-%201020.html?search=puritan, accessed on December 21, 2016
  16. ↑ http://vintageairphotos.blogspot.de/2015/03/volunteer-at-rest.html accessed on December 24, 2016
  17. ↑ Kite Balloons to Airships ... the Navy's Lighter-than-Air Experience; (Edition on 75 Years of US Navy Aviation); Published by the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Air Warfare) and the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, Washington, DC, Edited by Roy A. Grossnick, Designed by Charles Cooney, US Government Printing Office: 1983-187-029; Page 34
  18. ↑ a b c THE NOON BALLON The Official Newsletter of THE NAVAL AIRSHIP ASSOCIATION, INC .; No. 74 Summer 2007; Pages 14–17 online as PDF , accessed on October 11, 2016.
  19. ↑ Flight International, Toodvear Aircraft Corp; Edition: August 19, 1960; Page 249; online as PDF , accessed on December 26, 2016.
  20. ↑ BeatlesArchivesHQ: The Beatles - The Filming Of Help: Home Movies in Color - GREAT CLIPS. July 24, 2012, accessed January 9, 2018 .
  21. ↑ a b c http://blogs.dailybreeze.com/history/2011/05/11/the-goodyear-blimp/ accessed on September 12, 2016
  22. ↑ http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2005-06-17/news/0506170013_1_blimp-s-two-pilots-coral-springs-fire-rescue-goodyear accessed on September 12, 2016
  23. ↑ http://edition.cnn.com/2003/US/West/12/04/blimp.crash/ accessed on September 12, 2016
  24. ↑ Current Blimps. Retrieved June 7, 2020 .
  25. ↑ Type Certificate Data Sheet No.AS1GL Lockheed Martin (Loral) GZ-22 . Federal Aviation Authority. October 1, 1997. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  26. ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/goodyear-blimp-crashes/ accessed on December 25, 2016
  27. ↑ Traffic safety campaign by Goodyear, Verkehrswacht and AvD osthessen-zeitung.de, April 18, 2011
  28. ↑ Investigation report by the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (Note: Bad Homburg is mistakenly named as the destination of the flight in the report, but the Hessentag took place in the neighboring town of Oberursel.)