Spirit of Akron

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The Spirit of Akron was the only GZ-22 airship . It was developed in the 1980s as the last type of airship by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company . While the aerospace division of the tire company with its airship production was sold to Loral Defense Systems in 1987 and to Lockheed Martin in 1996 , Goodyear also took over the operation of the airship until 1999 .

Although also developed as a technology carrier for planned military airships, the Spirit of Akron was primarily used for sightseeing tours and as a promotional airship in the Goodyear commercial blimp fleet , which is still operated by Goodyear. The airship was the first and to this day (as of early 2017) is the only airship with gas turbine engines . They were used in the form of a turboprop engine .

history

development

At the end of June 1983, publications in trade magazines already showed the appearance and announced the maiden voyage for about 2.5 years.

In addition to its later use as a tour and advertising airship, military considerations played a role in the development of the GZ-22. The airship was a demonstrator and prototype for military airship construction against the background of considerations to use airships again for early warning and surveillance tasks ( Airborne Early Warning = AEW) in the US military . Goodyear's contribution to the US Navy Airship Program (NASP) was based on the design of the AEW airship ZPG-3W manufactured by Goodyear for the US Navy in the late 1950s , with turboprop engines being provided. The GZ-22 airship was also to be used as a training airship for these future military airships. The electronic flight control system (fly-by-wire) was able to simulate the control behavior of larger airships.

The NASP contract for the development of a large AEW airship was awarded in 1987 by the US Navy to Westinghouse Airship Industries , which then also developed a technology platform of a similar size with the Sentinel 1000 . The program was launched in 1996 a. a. canceled after budget cuts.

The Spirit of Akron was built at the Goodyear site at Wingfoot Airship Base in Akron , Ohio. Due to the sale of the Goodyear airship division, both the names Goodyear GZ-22 and Loral GZ-22 are common. The former is more popular, especially since the airship was also owned by Goodyear. The second is mentioned in the type certification, later even Lockheed Martin.

business

The baptism took place on August 4, 1987. The type certificate was issued on August 31, 1989. During her service, the Spirit of Akron carried the identifier N4A. Columbia had previously carried this identifier. When it was commissioned, and apart from the Sentinel 1000 that existed in the meantime, until the appearance of the Zeppelin NT , the Spirit of Akron was the largest active airship in the world.

The airship had an illuminated advertisement with 8064 lamps on its surface. At first the case was silver with a large Goodyear lettering. It was later changed with the Goodyear design with a blue / yellow background.

The airship was used as part of the Goodyear Blimp fleet for television broadcasts of major events, aerial advertising, tours and surveillance tasks.

Accident in 1999

The airship was badly damaged on October 28, 1999 when the voyage ended in a group of trees after a control failure. After the illuminated advertising and its effect from the ground had been tested from several perspectives, the airship wanted to turn away. The controls failed. As the technician looked out of the rear window and made strange noises, the control surfaces of the tail unit were not working correctly. In the meantime, the airship lost altitude and finally got caught in a group of trees. The hull and nacelle were damaged. The pilot was slightly injured, the technician who operated the illuminated advertising was uninjured. During the subsequent investigation it was found that the parts of the drives for the rudder were not properly hardened and torn out on the starboard side. The actuators for the control surfaces on the port side also showed severe damage. Goodyear decided not to repair the Spirit of Akron because of the high cost and the fact that the airship, unlike the rest of the fleet, was a one-off.

According to Goodyear statements in the accident report, the airship had been in the air for over 12,500 hours prior to the incident.

Whereabouts

The Spirit of Akron was replaced in 2000 by the Spirit of Goodyear , an airship of the type GZ-20A, which took over the designation N4A. The cabin of the GZ-22 was donated to the Military Aviation Preservation Society (MAPS) and is part of the exhibition after its restoration in the MAPS Museum just south of Akron.

construction

GZ-22 was significantly larger than its predecessor GZ-20A. The gondola was largely of that time very innovative fiber composites in prepreg - sandwich construction with honeycomb core manufactured. There was a door to the left and right behind the cockpit that swung open.

At Goodyear, it was controlled for the first time using a fly-by-wire system. There was space in the cockpit for two pilots, but only one of them was needed for operation. Behind it were seats for eight passengers, who could enjoy the view from the outwardly curved panoramic windows.

The two jacketed propellers, also a novelty compared to its direct predecessors, could be pivoted according to the tender for the AEW airship in order to simplify take-off and landing. In addition, the tail unit was arranged in an X-shape , as was previously the case with the N-Class airships. This gave more ground clearance when the airship lifted its nose at takeoff.

With the unique selling point of the X-shaped tail unit and the independent cabin shape with the large jacketed propellers, the airship is very easy to distinguish from other Goodyear blimps in photos.

Technical specifications

  • Length: 67.8 m
  • Max. Diameter: 14.2 m
  • Carrying gas volume : 6990 m³ helium
  • Ballonets : 2 pieces
  • Shell material: two-layer polyester fabric coated with neoprene (as with most other airships)
  • Engines: 2 × turboprop Allison 250-B17C with approx. 310 kW (420 shp) each, swiveling + 75 / −30 °, each with a three-blade ducted propeller
  • Maximum take-off mass 6804 kg (15,000 pounds)
  • Top speed: 105 km / h (65 mph)
  • Cruising speed 48-64 km / h (30-40 mph)
  • Travel altitude: 300–1000 m (3000 m peak height)
  • On-board radar

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Flight International, June 25, 1983; Image including caption on page 1893; accessed online as a PDF on January 3, 2017
  2. ↑ a b US Navy considers AEW airship options; FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL; Issue of November 29, 1986 page 12; online as PDF
  3. ↑ a b US Navy awards NASP contract; Flight International, June 20, 1987 edition; Page 29; accessed online as PDF on December 31, 2016
  4. ↑ a b c d e Goodyear Proposes High-Technology Airship for Navy Surveillance Role; Aviation Week and Space Technology; October 6, 1986 edition, pages 80 and 84; online behind the registration barrier in the Aviation.com archive ; accessed on December 18, 2016
  5. ^ Goodyear revives blimp for US Navy competition; FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, September 27, 1986; Page 8 PDF accessed on December 27, 2016
  6. ↑ Peter Kleinheins, Wolfgang Meighörner (ed.): The large zeppelins - The history of airship construction . 3. revised Edition. Springer, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-540-21170-5 . Chapter 17; Page 261
  7. ↑ a b c Type Certificate Data Sheet No.AS1GL Lockheed Martin (Loral) GZ-22 . Federal Aviation Authority. October 1, 1997. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  8. ↑ a b c d e f Peter Kleinheins: The large zeppelins. The history of airship construction. 3. Edition. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York 2005, ISBN 3-540-21170-5, Chapter 17; Page 258
  9. ↑ a b FAA certificates FBW airship; Flight International issue of September 23, 1989 page 16; online as PDF
  10. ↑ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/goodyear-blimp-crashes/ accessed on December 25, 2016
  11. ↑ a b c NTSB report on the aircraft accident, NTSB Identification: IAD00LA002; Accessed online at [1] and [2] on December 27, 2016
  12. ↑ Composite Company Bids to Expand Business in Aerospace Applications; Aviation Week and Space Technology; Issue of February 1, 1988 pages 72 and 73; online behind the registration barrier in the Aviation.com archive ; accessed on December 27, 2016
  13. ↑ http://www.williammaloney.com/Aviation/MAPSAirMuseum/GoodyearGZ22AirshipGondola/pages/16AirshipRadarAntenna.htm accessed on December 27, 2016