After two cancellations, I got to ride the blimp this Thursday. Since it was kind of windy, I was counting on another cancellation but the blimp was in the air so my father and I headed down to Carson, CA.
Ground crew - wind socket to aid pilot during descent
Blimp + Ground Crew - Landing
Ground Crew in action
Holding down the blimp
Ballast taken off the blimp
The pilot happened to notice that a guy who was also in our time slot was wearing flip-flops and closed toe shoes are a must to get inside the blimp. The man and his wife hustled out of the area to buy him a new pair of shoes.
Last Minute Shoes
We headed down to Long Beach and my father was shocked to see all the empty slots at both Long Beach and LA ports.
Long Beach Port - No Ships
We hovered over the area for quite a bit since the wind made it seem like we weren’t moving. The pilot said we were moving at ground speed of about 12 miles per hour.
Unsold Toyotas
Oil Refinery
Sulfur - byproduct of oil refinery
Everyone in the Blimp
The pilot was intensely focused during the landing. She was turning the wheel (which looks a lot like the wheel you see in an old-fashioned ship) and pulling the valves to release air and/or helium like nobody’s business for about 2-3 minutes. Then, the ground crew grabbed the blimp and we stepped out.
Final shot of the blimp
The End! (Goodyear claims that the rides are not open to the public but I think if one works in the immediate area and becomes friends with the ground crew, you can try to ride the blimp if people don’t show up. We were scheduled for 5:00PM and I noticed in the release form that in the 4:ooPM slot, only 2 people rode.)
How’d you get to ride on the blimp? Do you have a connection at Goodyear?
My dad’s store is a Goodyear franchise so I tagged along for the ride.