OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Floating 1,000 ft above AirVenture, the Goodyear Blimp celebrates its 100th anniversary, flying two blimps to Oshkosh for the first time ever.
- Goodyear brought two blimps to AirVenture, painting one the same design as the first ever Goodyear blimp.
- The Blimp flies about 1,000 feet above the ground and can continuously fly for 24 hours.
- The Blimp holds nearly 300,000 cubic feet of helium.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, edited for web)
Jeff Capek, a blimp pilot for Goodyear, has been flying blimps for 25 years.
“It’s different every day, every week, no two weeks, months or years are the same," he says. "We travel to different places, and we meet a lot of different people.”
This year is the 100-year anniversary of the Goodyear-branded blimp. To celebrate, Goodyear brought it’s blimp to AirVenture– the first time in four years.
“It’s a great place to be to celebrate our 100 years," Capek says.
Take a look inside the Goodyear blimp:
For the first time ever, Goodyear brought a second blimp, painted in the historic design of the first-ever Goodyear blimp.
Catching the eyes of pilots below.
“It’s really exciting," Aaron Wudtke, a pilot and AirVenture attendee from Illinois, says. "I don’t know what it is, it’s just a balloon, but for me, I really like them.”
There are only about 25 blimps in the entire world, according to Reader's Digest.
“There’s something elegant about it," Wudtke says.
Capek says the Blimp uses nearly 300,000 cubic feet of helium, and it takes a crew of 20 to maintain.
“It’s a big team effort and it’s very labor intensive," Capek says.
Capek says the never deflate the blimp.
“It flies everywhere it goes, once it’s built, it stays built for it’s entire life.”
