September 23, 2004

"I rode on the Goodyear blimp." (I just love them blimps!)
posted by SideDish 20 years ago
  • Is that you in the 'I' picture?
  • yes, my diet has left me lighter than air
  • They keep the blimp's schedule filled with corporate clients, investors, contest winners, celebrities, dignitaries, etc. Ah, so it works just like trying to get a decent seat at a rock concert.
  • I got a ride as a kid; I remember it pitching gently. It holds about seven passengers, and is done up inside in blue 1970's airline-style with Jules Verne rockets. It's incredibly loud when it takes off and lands. The windows are open and the engines are right next to your head. We asked the pilot how he got his job, as he leaned out the window to take pictures. He said he had applied while working as a sheet-metal worker at Goodyear. When we landed, we discovered the thing has no seatbelts; the pilot dives at the ground at about forty-five degrees, so you'd better hang on to something. In all, a fun and frivolous contraption!
  • I feel I should post a comment here, for some reason.
  • dirigibleman! tell us an airship story!
  • hey there, Blimpy boy!/ Riding through the sky so fancy-free!
  • Umpteen years ago, I lived a mile from the L.A. base for the Goodyear Blimp, just below the approach pattern. So, when I threw myself a Birthday Party on a Saturday Afternoon, I impressed the pants off everyone there when the Blimp flew over at an altitude of no more than 200 feet. (Well, I didn't literally impress their pants off; I've never hosted THAT kind of party)
  • Despite my moniker, I have no more knowledge of or experience with airships than the average person (so, basically none). I do have one story, though. Back in high school, during a Friday night high school football game, some people saw an unusual light in the sky. Some people, of course, decided decided that it was an alien spacecraft. It even made the 11 o'clock news that night. The mother of a classmate was practically in tears talking to a reporter about how wonderful it was that the aliens came to visit us. The report ended with the revelation that it was an advertising blimp for a paint company.
  • There's a really intense airship scene in the 30's, Jean Harlow, WWI movie Hell's Angels. The last shot of the scene is two stunt doubles running to avoid a god damn full-sized, firey, falling blimp!
  • Wendell: Bet you would have impressed Pete's pants off. His pants come off at the drop of a ... pair of pants (?) I want to fly aaaaawaaaaay.