Celebrating 100 Years of the Legendary Goodyear Blimp with a Special Ohio Flight

The iconic Goodyear airships are taking a victory lap over the skies of an Ohio city this week.

The Akron-based tire firm is marking the centennial of “Pilgrim,” its inaugural blimp that soared near the city on June 3, 1925.

Goodyear started exploring vessels lighter than airplanes in the early 1900s, and over time, the dirigibles have become a lasting and iconic emblem of the corporate identity. For some, they provoke nostalgia, while for others, they offer a glimpse into a monumental part of advertising history.

Here is a by-the-numbers look at Goodyear airships over time:

1910

Goodyear establishes an Aeronautics Department to build lighter-than-air aircrafts, and by 1912 the company had built its first balloon.

In 1930, the “Defender” blimp became the first airship in the world to carry a lit neon sign so the company’s name could be seen after dark.

In 1917, Goodyear commenced constructing airships for the U.S. Navy, and its first blimp — the initial commercial non-rigid airship utilizing helium — took flight years later, evolving into a marketing instrument.

From 1942 to 1944, the company built more than 150 airships for the Navy to serve in World War II, flying patrol over warships on the seas with zero reported loss of ships when a blimp was on watch.

New Year’s Day 1955

The Goodyear Blimp has been a regular at major sporting events since flying above the 1955 Rose Bowl. A few years later, it became a service vehicle for television coverage while simultaneously functioning as a highly visible advertising platform.

Since that time, blimps have undergone wholesale changes and improved dramatically: steering technology; safety innovations; high-definition cameras; aerial views captured with specialized systems that compensate for movement during filming, resulting in stable and smooth footage footage; and much quieter rides thanks to relocated engines and propellers.

4 blimps

There currently are four Goodyear Blimps — the three in the U.S. and one in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

Today’s Goodyear Blimps are semi-rigid dirigibles, meaning they have an internal frame as compared to previous eras of blimps that could be fully deflated. In 2014, Goodyear transitioned to the New Technology semi-rigid airship platform designed to allow for improved maneuverability and speed.

246 feet

The Goodyear Blimp is 246 feet long (75 meters), which would cover about 80% of a football field. It is 58 feet (18 meters) high and holds three Olympic-sized swimming pools’ worth of helium.

Goodyear gets helium for its blimps from multiple sources. Because helium is a finite resource, the company purifies its helium every six to eight weeks to extend its life.

The blimp travels more than 100 days per year, with trips ranging anywhere from three days to three weeks. A crew of nearly 20 people travel with the airship whenever it is touring. Today’s Goodyear Blimps fly between 1,000 and 1,500 feet (305 meters and 457 meters) in the air and travel at speeds up to 73 miles per hour (117 kilometers per hour).

10 blimp pilots

There currently are fewer blimp pilots in the world than astronauts, according to Goodyear, which has 10 full-time pilots. To serve in that job, you must have a commercial pilot license followed by approximately 250 hours of training to earn an additional lighter-than-air airship rating from the Federal Aviation Administration.

2,500 and 500,000

The blimp has covered more than 2,500 events and taken more than 500,000 passengers for rides, according to Goodyear. Former President Ronald Reagan might be the most famous passenger, but it was rapper Ice Cube who raised the blimp’s street cred when he included a line about it in his 1992 song titled “It Was A Good Day.”