She's a beauty:
I always wanted to go up in an airship.
I always wanted to go up in an airship.
Wingfoot One - new Goodyear blimp
- Thread starter Rick in PA
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Very cool!
Thanks for sharing.
Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
I always wanted to go up in an airship.
I was dating a lady who worked at MetLife in Tampa in about 1993 and she got me a ride in the MetLife vehicle. There were only three guests and the pilot let each of us sit copilot for a time. I got 30 minutes actually on the controls and let me tell you it is WORK. He let me do it after seeing that I was already finding the "center" of these long moment swings. You have to let it wallow some and not overcontrol or you will absoulutely wear yourself out in no time. You kind of pick your target on the horizon and then the blimp will nutate around that target. Just when you get to the extreme end of one nutation (I hope I'm using the right word there) you can sense it is about to start going the other way and begin bringing in more of the opposite rudder to start catching it at the other extreme. All the while keeping in a constant crab to counter the wind. Maybe they have developed an autopilot by now for this newer version but I was glad to get out of the seat. I also was able to lean halfway out of the open windows for a time over downtown Tampa. It was glorious. I've always wished I had logged the time.
I always wanted to go up in an airship.
I was dating a lady who worked at MetLife in Tampa in about 1993 and she got me a ride in the MetLife vehicle. There were only three guests and the pilot let each of us sit copilot for a time. I got 30 minutes actually on the controls and let me tell you it is WORK. He let me do it after seeing that I was already finding the "center" of these long moment swings. You have to let it wallow some and not overcontrol or you will absoulutely wear yourself out in no time. You kind of pick your target on the horizon and then the blimp will nutate around that target. Just when you get to the extreme end of one nutation (I hope I'm using the right word there) you can sense it is about to start going the other way and begin bringing in more of the opposite rudder to start catching it at the other extreme. All the while keeping in a constant crab to counter the wind. Maybe they have developed an autopilot by now for this newer version but I was glad to get out of the seat. I also was able to lean halfway out of the open windows for a time over downtown Tampa. It was glorious. I've always wished I had logged the time.
I guess I had a vision of airships serenely gliding along, at least in calm weather. DeepFriar, you made me think about it. The atmosphere is never really calm and an airship has a lot of surface area for the wind to play on. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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