New technology Goodyear Blimp revealed to the world

 

Akron, Ohio – The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has revealed the first example of its new airship design, created in partnership with ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik in Germany and assembled by a team of German and U.S. engineers and technicians at Goodyear’s Wingfoot Lake hangar in Suffield Twp., Ohio.

 

This airship is the first of a new generation of Goodyear blimps that will differ in construction, appearance, and operation from the current fleet of blimps. 

 

A high-tech update of the company’s iconic Goodyear blimp, the new airship is more than 50ft longer and nearly 20mph faster than its predecessor, the Spirit of Goodyear, which recently retired after a record 14 years in service. Powered by three engines, not two, and featuring swiveling propellers, the new blimp is also more maneuverable and quieter than the blimp it is replacing. It will carry up to twice as many passengers – 12 instead of six. Additionally, its sleek gondola features a panoramic rear window with bench seat, and a first for a Goodyear blimp – a restroom.

 

“The completion of the new blimp marks the beginning of a new era for our airship program and reflects Goodyear’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of aerial broadcast coverage and support,” Paul Fitzhenry, senior vice president, global communications, said in a statement. “This airship will offer enhanced aerial television coverage capabilities, increased flight range to cover more events, and an unparalleled passenger experience.”

 

After seven years of design work and preparations, the first pieces of the new blimp were joined together in March 2013. Parts such as the tail fins and gondola were manufactured in Germany and shipped to the U.S. for assembly. The fabric envelope that defines the hull shape was supplied by Delaware-based ILC Dover. Made of polyester with a film of Dupont Tedlar, the helium-filled bag fits over an internal structure composed of aluminum and carbon-fiber girders. This combination of traditional, non-rigid blimp construction with elements pioneered on rigid, metal-framework zeppelins differentiates this airship from previous Goodyear blimps. Although it is not a blimp in the technical sense of the word, that name has become synonymous with Goodyear’s public relations airships, and is being used to describe the semi-rigid aircraft that until recently had been referred to as the Blimp NT.

 

The new blimp continues a shared heritage of German and American airship engineering cooperation that began 90 years ago, but this is not a recreation of any existing airship, historical or modern, even though it resembles the Zeppelin NT airships constructed in Germany.

 

The new airship incorporates the latest glass-panel avionics from Garmin, created to Goodyear specifications. Assistant Chief Pilot Michael Dougherty explains that the main display can cycle through five status screens plus one composite screen at the touch of a button. Information depicted numerically and graphically includes propeller pitch angle, control surface position, helium temperature and pressure, gas valve positions, engine oil temperature and pressure, fuel flow, and electrical system status.

 

Electronic flight-control systems regulate engine thrust, swivel, and prop pitch. Tail fin operation is controlled by a small joystick at the pilot’s side. 

 

Dayton, Ohio-based Interbrand Design Forum was selected to develop a fresh paint scheme to give the new airship a distinctive appearance while retaining Goodyear’s logo and traditional blue and yellow corporate colors on a silver-gray envelope.

 

A broad arc of blue with yellow trim sweeps upward from the nose of the airship and back along each side of its hull. The tire company’s name and Wingfoot logo stand out in yellow against the blue field, and the upswept design is echoed in the pattern applied to the control car. 

 

“The design had to be iconic,” says Interbrand Design Forum’s VP of Design, Tom Kowalski. “We wanted to create a sense of continuous forward motion with the sweeping field of blue.” Tapered yellow arcs flow into the solid yellow tail fins, balancing the use of the two key brand colors. According to Kowalski, the blue field links the design to its predecessors while its new, flowing form signals forward-looking innovation. The entire design and logo is applied using water-based paint, formulated by a local paint company.

 

In addition to the exterior, Interbrand Design Forum designed the interior of the gondola with elements that celebrate the Goodyear brand, including an embroidered Wingfoot on the Goodyear blue leather seats and custom yellow striping down the aisle that mimics the double yellow lines down the center of a road. The seating is more evocative of a jetliner than a small airplane cabin.

 

“Since we approached the blimp as an experience, it was important that we consider and brand each moment of interaction—not just the exterior, but the interior, and the support team that’s integral to the airship,” Kowalski says.

 

In conjunction with the unveiling, Goodyear officials announced the launch of a nationwide contest to name the new blimp, open to entrants over 18 years of age in the United States and Washington, DC. Further details are posted at www.Goodyear.com/NametheBlimp or www.Facebook.com/GoodyearBlimp. 

 

The contest opened on Friday, March 14, and will close on Friday, April 4, 2014.

 

The new blimp is ready to begin test flights over Northeast Ohio as soon as weather permits. New, high-definition flashing LED day-and-night signs will be installed on the envelope before the airship goes into service later this summer. Currently registered D-LZGY, the airship will be given a U.S. tail number befitting its launch of a new era in Goodyear blimps: N1A.