Zeppelin Makes Oklahoma City Stop
The Farmers Airship, also known as the Eureka, made a stop in Oklahoma City on Monday. The 246-foot, 14,000 pound airship has been touring the country for the past six months, and is set to return to its California home about three weeks from now.
BY MATT DINGER mdinger@opubco.com
Published: September 20, 2011
The world's largest zeppelin made a stop in Oklahoma City on Monday.
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| The Farmers Airship, the world's largest airship and one of only two zeppelins in the world passes south of downtown Oklahoma City Monday, September 19, 2011. Photo by Doug Hoke, The Oklahoman. ORG XMIT: KOD |
The Farmers Airship, also known as the Eureka, travels at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,500 feet, and is capable of speeds up to 75 mph, but typically travels at 35 to 40 mph.
Unlike hydrogen-filled airships of the past, this zeppelin is filled with helium, a nonflammable, lighter-than-air gas. What separates a blimp from a zeppelin is the rigid frame inside the ship, which means that it holds most of its shape even when emptied of gas and the engines are mounted on the side and the rear of the ship, rather than the cabin.
“We like to say, ‘We don't fly. We float,'” said David Finney, guest services supervisor for Airship Ventures, the California company that owns the airship.
“The airship itself is a 246-foot long, 14,000-pound windsock,” Finney said.
“She works on the same principles of buoyancy as boats. Instead of floating on water, she floats on air,” he said.
This is the most extensive zeppelin tour in U.S. history and the first zeppelin tour across the country in more than 80 years, Finney said. The Farmers Airship has traveled from California to the east coast over the past six months, and is slowly making its journey homeward. The tour is expected to conclude in about three weeks.
When not traveling the country, the airship is used for a variety of purposes, including tours, sporting event coverage and military and scientific missions. Since the airship can hover like a helicopter and is very quiet, its reconnaissance abilities are unparalleled by other aircraft.
Recently, it's been used to research whales over waters on the West Coast.
“We could fly at 500 feet over the ocean, and the whales don't even know we're there,” Finney said.
Read more: http://newsok.com/zeppelin-makes-oklahoma-city-stop/article/3605773#ixzz1Z0Ij6Hdb
Arrange flights, contact Airship Ventures.
Next stop, Ft. Worth and Austin, Texas.
For past airship and hot air balloon blogs:
From media in various cities.
From media in various cities.
For a news video from Detroit, Michigan, click here.
Or for a report from Chicago, Illinois.
Or even Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or Muskegon.
Or the Oshkosh Air Show.
Or even Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or Muskegon.
Or the Oshkosh Air Show.
Farmers Airship embarks on National Tour.
Farmers Airship adds to the New York City Skyline.Farmers NASCAR racecar & Hot Air Balloon at Pocono; chance to win an Airship ride.
Farmers, Facebook, & FarmVille: chance to win an Airship ride.
The steps to inflating the Farmers Hot Air Balloon.
Farmers, Facebook, & FarmVille: chance to win an Airship ride.
The steps to inflating the Farmers Hot Air Balloon.
Click HERE for a video from airship flights over San Diego. Explains the difference between zeppelins and blimps.
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Members of the ground crew guide guests on and off of the Zeppelin between flights. - Derik Holtmann/BND |
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The Platinum Elite Headquarters can be found in the Farmers Insurance Building at 1011 Camino del Rio South, suite 100, San Diego, Ca 92108.
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