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.
