New hanger for the all-new Goodyear Wingfoot 2 was erected in a single night across from the most traveled roadway in all of America. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – Dec. 13, 2017 Goodyear Wingfoot 2 In flight over Los Angeles, California. Earlier this month, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company inflated its brand new 337-foot-long hangar at its Carson blimp base along the infamous I-405 freeway in Southern California during the overnight hours. The new structure is now the home of Goodyear’s newest blimp, Wingfoot Two, which began operating in Los Angeles in October. Stretching a football field in length, the nine-story hangar is the largest inflatable structure of its kind in North America and will protect the company’s new state-of-the-art blimp from the elements. The new hangar was manufactured for Goodyear by Lindstrand Technologies, a world leader in designing and building inflatable structures for uses including passenger airline hangars, airline terminal roofs and on military bases. Lindstrand, based in the U.K., has constructed more than 200 high-tech inflatable structures but is perhaps best known as a lighter-than-air manufacturer of aerostats, airships, gas and tethered balloons. Building of the all-new Wingfoot fleet In October, Goodyear’s newest blimp, Wingfoot Two and its crew, arrived in greater Los Angeles completing a 2,600-mile, 10-state and three-week cross-country tour from Ohio to California. Goodyear Blimps have flown the California skies for more than 90 years, providing aerial coverage of many of the most-watched sports, entertainment and news events. Notable events include the first-ever live aerial feed to a transcontinental telecast over the 1955 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl, the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Academy Awards red carpet arrivals, the 2015 Special Olympics and numerous Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers, Galaxy, Kings, USC and UCLA games. Wingfoot Two by the numbers At more than 246 feet long, Wingfoot Two stretches nearly the length of a football field. The blimp’s top speed is 73 miles per hour. Its three vectoring engines allow for excellent maneuverability and an aluminum and carbon fiber semi-rigid frame supports an envelope with the capacity to hold nearly 300,000 cubic feet of helium, the equivalent of more than 25 million baseballs. Date of First Flight: 2014 Overall Length: 246.4 feet Maximum Width: 64.79 feet Maximum Envelope Width: 46.45 feet Overall Height: 57.57 feet Internal Framework: Aluminum and Carbon Fiber Trusses Envelope Material: Polyurethane, Polyester and Tedlar film Envelope Volume: 297,527 cu. ft. Envelope Life: 10 years+ Maximum Weight (without Helium): 19,780 pounds Maximum Speed: 73 mph Gondola Seating: Up to 14 Gondola Weight Empty: 2,626 pounds Physics Static Lift: 2,940 pounds Maximum Dynamic Lift: 1,102 pounds Total Usable Lift: 4,042 pounds Engines: 3 Vectored Engine Horsepower: 200 each Endurance: 24-40 hours Noise Level Inside and Outside of Gondola: 64/69.43 decibels The Goodyear Blimp Fleet History Since 1917, Goodyear has built more than 300 lighter-than-air vehicles for public relations and U.S. military applications. The company currently operates two technologically advanced Goodyear Blimps—Wingfoot One and Wingfoot Two—in Florida and California. The third blimp to complete the new fleet is under construction at the company’s Wingfoot Lake facility near Akron, Ohio. Goodyear blimps have operated out of the Carson California base since 1968. A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Carson base is planned in 2018. Goodyear before the blimp
