Goodyear is retiring itsAkron-based blimp the Spirit of Goodyear. The ship will fly south to Floridathis winter, before its officially decommissioned.
The Spirit of Goodyear hasbeen based at the tiremaker’s Wingfoot Lake Hangar since it was christened 13years ago. It recently gave up its space in the hangar for the construction ofa new blimp fleet – Goodyear NT airships.
“With winter on the way andthe blimp’s retirement coming up, it’s time for the Spirit of Goodyear to movesouth,” said Nancy Ray, director of Goodyear’s global airship program.
The blimp will join TheSpirit of Innovation and operate from Goodyear’s Pompano Beach, Fla. Airshipbase all winter before its decommissioned in the spring of 2014.
The Spirit of Goodyear willmake two farewell flights over the Akron area on Oct. 9 and 10, for theresidents to say “goodbye” before the ship leaves. The blimp will then fly toState College, Pa., on Oct. 11 for the Michigan-Penn State football game beforeheading south.
The Spirit of Goodyear isthe oldest of the three blimps operated by the tiremaker in the U.S. and willbe the first to be replaced by a Goodyear NT airship.
Goodyear is on schedule withthe construction of its new NT airship and should be ready for test flightsnext spring, Ray said. The newest ship is larger and more advanced then thecurrent fleet.
