So, just what does an iconic, global corporate symbol go for these days?
Well, they’re not cheap, that’s for sure. According to Product Design & Development magazine, Goodyear will be forking over some $20.6 million each for the three new Zeppelin NT airships it plans to buy as part of its new deal with German zeppelin manufacturer ZLT Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik.
The Zeppelin LZ N07-101 model airships – the world’s largest at 75 meters in length and an envelope capacity of 8,450 cubic meters – will be built with Zeppelin and Goodyear airship teams at Goodyear’s Wingfoot Lake Airship Hangar near Akron, Ohio. Construction on the first airship is scheduled to start in 2013 and it will begin operating in 2014.
According to PD&D, the Zeppelin NT has a “rigid framework made out of aluminum longerons, thin strips of carbon fiber to which the skin of the aircraft is fastened, carbon fiber cross beams, and Kevlar cables that brace the internal structure.” Its three engines are mounted directly on the rigid internal structure, as is the separate gondola.
The new dirigibles will also carry higher payloads. The new design allows for the addition of two passenger seats or a maximum of 15, as well as an “improved electrical power system that will power a day/night LED system for advertising on the side of the airships,” according to PD&D.
The LED system for the Goodyear ships “is a massive display that stretches 1,300 square meters on one side of the airship and consists of thousands of color LEDs. A computer on the flight deck programs the movies, still pictures, or basic letters that are then displayed on the huge billboard,” the magazine noted.
Auxiliary fuel tanks in the gondola effectively double the flight range for each Zepplin-built airship, extending their maximum range to 1,200 nautical miles.
In short, the new Goodyear blimps will not look like the ones currently gracing the air. And they won’t be inexpensive.
As for names that will grace the new airships, no one knows. Following past practice, Goodyear will likely have some sort of naming contest. With that in mind, here are two offerings: either the Spirit of Nerandzic or the Spirit of Bravery.
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Speaking of large, Pirelli Tyre’s splashy plans for a new Formula 1 tire test driver were foiled by the simplest of things: Size.
After a big-deal presser to introduce Gymkhana video star and erstwhile rally driver Ken Block as its new test driver, Block’s long legs would not allow him to slide behind the wheel of the 2010 Toyota F1 racer the tiremaker bought for test purposes.
Pirelli director of motorsport Paul Hembery told Autosport magazine that, “We are still looking for alternatives. We are trying to find a team that has had a long-legged driver. I think we need to speak to Red Bull Racing, because Mark Webber is a tall guy. Obviously it is slightly embarrassing, because we hadn’t quite foreseen that Ken was that big, and he doesn’t look that big – but he obviously is long legged. We need to solve it."
From personal experience, I can tell you that looks can be deceiving. A few years and a couple of tire suppliers ago, I was at an event where us journalists could drive F1 cars on a real F1 track. Despite my misgivings about the relative size of my arse compared to the size of the cockpit, event reps insisted I could go. Even after suiting up and pointing out that my Nomex-clad behind appeared to be too large, all I heard was “No problem, Jeem. No problem.”
Needless to say, it was a big problem. And being 6-3, I’m sure that if my butt made it through the first hurdle, my legs would have posed a bigger problem. Like Block.
Hembery told Autosport that Pirelli was “determined to ensure the test happened, because it felt F1 would benefit tremendously in the American market from having Block try grand prix machinery.”
"We want it to happen," he said. "We are trying to promote F1. Ken is huge in the U.S. and we need to get more interest in F1 in the U.S., and he will help that by doing these sorts of things.”
Just as soon as they find a larger car.
