By Robbie Culver
There may be no more iconic aircraft in America than a Goodyear blimp. A blimp is a unique advertising extravaganza and a mainstay of live aerial television coverage at every imaginable sporting event. The Goodyear blimp represents the brand, but also is every bit of Americana as can be found in aviation.
This year, two of the Goodyear NT (new technology) airships — Wingfoot One and Wingfoot Two — are in attendance in a salute to the 100th anniversary of Goodyear’s airship operations. There are three Goodyear blimps in the United States; Wingfoot Three is in for maintenance. To honor the heritage of the program, Wingfoot One is flying a livery inspired by the original Pilgrim. In 1925, Pilgrim became the world’s first commercial nonrigid airship that used helium.
So which is it? A blimp or an airship? Well, both.
Chief pilot and Operations Manager Michael “Doc” Dougherty said they are “always going to be the Goodyear blimp.” It’s an “easy generic term,” he said, “but ‘blimp’ is not exactly proper anymore. Technically the term airship applies to all of the ones Goodyear is currently flying.” In 2014 Goodyear introduced the NT model, designed by Zeppelin, marking a shift to semirigid airships, which have a partial internal frame. The older blimps were nonrigid, which means the shape was not maintained by an internal structure.
Flying an airship is different than flying an airplane. Doc described it as “one of the most challenging things I ever learned to fly.” Doc should know; he has 18 years and between 5,000 and 6,000 hours in blimps. He also has about 2,700 hours of airplane time, some as an E-145 captain.
Doc continued, “You have to stay every bit ahead of it. Wind has a huge effect, and you always land directly into the wind.” An airship never lands on runways, and wind pushes the airship sideways if it is not aligned with the wind precisely. You “can literally feel the energy in the seat of your pants,” he said. “[It’s] one of the hardest things to teach. It takes that need to a whole other level.” He compared landing the airship to taking a sailboat up to dock with full sails.
As the operations manager, a lot of Doc’s work is coordination and logistics. He said the teams have to be mission-ready and staffed properly every day. He handles a lot of the administrative side including human resources and also standardization and training.
The organization is an IS-BAO stage 3 certified operator, which means it self-imposes a safety culture in its organization that is second to none. Doc owns a lot of that. The safety program has standards across the organization, so the team sees the same thing in every location it visits. Doc also runs the training department and is a designated pilot examiner (DPE). Goodyear currently has 10 full-time pilots. Becoming a Goodyear blimp pilot requires a commercial pilot certificate followed by approximately 250 hours of training to earn an additional lighter-than-air airship rating. The checkrides lead to being fully certified as a commercial pilot in airships.
Doc said that bringing the airship to AirVenture is special because “the aviation community understands how unique it is. It’s always fun to be at EAA and be part of the air show. It’s the best of the best, the biggest stage, and a great honor for us! It’s a great way to cap off the biggest parts of the 100th anniversary.” Doc is scratchbuilding a Sonex, so he fits right in!
The latest Goodyear blimps are 246 feet long and 58 feet high, cruise up to 73 mph with a range of 486 nm, and have a 24-hour endurance if required. The maximum service ceiling is 8,530 feet. Each airship is powered by three Lycoming IO-360 engines that produce 200 hp each. There are two crew members on board, and the new, modern cabins seat up to 12 passengers with a restroom on board. The fully IFR-certified cockpit has fly-by-wire controls.
And that IFR certification? “This [was] a really cool project — the old blimps were legal but not standard,” Doc said. “We need IFR because live TV doesn’t wait. Probably 10 percent of operations are IFR or MVFR, and this gives the pilots a safety net. They were not IFR certified, and Goodyear went back to Zeppelin to discuss it.”
IFR operations for airships are not typical in Europe. Goodyear pushed a bit, Doc said, and to help speed up the process and make things go smoothly, the program was a test plan for the FAA. The paperwork was on the European Union Aviation Safety Agency side. The actual flight test involved two German engineers, Doc, and one other Goodyear pilot over two weeks of flying.
The process included executing every different approach the airship is capable of, including VOR, ILS, GPS, RNAV, and LPV, down to 200 feet and a half mile. “The tricky part was they wanted a localizer approach separate from an ILS and a back course,” he said.
The team had to make sure the Garmin system in the cockpit was operating and functioning in the right way, and sometimes they had to travel 40 to 50 miles to get the approach required. Doc added that it “was a rare project where two different aviation authorities worked together to get an approval for a unique aircraft.”
The testing was done in 2019, but the approval process was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic and took another year to complete. Now the airships are day/night VFR and IFR approved.
An approach is shot from the final approach fix (FAF) doing 30 to 40 knots and involves a lot of coaching and interaction with controllers. “Wind has a big effect,” Doc said. Sometimes they do the approaches to closed runways to “stay out of everyone’s way.” Alternatively, ATC can send them to the FAF, and they will stay inside the approach parameters. The airships can also use helicopter adjustments because they operate a lot like a helicopter; for example, they can hover taxi and can have the crew meet them. Alternatively, they can shoot an approach to the runway threshold.
The airships will be participating in the daily air show on Tuesday, July 22, and in the night air shows on Wednesday, July 23, and Saturday, July 26.
Goodyear Supports EAA Youth Programs at AirVenture 2025
By Emme Hornung
This year, as Goodyear is celebrating 100 years of airship operations, we are so glad to have two of the birthday blimps here in Oshkosh to celebrate with thousands of their biggest fans from around the world. Since 1925, the blimps’ gentle flight juxtaposed with their bloated appearance has left generations of spectators filled with awe, cementing the blimps as icons of the sky and inspiring countless people to discover what else aviation can offer. And that’s exactly what Goodyear hopes to do more of at AirVenture this year.
Goodyear and EAA have worked together to bring AirVenture attendees a commemorative 100th anniversary T-shirt, available at EAA merchandise locations, and Goodyear has requested all proceeds from the shirt sales go to EAA’s youth programs that introduce young people to aviation and inspire them to become tomorrow’s pilots, engineers, mechanics, and more.
“As part of Goodyear’s community engagement mission, we aim to inspire students to explore, innovate, and reach their full potential and prepare for careers, so we are thrilled to support EAA’s youth programming in tandem with celebrating our blimps’ 100th anniversary,” said Joni Fitch, Goodyear’s director of community affairs and engagement.
EAA’s youth programs, such as Young Eagles and AeroEducate, rely on more than just membership dues to carry out their important mission. So, when you purchase one of these navy-blue T-shirts, know that you’re not only celebrating an important anniversary, but also helping pave the way for aviation’s next generation.
This evening at the Fly-In Theater, come experience the world premiere of Icon in the Sky, Goodyear’s documentary celebrating 100 years of airships. The show will start at approximately 8:30 p.m., and you don’t want to be late; a special guest will be helping to introduce the documentary!