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Goodyear's Spirit of America blimp floats out of Carson and into history
On her final flight, the Spirit of America did not go down easily.
The Goodyear blimp had sailed gracefully down the Pacific coast from Carson flashing the message "THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES, CALIFORNIA." But when the pilot tried to land her in front of a towering World War II-era hangar in Tustin, the aging airship seemed to revolt.
Matthew St. John, who has been flying the Spirit of America for the last eight years, struggled to get her onto the ground. He pushed hard against his chair, applying the full force of his body on the pedals that control the blimp's rudders.
At the same time, his right hand spun what looked like the wheel of a wooden wheelchair back and forth to control the ship's pitch. ("It's a very analog, mechanical aircraft," he said.)
--- Snip ---
The Goodyear blimp had sailed gracefully down the Pacific coast from Carson flashing the message "THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES, CALIFORNIA." But when the pilot tried to land her in front of a towering World War II-era hangar in Tustin, the aging airship seemed to revolt.
Matthew St. John, who has been flying the Spirit of America for the last eight years, struggled to get her onto the ground. He pushed hard against his chair, applying the full force of his body on the pedals that control the blimp's rudders.
At the same time, his right hand spun what looked like the wheel of a wooden wheelchair back and forth to control the ship's pitch. ("It's a very analog, mechanical aircraft," he said.)
--- Snip ---
http://www.latimes.com/science/great-reads/la-sci-c1-blimp-decommission-20150824-story.html
Sad to see a blimp get chopped up, but I'm glad there will still be a blimp in Carson. I had a ride years ago on one of the preceding blimps (one of the ones named Columbia, I guess), and it was a ridiculously cool experience...