December 18, 2002

By S. BRADY CALHOUN

Staff Writer

At 91, George Little Jr. is still trying new things.

Tuesday, Little and his wife Love, 85, went for a first-time-ever ride in an airship he won in a raffle benefit sponsored by Christ Episcopal Church.

"I've been in helicopters and planes, but I've never been in a blimp," Little said prior to the flight. "You need sea legs" to take a blimp ride.

The couple rode in the Santos Dumont, a Skyship 600 that was completed last week by local airship manufacturer Airship Management Services. The airship has a gross envelope volume of 240,000 cubic feet and is 197 feet long and 66.6 feet high. The airship cruises at an altitude of 1,000 to 15,000 feet and has a top speed of 58 mph, said Captain John McHugh.

"That was wonderful," Love said as she exited the craft after the ride. "I'm so glad I bought that ticket."

The couple won the trip after buying five raffle tickets for $100 a piece. The church raised $8,000 through the raffle to help pay for restoration work on St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church.

"It could not have worked out better. They're (the Little's) so inspirational for so many people," said raffle coordinator Anna Biggs. "It would be hard to find a couple their age who have done more or contributed more to this community."

The Santos Dumont also carried Northeastern High School senior Aimee Stone. Stone is researching airships for her senior project and hopes to one day be an airship pilot.

"It was exciting," she said.

Pilots Eddie Wynne and John McHugh gave Stone the controls for a few minutes as the airship sailed over the area.

"It was different from driving a car," Stone said. "You really have to put more force into turns, and it doesn't have a typical gas pedal or a brake."

She added that the sensation of riding in an airship is similar to sailing.

"It feels like being in a boat," Stone said. "It's constantly rocking, but it's not bad."

Growing up in the Weeksville area, where airships have been constructed and flown for decades, Stone is used to seeing the large blimp hanger and the football-shaped airships passing overhead. That's probably why she decided at seven years old to become an airship pilot, she said.

"I wish everybody could do it," Stone said. "It's the safest form of transportation."

Indeed, no person has been killed aboard an airship since the Hindenburg disaster in 1939.

"That happened because they used hydrogen," McHugh said. "The FAA won't let us use hydrogen anymore. We use helium. It doesn't burn."

As much fun as the Little's and Stone had on their hour-long trip, airships are almost never used for transportation. McHugh said companies usually buy or rent them for advertising purposes. Airships require large crews and round-the-clock surveillance, making them too costly for any other purpose, he added.