Calli Planakis , Register Staff
08/26/2004
I kept
thinking early Wednesday about the 1937 Hindenburg disaster in which the
Zeppelin airship was destroyed upon landing at Lakehurst, N.J. when fire broke
out in the hydrogen gas-filled rubber air bags.
Airship
Capt. Mike Hance must have sensed my initial reservations about flying on the
206-foot blimp that was about to take off from Sikorsky Memorial Airport.
I had begun to
ask Hance questions when he interrupted me.
"One of the biggest misconceptions people have about airships is that they can
burn and explode while in transit," he said. "This is not possible. Today we use
helium in the envelopes."
For the uninitiated, the envelope is the large bag that holds the helium gas for
the blimp; it is generally cigar-shaped for aerodynamic purposes.
"Nothing can burn in helium; it is an inert gas," Hance said.
We climbed
aboard the airship and within five minutes were up in the air at an altitude of
1,000 feet. We floated past birds as we reached a speed of 35 miles per hour.
What a breath-taking view.
Those stuck on the ground may have spotted the blimp over Milford, Stratford or
Bridgeport this week. There also will be a chance to see the blimp pass overhead
when the New York Mets take on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Shea Stadium Saturday.
Fans that take a moment to look skyward are likely to spot the blimp carrying
the name and logo of the Ameriquest Mortgage Co., a privately held company
currently ranked first in the United States among retail specialty lenders.
Ameriquest is a major sponsor of a variety of events nationwide. Last April, the
company signed on as official mortgage company of Major League Baseball at the
same time it expanded its mortgage service offerings.
To promote the company’s new role as the airborne ambassador and symbol for the
American ideals of liberty, freedom, and pursuit of the American dream (in
addition to providing publicity both for events and company), Ameriquest signed
a long-term lease agreement with Airship Management Services of Greenwich to
lease one of only two airships in this country with the ability to hover.
In the air, I suddenly realized that not only were we floating upward in
airship, but we were moving forward and could circle in the sky too.
I had the opportunity to co-pilot the airship as I talked to one of two pilots
on board.
We climbed
aboard the airship and within five minutes were up in the air at an altitude of
1,000 feet. We floated past birds as we reached a speed of 35 miles per hour.
What a breath-taking view.
Those stuck on the ground may have spotted the blimp over
Milford,
Stratford or Bridgeport this week. There also will be a chance to see the blimp
pass overhead when the New York Mets take on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Shea
Stadium Saturday.
Fans that take a moment to look skyward are likely to spot the blimp carrying
the name and logo of the Ameriquest Mortgage Co., a privately held company
currently ranked first in the United States among retail specialty lenders.
Ameriquest is a major sponsor of a variety of events nationwide. Last April, the
company signed on as official mortgage company of Major League Baseball at the
same time it expanded its mortgage service offerings.
To promote the company’s new role as the airborne ambassador and symbol for the
American ideals of liberty, freedom, and pursuit of the American dream (in
addition to providing publicity both for events and company), Ameriquest signed
a long-term lease agreement with Airship Management Services of Greenwich to
lease one of only two airships in this country with the ability to hover.
In the air, I suddenly realized that not only were we floating upward in
airship, but we were moving forward and could circle in the sky too.
I had the opportunity to co-pilot the airship as I talked to one of two pilots
on board.
Pilot Pepe Colon said he had a commercial pilot’s license and then took
intensive in-house training to earn his FAA commercial airship license.
Suddenly, we were passing over the harbor.
"Flying over water is smoother," said Colon. "Dark colors over a land mass
generate more heat and as a result, you get an updraft which pushes the airship
slightly upwards."
Because helium gas provides the lift in an airship or blimp, rather than a wing
with an engine as in an airplane, airships can fly and hover without expending
fuel or energy. They can stay aloft anywhere from hours to days — much longer
than airplanes or helicopters. These properties make them ideal for such uses as
covering sporting events, advertising and some research, like scouting for
whales.
"It’s like riding in a sea of air on a 200-foot sailboat," said John McHugh, the
second AMS pilot on the blimp. I agreed.
I was surprised to learn that a crew of 20 well-trained individuals travel
together throughout the year to keep the airship operating. Someone is with
blimp 24 hours a day.
The blimp envelope, Hance said, stays inflated for 10 to 12 years. It has no
home base as it lands at a variety of locations throughout the country.