Zeppelin airship lumbers across suburban skies
If Ginny Harte sees you point up to sky this weekend and say "Hey, check out the blimp," the Farmers Airship flight attendant is likely to strangle you.
It's a Zeppelin, Harte said she just loves the ship so much and is disappointed when people mistake the airship for its blimp cousin.
"My friends will sarcastically ask 'How's the blimp?" just to get me going, and I want to strangle them," Harte said Friday morning during a 75-minute flight over DuPage County. "And my own grandmother, who I'm really close to, asks about the blimp all the time. It drives me nuts."
You too can become better educated about what sets a Zeppelin apart from a blimp throughout the weekend at DuPage Airport when the airship, named Eureka, will be at the airport and available for rides, starting at $375.
The Zeppelin is not to be confused with a blimp because the airship's hull is made of a state -of-the-art laminate material from the same company that creates the NASA space suits, and is filled with nonflammable helium.
Farmers Flight Operations Specialist David Finney also touted the unique stability of the airship that is based on a rigid inner structure made of aluminum and carbon fiber. All the main components such as the cabin, engines and empennage are mounted directly to this framework. The semirigid construction enables improved flight performance and allows for a quiet and stable passenger experience.
Passenger Karin Baskin, of New Lenox, was surprised that she could open her window during the flight and take a picture.
"On a plane, the photo would be blurry from me jostling around, but this is very smooth," Baskin said. "This truly is a beautiful way to fly."
This is the second and final Illinois stop on the six-month cross-country tour of the largest passenger airship in the world. Tours of 45 minutes, one hour and two hours will be offered through Sunday evening for between $375 and $950 per person.
To book a flight, call (650) 969-8100 or log onto reservations@airshipventuresl.com.