Airship Ventures: July 2009

Monday, July 27, 2009

Relaxing moment

The Spa in Los Gatos is one of my favorite places to go. I haven't seen them much this year. But they know what I do and have fun with it....

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Meet Zeppelin Skydiver GEOFF REEVES

Former Navy SEAL skydiver Geoff Reeves takes us on his skydiving experiences - including jumping out of the Zeppelin airship EUREKA over the Queen Mary in Long Beach.

(Video produced in conjunction with Big Moving Pictures)

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Sunset just South of Watsonville

Pebble Beach

Pt. Sur

Hearst Castle

Truly amazing from the air. We were able to view the layout of the grounds and see the various guest houses in a way I was never able to appreciate from previous visits on the ground. The Neptune pool alone was fantastic. We did a few orbits and then continued on our way. In the distance were both the private airstrip and dock of the castle.

Airship tidbit: Hearst was a sponsor of the 1929 Graf Zeppelin
'weltfahrt' around the world tour.

San Simeon approaching Hearst Castle

Pismo Beach

There are dozens of go-karts and dune buggies racing below. From the sky they look like scurrying beatles.

Iverson Ranch

Roy Rogers, The Lone Ranger and other western classics were filmed here.
Old stagecoach roads below.

Million Air

Ron and Crew at Million Air wave to us from the ground.

Checking out Bob Hope Burbank airport

Would be wonderful to offer flights here someday.

JPL

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Pasadena.

Rose Bowl

Power on Board

Woot! Our first transit with ac power in the gondola.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Meet the Silvermans

Advertising gurus Bruce Silverman and wife, Nancy Cole, comment on their passion for airships and their flight aboard "Eureka" over Long Beach and the surrounding areas of the Los Angeles region during the July 4th weekend.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Fireworks over Queen Mary

Zeppelin Shadow

Déjà vu!

Looks so familiar -- the hangars at Tustin are from the same era and construction as our home at Moffett Field in Northern California.

Who knows, perhaps someday the ship itself, and not the shadow, will grace the doors of these wonderful WW2 era hangars.

Hello Tustin

Mission San Juan Capistrano

I think!!

Huntington Beach

Happy July 4th

Shade for the stars

Eureka's shadow passes over the mass of people on Michael Jackson's
star outside the Chinese Theater.

Griffith Park

Silhouetted against smog

LA skyline.

Once a major railroad hub

Two turntables and a plethora of former track beds mark a bygone hub.

Dodgers

Stadium from our skybox. LA in the background.

Staples center

Doing a little scouting while on a 2 hour Hollywood flight..

Love Shack

Check out the message on the roof!

We can't help but hum a few bars of the catchy B-52s song Love Shack every time we pass this building in Long Beach.

Friday, July 3, 2009

CNN

Captain Jim Dexter discussing airships with CNN.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Press Gathered at Neverland

Quite a gathering of media uplink equipment at Neverland Ranch.

(Photo by Mark Stencel)

Official Video of the Jump

Helmet Cam

Raw footage from the helmet cam that Geoff was wearing for the jump.

Geoff on the ground!

Man Overboard!

This amazing shot was taken by Chief Engineer Matthew Kilkerr of Geoff leaping out of the airship.

Preparing for the jump

Geoff and his jump master get ready. The Jump Master is responsible for opening and closing the door. All those in the gondola are harnessed so that they can't fall out!

Over the bow

Over the Queen Mary

Waiting for the Jump

Jump ship...

Eureka lifts off with the parachute team aboard!!

Hot Salt, Cold Salt

We're staying on the Queen Mary - a majestic ship from a similar age
of luxury travel. Each tub has your choice of hot and cold, salt and
fresh water. Was looking forward to trying a hot salt bath, but it
appears that was only a choice back in the days she was at sea. Still,
all the wood and art deco styling is wonderful.