Purdy: There is, too, a local team in the Rose Bowl

Two for two?

Check out the San Jose Mercury News today.

Columnist Mark Purdy gives us a shout out as the "local team" in the upcoming Rose Bowl this Monday.

Mark had the chance to speak with Will Spivey, mechanic/inspector (and former defense for San Jose State Spartans), and Ben Travis, Pilot for the story.

As to who will end up on top - Wisconsin Badgers or Oregon Ducks - we shall soon know!

Will Spivey, mechanic/inspector for Airship Ventures, with a camera adaptor ring that is used when the zeppelin hovers over sporting events providing TV coverage. At Moffett Field in Mountain View Wednesday Dec. 21, 2011.
The crew that flies the zeppelin will be flying over the Rose Bowl game on January 2nd providing TV coverage.
(Photo by Patrick Tehan/Mercury News)

Morning Paper

A good way to start the day - a cup of coffee and Eureka on the front page of the paper. We are here in Long Beach thru the middle of next week offering passenger flights and to provide aerial tv coverage of the Rose Bowl.

Palos Verdes Lighthouse

Collapsed Section of Road

Coastal Batteries

Look closer at the hills for ww2 era coastal defense positions

Terminal Island

An intermediate level federal penitentiary near Long Beach.

Presenting on Flight Training and Simulation

Francis Govers, Airship Ventures Special Missions Manager presenting a session on LTA pilot training and flight simulation.

Roger Munk and George Spyrou

Alan Handley reading a tribute to Roger Munk and George Spyrou, airship pioneers gone west in 2010, to whom the conference has been dedicated.

Upper Platform L30

Zeppelin Tail Gunner

From a model of the great war airship L30.

Fokker D-VIII at Museum of Flight

Aachen Model Airship Regatta

The DGLR (Germany Society for Air and Space Travel) held an airship workshop in Aachen, Germany last month.

To coincide with the event, a group of European airship modelers held an "Airship Regatta" at the same time. Past events have taken place all over Germany, as well as in the UK and Italy.

If you would be interested in seeing a similar event take place in the United States, either to participate with a design, or as a spectator to watch the airships compete, let us know via a comment to the blog.

Airships to the Arctic

A Full House for Airships to the Arctic at the Edgewater Hotel

A number of us (Joanne, Francis and myself) are in attendance this week at the Airships to the Arctic conference in Seattle. Earlier today we presented our experiences and lessons learned during the "Farmers Airship Covering Communities" coast to coast tour this past summer. Tomorrow Francis (special missions manager) will be doing a presentation on airship flight simulators and our LTA pilot training program.

The conference is a gathering of airship operators, airship vendors, government agencies, and commercial customers looking at the challenges and opportunities of operating airships in the arctic, with a particular focus on Alaska and the northern territories of Canada.

Flight of the Mini Macon

View of the Test Flight from Above

Last month, a 20 foot working model of the Macon built by Jack Clemens was flown in our hangar at Moffett Field.

There was nice coverage by the San Jose Mercury News as well as other local news outlets.

After two prior attempts -- one was destroyed by his pet cat, one drifted away on a test flight -- this was the 3rd model that he had made, and fortunately for all of us, it was a success.

Hats off to Jack and his mini-macon!

Comic Art - Eureka!

Over the holiday weekend one of the followers of our facebook page posted the story of their airship flight using a cool web site/tool called "Pixton". Pixton lets you create your own comic strips online with pictures you upload, and characters you create and then arrange to tell a story.

Be sure to check out the whole story online!

Grand Theft Airship?

The new video trailer for Grand Theft Auto V by Rockstar Games features appearances by an airship. You can spot it in the background over the city several times. A few of those times, it looks like it could be the Goodyear Blimp. A few other times, it looks long and slender, like it could be Eureka. As both airships sail the skies of LA, could be either! But we have our favorite.

Check out the video and see which airship YOU think it is!

Scan for it at the following points -- 00:17 over the golf course, 1:04, 1:09, and 1:11 above the city.

Wall Street Journal Holiday Charters Ad

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, look for our holiday charters ad in the Wall Street Journal today!

Flight School

Juergen teaching airship structure basics to a class of pilots, inspectors and engineers.

Quote for the Day

"These are not the world's slowest aircraft, they are the world's fastest ships."

 -- Chuck Myers, veteran military pilot and president of AeroCounsel

26,347 Nautical Miles

This diagram illustrates the Oakland, California to Oakland, California round-the-world trip this aircraft took back in 1997.