Published: Tuesday, August 24, 2010
A sky-high ride in a zeppelin
Airship at Paine Field offers scenic trips above Puget Sound
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Mark Mulligan / The Herald
Looking south over Whidbey Island, the zeppelin Eureka flies from Paine Field on Monday. The airship will be offering paid rides through Sept. 6.
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The zeppelin flies above Paine Field in Everett.
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Mark Mulligan / The Herald
The Eureka casts a shadow onto Paine Field Monday
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An excited Owen Brown prepares to buckle-up after boarding.
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EVERETT -- What's billed as the world's largest airship flew into the skies above Snohomish County on Monday.
The zeppelin Eureka will be stationed at Paine Field through Sept. 6 as part of its first visit to the Pacific Northwest.
Rides on the airship will be available to the general public. They won't be cheap -- prices range from $375 to $950 -- but it's comfortable and the view is as good as it gets.
The 2-year-old zeppelin, owned and operated by Airship Ventures of Mountain View, Calif., arrived at Paine Field after spending five days in the Portland area.
The $15 million airship is one of only three zeppelins in the world, all built by the Zeppelin Ltd. Company of Friedrichshafen, Germany, company spokeswoman Rachel Loya said. At 246 feet, this one is a few feet longer than the other two, she said.
A zeppelin is larger than a blimp and has a light metal internal framework covered by a material similar to Kevlar, Loya said. A blimp, by contrast, is a large airbag inflated by the helium it contains, with a gondola attached to the bottom.
The zeppelin's structure enables its engines to be stationed at several locations around the hull while a blimp's engines must be attached to the gondola. For zeppelins, this makes for quieter rides, greater maneuverability and more speed, company officials say. One of the other zeppelins holds the world speed record for airships at 77 knots, close to 90 mph, according to Brian Metzler, guest services manager for Airship Ventures. Typical cruising speed is 30 to 40 knots, owner Brian Hall said.
"It's the lightest, it's the fastest, it's the biggest," Hall said.
The Eureka was bought by Hall, owner of mark/space software of Los Gatos, Calif., and five other investors while it was under construction. Hall had taken a trip on a zeppelin in Germany and was enthralled.
The investors started Airship Ventures and for two years have been selling rides in California. The venture has been a profitable one, Hall said. The airship also does promotions for its primary sponsor, Farmers Insurance, raises money for charity, and is increasingly being used for scientific research, Loya said.
Last fall, it flew over the southern San Francisco Bay area, gathering images for NASA of sea life that thrives in highly saline conditions. After it's done at Paine Field, it will look for orcas off the Washington coast as part of research for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, based in Massachusetts.
The ship's maneuverability enables it to fly very low to the water without disturbing sea life, company officials say. In fact, whales have been known to follow the airship, Hall said.
"They might think it's the whale god," he said.
For passengers, flights range from $375 for 45 minutes to $950 for two hours. The gondola seats 12 in two rows of six, so each seat is on the window and the aisle. The gondola has a lot of window space, including three windows that open -- the crew even invites passengers to stick their heads out. Once the ship reaches its cruising height of 1,000 to 1,200 feet, passengers may get up and move around. The lavatory also has a window: Crew members call it a "loo with a view."
Pilot Katharine Board flew blimps for 10 years before catching on with Airship Ventures. She's the only woman airship captain in the world, according to the company.
A native of Canterbury, England, she was excited to fly the zeppelin in the Northwest, she said.
She loves her job, she said Monday as she directed the airship over south Whidbey Island. The Olympic Mountains and Admiralty Inlet were visible in the distance.
"This is the view from my office," she said.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
Zeppelin facts
The Farmers Airship is the only commercial passenger airship in the United States, according to Airship Ventures, which owns and operates the vessel out of Mountain View, Calif.
The airship, named Eureka, is not a blimp; it is one of only three zeppelins in the world and the only one in the United States. One of the others operates in Germany and the third is not in service.
The zeppelin is the largest airship in the world at 246 feet in length.
The zeppelin is 15 feet longer than a 747 and 50 feet longer than the largest blimp.
The airship's cabin holds 12 passengers and includes oversized windows (some open), an on-board restroom with a view and a rear loveseat with a panoramic, wrap-around window.
How to ride
For information on rides on the zeppelin Eureka, call 650-969-8100, ext. 111, or go to http://farmersairship.com.
The zeppelin Eureka will be stationed at Paine Field through Sept. 6 as part of its first visit to the Pacific Northwest.
Rides on the airship will be available to the general public. They won't be cheap -- prices range from $375 to $950 -- but it's comfortable and the view is as good as it gets.
The 2-year-old zeppelin, owned and operated by Airship Ventures of Mountain View, Calif., arrived at Paine Field after spending five days in the Portland area.
The $15 million airship is one of only three zeppelins in the world, all built by the Zeppelin Ltd. Company of Friedrichshafen, Germany, company spokeswoman Rachel Loya said. At 246 feet, this one is a few feet longer than the other two, she said.
A zeppelin is larger than a blimp and has a light metal internal framework covered by a material similar to Kevlar, Loya said. A blimp, by contrast, is a large airbag inflated by the helium it contains, with a gondola attached to the bottom.
The zeppelin's structure enables its engines to be stationed at several locations around the hull while a blimp's engines must be attached to the gondola. For zeppelins, this makes for quieter rides, greater maneuverability and more speed, company officials say. One of the other zeppelins holds the world speed record for airships at 77 knots, close to 90 mph, according to Brian Metzler, guest services manager for Airship Ventures. Typical cruising speed is 30 to 40 knots, owner Brian Hall said.
"It's the lightest, it's the fastest, it's the biggest," Hall said.
The Eureka was bought by Hall, owner of mark/space software of Los Gatos, Calif., and five other investors while it was under construction. Hall had taken a trip on a zeppelin in Germany and was enthralled.
The investors started Airship Ventures and for two years have been selling rides in California. The venture has been a profitable one, Hall said. The airship also does promotions for its primary sponsor, Farmers Insurance, raises money for charity, and is increasingly being used for scientific research, Loya said.
Last fall, it flew over the southern San Francisco Bay area, gathering images for NASA of sea life that thrives in highly saline conditions. After it's done at Paine Field, it will look for orcas off the Washington coast as part of research for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, based in Massachusetts.
The ship's maneuverability enables it to fly very low to the water without disturbing sea life, company officials say. In fact, whales have been known to follow the airship, Hall said.
"They might think it's the whale god," he said.
For passengers, flights range from $375 for 45 minutes to $950 for two hours. The gondola seats 12 in two rows of six, so each seat is on the window and the aisle. The gondola has a lot of window space, including three windows that open -- the crew even invites passengers to stick their heads out. Once the ship reaches its cruising height of 1,000 to 1,200 feet, passengers may get up and move around. The lavatory also has a window: Crew members call it a "loo with a view."
Pilot Katharine Board flew blimps for 10 years before catching on with Airship Ventures. She's the only woman airship captain in the world, according to the company.
A native of Canterbury, England, she was excited to fly the zeppelin in the Northwest, she said.
She loves her job, she said Monday as she directed the airship over south Whidbey Island. The Olympic Mountains and Admiralty Inlet were visible in the distance.
"This is the view from my office," she said.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com.
Zeppelin facts
The airship, named Eureka, is not a blimp; it is one of only three zeppelins in the world and the only one in the United States. One of the others operates in Germany and the third is not in service.
The zeppelin is the largest airship in the world at 246 feet in length.
The zeppelin is 15 feet longer than a 747 and 50 feet longer than the largest blimp.
The airship's cabin holds 12 passengers and includes oversized windows (some open), an on-board restroom with a view and a rear loveseat with a panoramic, wrap-around window.
How to ride
For information on rides on the zeppelin Eureka, call 650-969-8100, ext. 111, or go to http://farmersairship.com.
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