It has propellers like a plane but this flying machine has a team of tug-of-war experts and a pole climber to eventually set it free.
This is the Goodyear Blimp, which is in B.C. for the first time since 2003.
“We’ve journeyed up to Canada for our Fountain Tire 60th anniversary,” spokesperson Priscilla Tasker said.
The blimp is a magnet for kids like Ethan Fleming, who has spent a lot of time at BC Children’s Hospital.
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“It is fun going up,” Ethan said as the blimp took off.
For the pilots, flying the Goodyear Blimp is sweet and select gig but there is no auto-pilot. It’s all touch on an old wooden wheel for dealing with up-and-down drafts.
“It’s like a video game…you’re always trying to make that perfect landing,” pilot Kristen Arambula said.
Ethan wasn’t the only kid on board. I brought my over 40-year-old Goodyear Blimp model I bought after seeing the blimp fly over Abbotsford when I was around Ethan’s age. It had an effect on me and finally my model blimp made it on to the real thing.
The pilot calls blimp fans “Helium Heads.” Ethan is the latest to join their ranks.
The flight is a bit of history. The “Spirit of Innovation” is retiring but a bigger, faster version is on the way. For Ethan, another trip would be great.
“It is so smooth, not like a plane that cuts through the air. This floats.”
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