News
A bigger, faster, state-of-the-art Goodyear Blimp begins a new era in the west
LOS ANGELES, Calif., October 26, 2017 – Goodyear’s newest blimp Wingfoot Two and its crew arrive in greater Los Angeles today, completing a 2,600-mile, 10-state and three-week cross-country tour from Ohio to California. Wingfoot Two will land at Long Beach Airport where it will be moored for the next few weeks until moving to its permanent home at Goodyear’s airship base in nearby Carson, Calif.
With the return of the iconic blimp to California, Goodyear has a full schedule of activities including broadcast aerial coverage, customer events and passenger rides. The blimp will provide aerial coverage for the L.A. Clippers game on Nov. 1, BlizzCon on Nov. 3, the Arizona-USC college football game on Nov. 4, and coverage of both the Clippers and L.A. Lakers home games on Nov. 5.
“We are very excited to introduce Wingfoot Two to her new home in Southern California after a great trip creating new fans across the country,” said Pilot in Charge Matthew St. John. “We are honored to carry on our role as an aerial ambassador for Goodyear with this new generation of Goodyear Blimp.”
Goodyear Blimps have flown the California skies for more than 90 years, providing aerial coverage of many of the most-watched sports, entertainment and news events. Notable events include the first-ever live aerial feed to a transcontinental telecast over the 1955 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl, the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Academy Awards red carpet arrivals, the 2015 Special Olympics and numerous Dodgers, Lakers, Clippers, Galaxy, Kings, USC and UCLA games.
Get to Know Wingfoot Two
At more than 246 feet long, Wingfoot Two stretches nearly the length of a football field. The blimp’s top speed is 73 miles per hour. Its three vectoring engines allow for excellent maneuverability and an aluminum and carbon fiber semi-rigid frame supports an envelope with the capacity to hold nearly 300,000 cubic feet of helium, the equivalent of more than 25 million baseballs.
Blimp fans can say hello to the new blimp by using the hashtag #WelcomeWingfoot2 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About the Goodyear Blimp fleet
Since 1917, Goodyear has built more than 300 lighter-than-air vehicles for public relations and U.S. military applications. The company currently operates two technologically advanced Goodyear Blimps—Wingfoot One and Wingfoot Two—in Florida and California. The third blimp to complete the new fleet is under construction at the company’s Wingfoot Lake facility near Akron, Ohio. For more information about the Goodyear Blimps, go to www.goodyearblimp.com.
About The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs about 65,000 people and manufactures its products in 47 facilities in 21 countries around the world. Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry. For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com/corporate.