July 4, 2006

On July 4th I dropped by the airport for a couple of quick circuits, and low and behold, was greeted by a big white blimp right there at mid-field. Not one to pass by the opportunity to photograph a new aircraft, off I trundled to see this visitor up close.

Apparently the team from Lightship (an American company) had just arrived and only one crewman was around to give a tour. They're in town for the Stampede because of the exposure the show brings. Their client - Bell - focuses on public tours, awarding tickets with radio and raffle contests.

Inside the gondola I was surprised by how basic everything is. The gondola itself is little more than a 4130N steel tube frame, covered in fabric with thin plexiglas windows. The instruments are as basic as any VFR plane. Of course there were two sets of engine gauges, but where it did differ was in three gauges indicating pressures in the helium envelope and in a supplemental air envelope called a ballonet. This smaller envelope compensates for the differential expansion between helium and air as temperatures fluctuate.

I thought as the airship moved around its mooring mast was that it felt like I was gently rocking in a hammock or floating on an air mattress. There were no sudden movements. Quite the contrary actually, since everything seemed to work in slow motion.

In flight these airships are supposed to be quite the agile performers; climbing like crazy and able to turn on a dime. It'll be interesting to watch the Lightship team putting their flying machine through its paces for the next couple weeks.

Trevor McTavish

At the mooring mast

Basic instruments

Bobbing along