Saturday, April 12, 2008

Goodyear Blimp Hangar

This antique Goodyear Zeppelin Hanger bank is made of the same metal used on the airship, duralumin. Made by Ferrosteel, it measures 7 3/8" long. One sold on eBay recently for $145. The real Goodyear Airdock in Akron, Ohio, was constructed in 1929 by the Goodyear Zepplin Corporation. It’s an unusually-shaped building which has been described as "half a silkworm's cocoon, cut in half the long way." Spanning 1,175 feet long and 325 feet wide by 211 feet tall, the building has semi-spherical doors weighing 600 tons. Akron is the birthplace of America's blimp industry. About 1910, Goodyear began experimenting with airship development and in 1917 created a subsidiary with the Zeppelin Company to build dirigibles. During the 1920s and 1930s, Akron and Lakehurst, N.J., were the American centers of dirigible research and manufacturing. After tragic accidents including the Hindenburg Disaster in 1937, rigid airships were abandoned and Goodyear focused on the production of blimps. The US Navy used many blimps in World War II for aerial observation, and Goodyear began utilizing them to advertise. Though very few new airships are built today, the Goodyear Blimps remain a popular corporate symbol. One of the largest buildings in the world without interior supports, the airdock was acquired by the Lockheed Martin Corporation in 1996. Blimp activitiy at the hanger continues today.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

These are never cheap. There is also a tire rubber version as well as a higher end version as well.

S

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