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ISSUE
99 - January 2010
Over 8,000 Total Ads Listed
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| Zeppelin
Eureka Part 1 |
By Bernard Zee,
Contributing Editor & Photographer
Fremont, California |
| I'm still giddy over having had the opportunity
to ride in, and photograph the only Zeppelin in the United
States. The 'Eureka' is one of a new breed of lighter than
air ships manufactured by the Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH,
and operated by Airship Ventures. Based out of Moffett Field
(in Mountain View, CA), the Eureka offers sight-seeing rides
of the Bay Area and Monterey. Riding on the Eureka, and becoming
a Zep head was truly a remarkable, and unforgettable experience!
Nikon D300 w/ 18-105mm VR lens, Nikon D200 w/ 70-300mm VR lens.
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|
Our trip started out with a preflight briefing,
security screening, then a ride out to the
private section
of the Oakland airport. There, we watched the arrival of the
Eureka airship! |
|
Not to be confused with a Blimp, the Eureka
has a rigid internal structure.
So even with the helium removed,
it will retain its general shape. |
|
Airship Ventures started operating the Eureka
out of Moffett Field in
November of 2008. At 246 ft long, it
is the largest airship in the world. |
|
That's our pilot Katherine 'Kate' Board.
She is the only female Zeppelin
pilot in the world. I believe
she's British. |
|
| Eureka's 2 main engines are mounted high
above the gondola, attaching to the airship's internal bracing
instead. This reduces engine noise and vibrations in the cabin,
and also allows for an impressively unhindered viewing experience. |
|
| The 3rd engine is mounted aft, where it
drives 2 propellers. One helps control yaw (like a helicopter
tail rotor), and the other pitch. The one pointed down in the
picture can be swiveled upwards, where it acts as a pusher
propeller during normal flight. |
|
| And away we go!! Oh my gosh, the take off
was unbelievable! With no effort at all, we were hundreds of
feet above the ground. It really was just like releasing a
helium balloon. Helium of course, is the inert-lighter than
air gas which provides the buoyancy that allows Eureka to fly. |
|
Airship Eureka has 2 doors, each with a
window that opens.
Yes, not only do they open in flight, they
encourage you to stick your head out there!! |
|
The cockpit area, like the rest of the
cabin, provides a wonderfully
unobstructed view of the surroundings.
|
|
| As we head towards San Francisco, Alameda
island can be seen on the left. |
|
| Eureka's cabin can seat 12 passengers, plus
a crew of 2. |
|
| Here is an aerial view of the USCGC Bertholf
(WMSL-750), moored in Alameda. |
|
Cruising at around 1000ft and 35mph, we
got this amazing
view of downtown Oakland, Berekely, and beyond! |
|
| At the briefing, they actually encourage
you to stick your head out the window. That is how one gets
inducted into the Zep-Head club! Yes, some people did it more
than once. :-) |
|
| Here we are, flying over Alcatraz. |
|
| A picture postcard view of San Francisco,
including Pier 39, and the Aquatic park. Other icons like the
Transamerica building, coit tower, and Bay bridge can also
be seen. |
|
| We make a U-turn before getting too close
to the Golden Gate Bridge. We were not flying the airship's
normal routine, as this was the Thursday of Fleetweek, and
the Blue Angels were getting ready to do their practice flight
- all sorts of airspace restrictions were in place... we were
thankfully to be even allowed to fly! By the way, Eureka did
participate in the Fleetweek '09 air show. It did a hover,
rocking, spinning, and nodding routine (I don't know how else
to describe it!) Saturday. Sunday's show was considerably shorter,
and it only did a fly by. |
|
This is looking out the back window, where
the airship's tail wheel
can be seen, as we turn away from
San Francisco. |
|
| Flying over Yerba Buena island. |
|
| Our co-pilot for the day was Flight Instructor
consultant from Germany, Hans Paul Strohle. Got a lot of good
information about airships from him! Weight management is very
important for airship operations. Tiny things like direct sunlight
warming up the gas in the airship a couple of degrees would
generate increased lift (I think he said 80kg per degree Celsius)
- due to the gas expansion. Conversely, losing the sun in the
evening would cause a loss of lift. Things like how much fuel,
rate of consumption of fuel, how many passengers, and so forth
all figure into the calculation. When they first picked us
up, there were a few extra crew members on board. But that's
not nearly enough to offset the 12 passengers they were to
take on. So they carried water as ballast. After taking on
the passengers, the water was released, and away we went! (The
grass at Oakland airport really looked like it could use it
too!) |
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