The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (NASDAQ: GT) today revealed plans for major facilities upgrades at its blimp Airship Operations base in Carson, California. The improvements will include an inflatable hangar for the new Goodyear Blimp Wingfoot Two, which is scheduled to arrive in Southern California by the end of the year.
The rubber company has flown its blimps for more than 90 years and has operated its base in Carson since 1968.
Since 2014, Goodyear has been transitioning from its 1970’s-era GZ model blimps to a new fleet of blimps. The new blimps feature an entirely new design with capabilities including faster speeds, quieter engines, advanced on-board avionics and larger passenger capacity. Wingfoot One (christened in 2014) and Wingfoot Two (2016), currently operate in Florida and Ohio. Wingfoot Two will replace the Spirit of Innovation (2006), which is scheduled to retire in March.
“At Goodyear, we honor tradition and drive toward innovation,” said Paul Fitzhenry, senior vice president, Global Communications.
Carson
The new hangar will be the first on the Carson airship base, which Goodyear opened in 1968. The hangar will be built out of 73 miles of partially translucent polyester fabric and will be almost nine-stories tall and longer than a football field. Construction of the hangar is expected to be completed in seven months and erected on the property in July. Additional updates will include an enlarged mooring circle for ground handling, a new masting system, plus a new maintenance building.
Goodyear Blimps
Since 1917, Goodyear has built more than 300 lighter-than-air vehicles for public relations and defense applications, many built at the company’s Wingfoot Lake hangar near Akron, Ohio.
Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies. It employs approximately 66,000 people and manufactures its products in 48 facilities in 21 countries around the world. It has two so-called Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxemburg.
