What do you get when you combine one the founders of a major international electronics company and his wife;  a producer, a camera man, and a famous tv personality from a local entertainment program; 4 average Bay Area locals; the worlds only female Zeppelin pilot; one uber cool fight attendant; and one confused blogger at a 1,000 feet over the skies of the San Francisco? Well, a whole lotta love!!!

As I write my latest entry, I find myself asking if this was all some sort of weird dream. No way did this all really happen, or will anyone believe that it was just all a fluke. But trust me when I say, I could not even try to make this up even if I wanted to.

Yesterday, I had incredibly unique opportunity to go flying aboard “Eureka,” a Zeppelin NT (“Neue Technologie“, German for new technology…didn’t know I spoke Deustch did ya!?! =P) owned and operated by Airship Ventures, based at Moffett Field, CA.

Some of you may know that most Saturdays, you can find me volunteering at the Moffett Field Historical Society, an incredible museum dedicated to preserving the history of Moffett Field. And just a quick history lesson, Moffett Field was built by the US Navy in the 1930’s to house the 785 foot long, 146 feet high rigid airship, the USS Macon.  Subsequently for those of you in the Bay Area area, and drive down 101, you’ll see a gigantic black and white hangar in Mt. View…that is Hangar One, and was constructed to house the USS Macon. Yes, it was that large!!

And after 75 years, an airship has finally returned to Moffett Field. “Eureka” is no where near the size as the USS Macon, but still an impressive 246 feet long, 57 feet high, and 67 feet wide….a whole 14 feet longer then a Boeing 747!!  She has a maximum speed of 78 miles per hour, with typical cruising speed of 35 to 40 mph. But all the while providing a smooth and quiet ride.

Carrying on the legacy of airships at Moffett was no small task, but Brian and Alexandra Hall had the vision and knowledge to bring such a company to fruition. And with that they brought the a Zeppelin airship to fly over skies of America for the first time in over 70 years. And the Zeppelin NT is only one of 3 in the world! So rare and unique is definitely an understatement.

As I waited in the passenger lounge at Airship Ventures, housed in the old US Navy Bachelor Officers Quarters (if those walls could talk!!), I was chatting with Ken and Elaine about our upcoming flight. I found out that Elaine had bought Ken a ride for Christmas! Wow, what a girlfriend!!! And while we were chatting, in walked Liam Mayclem, co-host from the popular Eye On the Bay, and his tv crew.  They were doing a segment for an upcoming episode on fun things to do around the Bay. And this definitely counted as one of them.

After a quick safety briefing, we boarded the van to take us across the airfield to the airship. The weather couldn’t have be any better. Highs in the 60’s, no winds, and not a cloud in the sky! The airship was already on another tour and we would be doing a “hot swap” as it landed, swapping out passengers while the engines were running. To ensure proper weight balance, two people exited the airship, and two climbed aboard, and so on till everyone coming off was off and everyone going on was on. Apparently two of our passengers, Mr. & Mrs. Wozniak, had such a good time on the hour long flight, that they were going to join us on the two hour sunset flight over San Francisco as well. The more the merrier!

Once onboard, we each took one of the 12 seats in the Zeppelin. No need to fight over who gets which seat because every seat is a window seat and an isle seat too.  And what a view it was! This was no small cramped airline cabin setup. There was nearly a completely panoramic view, and you can stand up and walk around without bumping your head on the ceiling. I’m 6 feet tall and I had absolutely no problem with my knees bumping in the back of the seat in front of me, banging my head, or having to take a deep breath and squeeze by another passenger. This was the perfect size!

And the coolest part, well there was not just one, was that the Zeppelin had a large bench seat by the rear with a HUGE window. It also had two side windows that opened up and you could stick your head out and get “Zepp Hair,” where your hair gets blown around by the gentle wind. Remember you’re not going that fast…you’re just floating.

And man, was it quiet! Two of the three Lycoming IO-360 Vectored Thrust Engines, are mounted on the airframe well above the passenger cabin, nearly eliminating any noise. The third is mounted on the tail and provides lateral stability, similar to a helicopter’s tail rotar. This gave a smooth and gentle ride as we coasted up the 101 and up the pacific coastline.

And as proof that this airship has absolutely no bad view, if nature were to call during your flight, you can be content knowing that you will not miss a thing.

As we floated along the coastline we neared the opening of the San Francisco Bay and were welcomed by one of the classic icons of the Bay…the Golden Gate Bridge.

With the evening commuters coming and going in their cars, we peacefully cruised over the 746 foot towers and left all our worries behind.

And for our reward, we were treated to an unbelievable view of San Francisco as it lit up just for us.

And with an such a romantic scene laid out in front of us, one of the patrons, Ken took this opportunity and proposed to his girlfriend Elaine on the love seat in the back of the gondola. Of course, she said YES!!! Congratulations and don’t forget to invite us all to the wedding!

With champagne and apple cider for everyone, we toasted the city by the bay one last time and headed over the calm waters back towards Moffett Field.

And with a landing as light as a feather, we returned back to the lounge and toasted one last time to an unbelievable trip.  A few pictures for the photo album and an amazing story to share with friends.

A very special thanks to Beth, Kate, Carol, Ken, Elaine, Janet, Steve, Liam, and Zoltan for a wonderful trip. There definitely was a “Whole Lotta Love” on that ship. If you ever get the chance to go up and do this, I highly recommend it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at 8:03 pm and is filed under Adventures, Aviation, Life, Moffett Field, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.