Story by Jon Stalnaker AKA The Studebaker Dude
Confession: I used AI and Google to help me with some of the history of the Dirigible.
I used to call them dirigibles when I was a kid growing up in the central valley of California. We also called them blimps and that is the more correct because a blimp is actually a non-rigid dirigible. It has no internal metal frame and only keeps its shape from the pressure of the gas inside. A blimp collapses completely when deflated. The Hindenburg Dirigible is the most famous and we all know what happened to that. Most people are familiar with the Goodyear blimp that you can see at big sporting events. Goodyear began manufacturing airships as far back as the 1910s. They built Military airships during WWI and built their first commercial airship in 1925. They started using blimps as billboards in the 1920s and fitted them with neon lights in the 1940s. They started using their blimp to cover the Rose Bowl parade in 1955.
During the 1950s, California served as a critical hub for both military operations and commercial innovations involving blimps. The state’s vast coastline and massive sporting culture made it a prime location for lighter than air (LTA) aviation. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Moffett Field served as a major center for LTA operations. It’s Iconic “Hanger #1” regularly housed active Navy blimps conducting training flights and coastal surveillance. I can recall my dad driving on the coast highway just south of San Francisco and seeing the huge hanger that housed the blimps. It was a big thrill when it was open, and we could see a blimp inside. Seeing a blimp as a young boy in Stockton was a regular occurrence. They made a unique sound that I could hear in plenty of time to look up and watch it fly by overhead.
Back then we were outside most of the day anyway. If you want to know what it was like for a young boy in the 50s, just watch Leave it to Beaver. I sooo relate to that show and you can still watch it on your cell phone. I was Theodore and my brother was just like Wally. He even had a friend that was just like Eddie Haskell, but my brothers friend was Eddie Bell. I would imagine my parents would not have liked Eddie Bell if they knew what he was teaching us.
A few days ago Carlene and I were driving somewhere (probably going out for sushi or to see the Doctor), when she noticed the blimp up in the sky. I tried to pull over to the side of the road and get my phone out of my pocket fast enough to get a picture of the Goodyear blimp as it flew overhead. I got a couple of pictures and posted them on Facebook. I was hoping I would be able to hear the sound it made but it may not even make that sound anymore. After all, that was 70 years ago when I used to hear it. Carlene told me that she had hired it to fly over our house and wish me happy birthday but forgot it was coming. Oh well, I couldn’t make it back to the house fast enough. BTW, it DID fly over our house.
It serves me right. We’ve been together for over 30 years, and she has learned that when I tell her something, if it sounds too good or too incredible, it probably is. Even though I say it with a straight face she knows I’m full of bologna. She has learned well from the master and can now dish it out with the ever so mandatory straight face. It doesn’t fool me, but it amuses me and fills me with pride. Keep this in mind if you ever suspect something I write about stretches your truth test. It may be so, or I may be giggling at the keyboard. I don’t have to keep a straight face when I’m typing…