Airship

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany -- Imagine a slow, scenic glide through the skies in an aircraft that burns little fuel, pollutes hardly at all, affords a good view for all on board and makes no bothersome noise or vibrations.Sixty years ago, before the advent of the jet engine, the rich did travel in this grand style, aboard the giant "silver cigars" )R developed by German aristocrat and army officer Count Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich von Zeppelin.Count von Zeppelin's zeppelins made fortnightly flights between Friedrichshafen and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and trips every 24 days from Friedrichshafen to New York.

Though it has only been gone a few weeks, the Navy blimp will once again make its return to the Baltimore skies. The 178-foot airship, which is owned by the government and primarily used for research, will continue a mission to test aerial mapping sensors for the Army starting Nov. 12. The trek will begin in Beltsville and later continue to the Baltimore region, although a spokesman for the Naval Research Laboratory couldn't say exactly when the...

The U.S. Customs Service stepped up its war against drug traffickers yesterday by awarding two local companies a $100 million contract to make blimps designed to detect the movements of smugglers in the air, on land and at sea.The contract awarded to the Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group in Linthicum and TCOM L. P. in Columbia is the largest awarded by the agency and contains options that could boost its value to $170 million.It calls for the development of four blimps with radar systems to be used as part of an "electronic picket fence" that provides virtually unbroken coverage along the nation's southern border, Westinghouse said.

A 178-foot blimp that some residents have spotted above the Baltimore region in recent days is a manned, government research airship conducting aerial mapping, according to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The MZ-3A "lighter-than-air" blimp began roaming above the greater Washington, D.C. area on Sept. 21, and will be operating in the region through Oct. 5, according to the laboratory. It is stationed at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River. The propeller-driven blimp, which can remain "aloft and nearly stationary" for more than 12 hours, is government owned.

A 178-foot blimp that some residents have spotted above the Baltimore region in recent days is a manned, government research airship conducting aerial mapping, according to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The MZ-3A "lighter-than-air" blimp began roaming above the greater Washington, D.C. area on Sept. 21, and will be operating in the region through Oct. 5, according to the laboratory. It is stationed at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River. The propeller-driven blimp, which can remain "aloft and nearly stationary" for more than 12 hours, is government owned.

Two blimps floated far above the All-Star Game last night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and pilots positioned the airships so that cameras inside them could provide television watchers with panoramic views of the event.The blimps also serve as flying billboards, but maybe their best feature is that they make people feel good."Blimps are a touchy-feely sort of thing. They make people happy, especially children," said Beth Swanson, spokeswoman for the Family Channel Airship Tour. The blimp advertising the cable television channel is 132 feet long, white with red tails, and bears the station's logo.

Though it has only been gone a few weeks, the Navy blimp will once again make its return to the Baltimore skies. The 178-foot airship, which is owned by the government and primarily used for research, will continue a mission to test aerial mapping sensors for the Army starting Nov. 12. The trek will begin in Beltsville and later continue to the Baltimore region, although a spokesman for the Naval Research Laboratory couldn't say exactly when the...

FORT MEADE -- That giant blimp you saw flying over sections of Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George's counties yesterday was carrying the hopes of the future for Linthicum-based Westinghouse Airships Inc.While hovering over Laurel Race Course in the morning, Louis L. Foltzer III, an executive with the airship development arm of the local Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group, said the company has a "50-50 chance" of selling the Navy on a plan to bring...

TAMPA, Fla. - Carl Harbuck and Matthew St. John claim to have the best seats for Sunday's Super Bowl XXXV matchup between the Ravens and New York Giants, but it's not what you think. They have to get to the game about eight hours early and they're going to be a good 1,700 feet from the field of play. You see, Harbuck and St. John will be piloting the Budweiser.com blimp that will provide the network overhead shots of the festivities at Raymond James Stadium - and about 60 other major television events over the course of the coming year.

Baltimoreans have never lost their affection for airplanes and other, odd airborne craft.In 1910, 500,000 citizens got their first sight of an airplane when French aviator Hubert Latham flew over the city. Twenty-six years later, the ill-fated Hindenburg, bearing swastikas on its tail fins, paid a quick visit to the city while cruising to its base at Lakehurst, N.J.Through the years, experimental planes have flown around the area from the old Glenn L. Martin Co. Middle River plant. Sputnik and even UFO sightings during the 1950s and 1960s kept Marylanders scanning the night skies.

On September 23, 2007, JAMES WILLIAM CURRIE, age 85, passed away at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care, from complications associated with Alzheimer's disease. Born in Roopville, Georgia on January 6, 1922, he was the son of the late James Hardy and Viva (Cockrell) Currie of Anniston, Alabama. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in engineering in 1945. During his 40-year career with Westinghouse Corporation, he was Director of the Center for Advanced Studies and Analysis in Falls Church, Virginia; Manager of the Operations and Support Division of Tethered Communications (TCOM)

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - Lifting off in a blimp is downright scary. The motor wheezes like an overworked weed-eater, and the angle of ascent is so steep that passengers tilt forward in their seats as if they are on an amusement ride. For a few moments, it seems certain the oversized balloon will deflate and fall back to earth. But once the blimp levels out at about 1,000 feet, the ride becomes as smooth as a cruise on a luxury ocean liner - minus the seasickness. Throughout the summer, hundreds of vacationers have paid $100 to $200 each to be part of the only blimp tour in North America (one of just three worldwide)

TAMPA, Fla. - Carl Harbuck and Matthew St. John claim to have the best seats for Sunday's Super Bowl XXXV matchup between the Ravens and New York Giants, but it's not what you think. They have to get to the game about eight hours early and they're going to be a good 1,700 feet from the field of play. You see, Harbuck and St. John will be piloting the Budweiser.com blimp that will provide the network overhead shots of the festivities at Raymond James Stadium - and about 60 other major television events over the course of the coming year.

HILLSBORO, Ore. -- Jim Thiele is building giant bumper stickers in the sky. His blimps, lighted internally like jack-o'-lanterns, hover over sporting events around the world, hawking cars and beer and life insurance. Of the approximately two dozen airships aloft, Thiele's American Blimp Corp., with offices in Hillsboro and Severna Park, is responsible for 19. ABC blimps are different. Smaller. Brighter. Hipper. Just right for advertising. ABC airships have carried the logos of Coca-Cola, Nokia, Met Life (the Snoopy balloon)

Baltimoreans have never lost their affection for airplanes and other, odd airborne craft.In 1910, 500,000 citizens got their first sight of an airplane when French aviator Hubert Latham flew over the city. Twenty-six years later, the ill-fated Hindenburg, bearing swastikas on its tail fins, paid a quick visit to the city while cruising to its base at Lakehurst, N.J.Through the years, experimental planes have flown around the area from the old Glenn L. Martin Co. Middle River plant. Sputnik and even UFO sightings during the 1950s and 1960s kept Marylanders scanning the night skies.

FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, Germany -- Imagine a slow, scenic glide through the skies in an aircraft that burns little fuel, pollutes hardly at all, affords a good view for all on board and makes no bothersome noise or vibrations.Sixty years ago, before the advent of the jet engine, the rich did travel in this grand style, aboard the giant "silver cigars" )R developed by German aristocrat and army officer Count Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich von Zeppelin.Count von Zeppelin's zeppelins made fortnightly flights between Friedrichshafen and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and trips every 24 days from Friedrichshafen to New York.

On September 23, 2007, JAMES WILLIAM CURRIE, age 85, passed away at the Gilchrist Center for Hospice Care, from complications associated with Alzheimer's disease. Born in Roopville, Georgia on January 6, 1922, he was the son of the late James Hardy and Viva (Cockrell) Currie of Anniston, Alabama. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in engineering in 1945. During his 40-year career with Westinghouse Corporation, he was Director of the Center for Advanced Studies and Analysis in Falls Church, Virginia; Manager of the Operations and Support Division of Tethered Communications (TCOM)

The U.S. Customs Service stepped up its war against drug traffickers yesterday by awarding two local companies a $100 million contract to make blimps designed to detect the movements of smugglers in the air, on land and at sea.The contract awarded to the Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group in Linthicum and TCOM L. P. in Columbia is the largest awardedby the agency and contains options that could boost its value to $170 million.The contract calls for the development of four blimps with radar systems to be used as part of an "electronic picket fence" that provides virtually unbroken coverage along the nation's southern border, Westinghouse said.

FORT MEADE -- That giant blimp you saw flying over sections of Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George's counties yesterday was carrying the hopes of the future for Linthicum-based Westinghouse Airships Inc.While hovering over Laurel Race Course in the morning, Louis L. Foltzer III, an executive with the airship development arm of the local Westinghouse Electronic Systems Group, said the company has a "50-50 chance" of selling the Navy on a plan to bring...

Two blimps floated far above the All-Star Game last night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, and pilots positioned the airships so that cameras inside them could provide television watchers with panoramic views of the event.The blimps also serve as flying billboards, but maybe their best feature is that they make people feel good."Blimps are a touchy-feely sort of thing. They make people happy, especially children," said Beth Swanson, spokeswoman for the Family Channel Airship Tour. The blimp advertising the cable television channel is 132 feet long, white with red tails, and bears the station's logo.