Record-setting Flight Tuesday Kicks Off World’s Largest Airship’s Memorial Day Weekend in San Diego
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., May 24, 2010 Today, Airship Ventures, owners and operators of The Farmers Airship, the Zeppelin Eureka, announced that tomorrow the world’s largest airship will attempt to break the world distance record for a modern airship. Flying between Airship Ventures home base, the historic Airship Hangars at Moffett Field in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Brown Field in San Diego, the Farmers Airship will cover 459.3 miles, breaking the standing Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) record previously held by a Russian team by 70.2 miles.
“The Farmers A irship is a familiar sight above sporting and charitable events and most people know it as the most luxurious way to see the sights in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, but few outside the aviation and scientific communities realize she is also one of the most sophisticated flying machines in the skies today,” noted Airship Ventures CEO Alexandra Hall. “In breaking the distance record above such spectacular scenery, we’re excited that her flying ability gets to shine alongside her role as sightseeing platform.”
“I’m lucky enough to get to fly Eureka, so I know what she can do,” added Airship Ventures Director of Flight Operations Jim Dexter. “I’m excited that on Tuesday, the rest of the world will too.”
Piloted by Dexter, the flight will not only be recordbreaking, but take in some of the most breathtaking sc enery California’s Central Valley and Coastline has to offer. Like a leisurely cruise down Highway 1, the flight will depart, weather permitted, at 7 a.m., Tuesday, May 25, with the total flying time estimated at just over nine hours. Airship aficionados on the ground are invited to “spot the Farmers Airship” as it makes its historic journey, and upload comments and photos to www.facebook.com/AirshipVentures or @AirshipVentures on Twitter; for a chance to win an Airship Ventures T-shirt. Those on the ground can trac k the airship at www.AirshipVentures.com/Tracking as it passes the following major cities on its route:
· Salinas
· San Luis Obispo
· Santa Maria
· &nbs p; Santa Barbara
· Oxnard
· Ventura
· Malibu
· Santa Monica
· Downtown Los Angeles
· Long Beach
· Seal Beach
· Huntington Beach
· Dana Point
· San Diego
“I will be on board to personally represent all of the Farmers Insurance employees, agents and district managers in marking this aviation milestone,” said Kevin Kelso, Chief Marketing Officer of Farmers Insurance Group, Inc. “All of us at Farmers share in the excitement of this historic trip as well as the unique opportunity to showcase the Farmers logo for 9 hours and more than 400 hundred miles.”
The Farmers Airship is anticipated to arrive at San Diego around 4 p.m. and the public are invited to Brown Field, 1424 Contin ental Street San Diego, CA 92154, to greet the airship and its record-breaking crew. Upon arriving in San Diego, the Farmers Airship will begin a four-day stretch offering Memorial Day weekend flights above San Diego’s skyline, harbor and coast, starting at $199.
About the Airship and Purchasing Tickets
Stretching 15-feet longer than a 747 and 50-feet longer than the largest blimp, the Farmers Airship, the Zeppelin Eureka, is the world’s largest airship. One of only three Zeppelins currently operating in the world, the airship offers passengers spectacular 360-degree views of the sights on flightseeing tours above Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay, Silicon Valley, Monterey and San Diego. For more information about the airship, or to view a detailed flight schedule and purchase tickets, visit www.AirshipVentures.com, or call 650-969-8100 x111.
About Airship Ventures, Inc.
Founded in 2007 in California, Airship Ventures, Inc., operates the only passenger airship operation in the United States, featuring the Farmers Airship, the Zeppelin Eureka, the world’s largest airship. The Zeppelin’s spacious cabin comfortably accommodates one pilot, one flight attendant, and 12 passengers, with luxury features including oversized panoramic windows, an onboard restroom with window, and a 180-degree rear observation window and “love seat” that wraps the entire aft of the cabin. Using the inert gas helium for lift, and vectore d thrust engines for flight, Zeppelin NTs have been flying in Germany and Japan since 1997 with an unparalleled safety record. For more Airship Ventures news, follow the company on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AirshipVentures or @AirshipVentures on Twitter.
About Farmers Insurance Group
Farmers is a trade name and may refer to Farmers Group, Inc. or the Farmers Exchanges, as the case may be. Farme rs Group, Inc., a management and holding company, along with its subsidiaries, is wholly owned by the Zurich Financial Services Group. The Farmers Exchanges are three reciprocal insurers (Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange and Truck Insurance Exchange), including their subsidiaries and affiliates, owned by their policyholders, and managed by Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information about Farmers, visit the company website at www.farmers.com.
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