The most enjoyable aircraft I have ever been on!
If you were to make a list of the most luxurious methods of transportation of the 1930s, at the top of the list would be the China Clipper flying boats, the ocean liner Queen Mary, and the airships Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg. 75 years later, the clippers exist only in memory and pictures, and the Queen Mary is a tourist attraction. However, while the the Zeppelins of the 30s are gone, their descendant has returned to soar over the skies of California.
Coronado Cays
Last April 3rd, Airship Ventures of Mountain View brought their Zeppelin Eureka to San Diego, offering flightseeing tours ranging from 30 minutes to two hours. Note that this airship is a Zeppelin and not a blimp. Blimps are unsupported gasbags, if you take out all the helium, the bag collapses. The Zeppelin NT (new technology) built by Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH, has an internal framework so the bag retains its shape even if there is no helium in it (and rest assured, the helium only comes out once a year when Airship Ventures performs annual maintenance on the ship). Having an internal frame also leads to another supremely important difference between Zeppelins and blimps; on a blimp the engines are attached to the cabin, the Zeppelin has 3 engines attached to the frame, and all 3 engines are far away from passengers. This means the engines don’t block your view, the noise from them is reduced, and there is little to no engine vibration in the passenger cabin. Whereas the old Zeppelins were steered by a ship’s wheel and navigated with sextants (when flying over the ocean), Eureka has a modern 3 axis stick controller, GPS transponders, and a full glass cockpit. Additionally, the engines can all rotate, providing vectored propulsion that makes the Zeppelin handle more like a helicopter than an airplane. The sum of all these design features combine to make the Zeppelin the most enjoyable aircraft I’ve ever been on.
Hotel del Coronado
Coronado & Downtown San Diego
Flying in the Zeppelin is both familiar and different– very different. For instance, you still have a pre-flight safety briefing, but as our flight attendant Meghan told us, this would be a pre-flight brief unlike any other we’d been through. There were no conveyor belts, no standing, and no taking off our shoes. The safety talk takes place BEFORE you even board the Zeppelin. There is no jet way, instead you climb a small set of stairs to get into the Zeppelin. The stairs are attached to the Zeppelin, not the ground. This is because even when on the ground, the smallest breeze will gently move the Zeppelin a few feet side to side, this is called ‘kiting’ in airship vernacular. If the wind pushes the Zeppelin towards you, you might have to step back a few feet, or move a few more feet forward if the wind pushes the Zeppelin away from you. All of this is explained at the safety briefing before you go out to the ship. Since the Zeppelin lands a few hundred yards from the passenger terminal, Airship Ventures loads all the passengers in a van for a short drive out to the ship. We boarded the ship by twos and quickly found our seats. Whether you prefer window or aisle, you’ll get your wish, every seat is a window AND an aisle. The windows are far larger than any car, bus, airplane or train window you’ve ever seen.
Within 5 minutes of boarding, the ship takes off. Imagine sitting in a chair on an escalator, and you’ll come pretty close to the feeling of liftoff in a Zeppelin. Of course, the view is much better. Once we got in the air, the Zeppelin rocks slightly. If you want a land based comparison, think about a sailboat rocking very gently. After approximately 5 minutes we were allowed to unfasten our seat belts and move about the cabin. This is where all resemblance to airplane travels ends. There is plenty of room to move around, and everybody switched seats multiple times during the flight. Our ‘cruising altitude’ was approximately 1000 feet so you always had a fantastic view of whatever we were passing over. The cabin isn’t pressurized, so no ear popping AND you can open 2 special viewing windows. Mostly people poked their cameras out these windows, but you can also stick your head out. When was the last time you rode ANY passenger vehicle where they not only allow you to stick your head and arms out a window, but they encouraged you to do it?! At the rear of the passenger cabin there is a 2 seat bench that has a 180 degree panoramic window. This bench is called the love seat and has been the site of more than one marriage proposal.
Zeppelin Pilot
We flew over most of the scenic icons of San Diego on our two hour flight. From Brown Field, we went over the salt ponds of the south bay, made a 90 turn north over the Strand, passing by the Coronado Cays, the Hotel Del Coronado, and the entire beach. After passing North Island Naval Air Station, we turned down the ship channel and flew all the way to the bridge. Naturally we had incredible views of everything along the way, including Pt. Loma, the submarine base, Shelter and Harbor Islands, the carriers tied up at North Island, a cruise ship that had just pulled out of the Broadway Pier and downtown San Diego.
My Favorite Shot of Coronado
Although this sounds like a lot of sights to see, you won’t really miss anything, because the Zeppelin typically cruises at a majestic 35 knots. There is plenty of time to take in everything and get any pictures you want. Just short of the bridge, we turned and flew over Petco Park and Balboa Park, up to Mission Bay. From there we flew over Sea World, down the length of Pt. Loma, back down San Diego Bay a 2nd time, over the bridge, past the shipyards and Naval Station San Diego to the salt ponds and back to Brown Field. Landing was just like taking off, another escalator ride. The pilot keeps the engines running when you land, to help counteract the kiting. Since the Zeppelin is sensitive to the weight of the people on board, boarding and debarking is done concurrently, rather than in sequence.Two people get off the Zeppelin, then two new passengers get on, and continues until all the returning passengers are off and new passengers have boarded.. This takes only about 5 minutes. Two crew members helped with the passenger turnaround, while 1 crew member held onto one of the landing lines. Once we got off, we were allowed to watch from a few yards away while the pilot completed pre-flight checks. The Eureka took off right over our heads and she went out on her next flight. The ship is longer than a 747 and was only a hundred or so feet over our heads, so this made for an impressive sight.
After re-boarding the van we were driven back to the terminal, where we enjoyed a champagne toast to celebrate our flight.
April was the 1st time Airship Ventures had carried paying passengers in San Diego. Due to overwhelming demand, they added 3 flights the day I flew, and they were making plans to return to San Diego in the near future. A few weeks later, those plans have firmed up, and the Zeppelin Eureka is now scheduled to fly to San Diego the last week in May. You can visit http://www.airshipventures.com/tours-san_diego.php or call 650-969-8100 x111 for more information, or to book a flight. In addition to the flights that remain in San Diego, you can also book passage on the transition flights, when they move Eureka from LA to San Diego– the day I flew, one gentleman flew down from LA, spent the day with friends in San Diego, and flew back to Los Angeles.
Touchdown!
Rates run from $199 for a 30 minute flight, to $950 for a 2 hour flight. While the cost is not inexpensive, it is not too different than a float plane trip in Alaska or a helicopter tour in Hawaii. If you fly on Eureka you will be rewarded with the tour of a lifetime, not to mention the cachet of being able to tell your friends and family that you flew on a Zeppelin. Not many people can say that!
Get more information here: http://www.airshipventures.com/tours-san_diego.php or call 650-969-8100 x111.
