Lucky guy! I tried several times to get a ride, but no luck. I was told by one of the pilots (about 15 years ago) that best time to scrounge a ride is right after the blimp arrives. They make "test" flights" and usually need some "ballast". I also tried when I went to the Miami area where they were hangered. Again no luck. Fisrt time they weren't flying due to maintenance. Second time, I was told they quit that because of insurance limitations. Guess I'll never get a ride in lighter than aircraft!
73, Sandy W5TVW ----- Original Message ----- From: "EricJ" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'Ron D'Eau Claire'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 2:28 PM Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Balloons and Gas (WAS: ridge vent as antenna?) | I have 20 minutes of right seat time in my logbook in the Goodyear blimp! I | traded a flight in the blimp for some training time in my balloon for the | captain. I can tell you the Goodyear blimps are not a smooth ride. They | "hobby horse" through the air and there is no more apt description than | that. Hi. I have no idea what the big airships were like, and can't confirm | or refute the stories. However, because of the relatively slow speeds, they | become more a part of a given air mass and move with them where a much | faster airplane is more likely to fly into them in a more confrontational | manner. Hi. | | I never operated ham radio from my balloon. As a pilot, you are pretty busy, | esp. if you have excited passengers, but I would think it would intrude too | much on a wonderful experience to chit chat with someone on the ground. I'm | sure it has been done, though. | | Eric | KE6US | www.ke6us.com | | | | -----Original Message----- | From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] | [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ron D'Eau Claire | Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2006 12:08 PM | To: elecraft@mailman.qth.net | Subject: RE: [Elecraft] Balloons and Gas (WAS: ridge vent as antenna?) | | Jim, N2EY wrote: | | Dirigibles/zeppelins couldn't go high enough to get above bad weather, nor | fast enough to outrun/outflank it. Nor could they be made rugged enough to | go through bad weather without being so heavy they'd not have much | payload... | | --------------------------------- | | Ah, but the Zeppelin gave us a bit of technology that serves so well even | today: the ever faithful and effective "Zepp" antenna and all its many | derivatives! Who can run open wire line to an end-fed dipole without | imagining they hear the rumble of the Zeppelin's engines somewhere in the | far distance? | | Airships never went away, of course. They simply became things most folks | were afraid to board, thanks to that classic bit of news footage of the | Hindenburg's end. Smaller non-rigid airships served in huge numbers in WWII | and they've been around ever since doing survey work, hauling heavy | equipment and, of course, as moving billboards. Now a few companies are | developing modern dirigibles for use in passenger and freight service once | again. One such company is here in the Northwest USA. | | The fact that heavier-than-aircraft provide a rough ride in bad weather has | given rise to the mistaken idea that the big lighter-than-airships did too. | There was a fellow who made a number of crossings on both the Graf Zeppelin | and the Hindenburg who became somewhat famous among Zeppelin travelers. Soon | after departure he'd place a fountain pen, balanced on end, on a table in | the passenger lounge and take bets on how long it'd stay upright. Frequently | the pen was still upright when they tied up at the mooring mast at their | destination a day or two later. In really rough weather the big airships | were reported to sway gently, but that was all. | | I suspect that airships, like Morse code, "shortwave" radio and a lot of | other technology some folks assume are obsolete will be with us for a long, | long time yet. Maybe we'll even get to work an aircraft mobile aboard a real | dirigible again one day! Using CW of course... | | Ron AC7AC | | _______________________________________________ | Elecraft mailing list | Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net | You must be a subscriber to post to the list. | Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): | http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft | | Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm | Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com | _______________________________________________ | Elecraft mailing list | Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net | You must be a subscriber to post to the list. | Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): | http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft | | Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm | Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com | | | | -- | No virus found in this incoming message. | Checked by AVG Free Edition. | Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.3.2/294 - Release Date: 3/27/2006 | | _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
