Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Zeppelin NT airships come to Goodyear in 2014, but are they 'blimps'? (photo: Zeppelin)
The reviving of the relationship between the Goodyear company and the Zeppelin company is truly remarkable, as is the thoroughly modernized Zeppelin NT, or 'New 'Technology' airship, first flown in 1997. It's even more interesting that Goodyear will be replacing all of their iconic blimps with Zeppelin NT's in the coming years. The first assembly work begins in January 2013 in Akron Ohio and it appears that they expect the first of the new airships to be operating in early 2014. (learn more about the Zeppelin NT here)
But there's one important distinction here... blimps don't have any rigid structure inside them, but the Zeppelin NT definitely has some rigid structure inside that big envelope that allows for the engines to be mounted up high on the side (rather than on the gondola like the blimps) and for an engine to mounted at the very aft end of the envelope. So technically, the Zeppelin NT is a semi-rigid airship, not a blimp. But Goodyear has indicated that they'll be calling the new aerial advertising platforms by the same blimp term that we've all grown up knowing. Usually I'm a real stickler for the correct use of technical terms like this, but this time around I'm totally cool with calling the NT's blimps.
But what about you? Is this mis-used term gonna fly with you, or it it a big no-no? Or, maybe you just can't imagine anyone actually caring about it! Answer the poll question below to let the world where you stand on Goodyear and their big bags of helium : )
