Air Raid Siren And Goodyear Blimp

[Vertigo58]

I rode in it in 1976. It was decommissioned to avoid safety hazards because of it's age. It was decided that it would not be replaced because their were already enough around the country.

The ride was pretty boring. Very, very, very slow!

I always thought it would be just too slow... but on a seperate note, imagine with todays high security and 9/11 aftermath it would have been taken out of the sky anyway. I'm glad that we had the chance to enjoy while it lasted. Real bummer.

We can just add to the list of things like Drive-In movies, etc to tell our kids that they will miss out on.

[RedScare]

I always thought it would be just too slow... but on a seperate note, imagine with todays high security and 9/11 aftermath it would have been taken out of the sky anyway. I'm glad that we had the chance to enjoy while it lasted. Real bummer.

We can just add to the list of things like Drive-In movies, etc to tell our kids that they will miss out on.

Considering that Goodyear still flies 3 blimps (only the Houston blimp was retired), and that there are more blimps in the sky than ever, including FujiFilm, Ameriquest, MetLife, and Outback Steakhouse, I would say your imagination is, well, your imagination.

There is even a company that will build, maintain and manage your blimp for you.

http://www.airshipman.com/

9/11 has had no impact on the blimp fleets whatsoever, and for good reason. As big, slow and cumbersome as they are, there are much more effective means of inflicting damage.

[dbigtex56]

As big, slow and cumbersome as they are, there are much more effective means of inflicting damage.

And yet...

[RedScare]

And yet...

Oh yeah, forgot about that one.

[bmil128]

Interesting trivia about the Goodyear airship America that was based here. The cabin, or gondola, was refurbished from a Navy blimp used during WWII known as the ghost blimp. The story goes that the blimp went on patrol over the Pacific near San Francisco with a two man crew, and then it drifted back inland and landed with nobody inside; the two crewmen were never found and later declared dead; theories abounded about the crew being captured by a Japanese sub, going AWOL or foul play involving some sort of love triangle. The whole story can be found here.

http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/L-8_crash_site.htm

Edited March 28, 2007 by bmil128

[gonzo1976]

I forgot to mention that "Ray Miller's Houston" has a color photo of two Goodyear blimps flying over the city.

[Bess Collector]

I'll buy a cheeseburger for the person that can give some insite as to what were the reasons for having them and or why they are now gone?

I recall since childhood that every Friday afternoon at twelve o'clock high the air raid siren would start and last for about 3-4 minutes. Does any one know from what building it came from? It was so bizarre and seems to come from all directions maybe the machine was revolving? We kids would all gather and watch our clocks to see when it would kick off like a New Years countdown. My mom said it reminded her of WWII bombings Europe. What was scary was on occasion it would go off by mistake and freak out everyone at school.

The Goodyear Blimp would appear like a little hummingbird mostly in the evenings. We would be watching TV or something and someone would say whats that humming sound? Oh it's just the blimp. We would run outside and see it right over head with its bright digital advertising board flashing above. It was so cool, sometimes it would show "Coca-Cola It's the Real Thing". I think the hanger is still up north somewhere and only recall seeing it when we would go to Huntsville State Park or Lake Livingston. The blimp pulled out and split rather abruptly. Maybe it was too expensive to maintain? Miss both of these fun memories of Houston.

I went to the old Lubbock Elem.(now a vacant lot) Sampson at Harrisburg and lived across from Settegast Park on Palmer There was a large yellow Civil Defense horn on top of a large telephone like pole at the corner of Settegast Park Palmer at Garrow. It could be heard very well at the school and was extremely loud when it went off at noon on Fridays at the park In the late 50's to 60's I lived on Scharpe St. in the Broadmore addition. There was one in the old CYO ball field on Dumble near Austin H.S. at one time. Same as the one at Settegast Park---Verrry loud!