What Happened To Blimps?

Blimps were once at the forefront of aviation—at least before airplanes innovated past their lighter-than-air technology. Now, airships are often used for advertising or aerial broadcasting, which is exactly how Goodyear utilizes its fleet of airships. In fact, there are only 124 pilots with a rating to fly an airship, and there are a mere 39 registered airships in the U.S., according to the FAA. Now, a small handful of companies want to change that. Blimps are more carbon efficient than planes or boats, and they can be used for tourism and cargo transport, not to mention military purposes. What happened to the giants of the sky, and what’s being done to bring them back.

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What Happened To Blimps?

[KOKOBC]

The reason why we didn't see goodyear blimps in 2020 is because 2020 wasn't a goodyear

[pineapplepenguin]

Seeing a Blimp is one of the simple joys of life.

[ayrhow]

_"It looks like a scene, from 1992"_
The people in past were too _"imaginative"_ about the future

[Ward]

I used to think the only usable part of a blimp was the passenger compartment that hung below the ballon structure. When I finally saw pictures of dirigibles from the early 1900’s with massive interiors within the ballon itself my mind was blown. Would be so cool to see a modern dirigible.

[nergal]

There was a german company called Cargolifter who tried the exactly same thing in the early 2000s and sadly had to stop due to a lack of investor trust and the cost intensive process of building a Zeppelin. The concept is still pretty interesting imo

[drinkingpoolwater]

i remember back in the 90s you’d always see them. always the good year blimp. also if you remember the movie the rocketeer the last part of the movie takes place on a blimpZ

[RB-xqqh]

They’re in the alternate universe. The Fringe Division knows what I’m talking about.

[mimik]

I clicked on this video because yesterday I saw a tiktok of a girl crying because she found out there’s only 25 blimps left in the world lol

[taeng]

i remember seeing goodyear blimps over my house like 10-15 years ago, this unlocked a memory

[joshuajoe]

Imagine if the Hindenburg never exploded.

[MoPoppins]

When I was a kid growing up in San Pedro, CA (early 80s), Goodyear blimp sightings were a daily occurrence. Same with those planes that write messages w/ smoke.

[JCENYC]

I miss seeing Goodyear blimps over Yankee Stadium as a kid

[khypickett]

I’ve actually ridden on the Goodyear Blimp before. I didn’t realize how blessed I was to be able to do that. It was an amazing experience.

[jwattie]

“The World is Yours”. Most iconic use of the blimp ever.

[johannesfranck]

I can see zeppelin’s almost every day here at Lake of Constance, they are used for tourists round trips, it’s really magical to watch.

[bossfan]

"Hello, Airplanes? It's Blimps...you win. Bye." - Sterling Archer.

[janetoconnor]

I live the Blimps I loved their distinctive motor sound when one of them flew over our house in 1978 it was so low I thought it was going to crash but it sailed. They were at first silver and they would fly over for the United Way every September. We even saw them at Lunken Airport up close in 1972. They always excited me to see them and to hear them. Thanks CNBC.

[YKvids]

They were a Blimp in the History of Aviation .

[edyann]

Wow... TRUE! I haven't seen one in years!

[ErinYams]

literally all i can think about while watching this: “at least he died doing what he loved, watching blimps”