From 2007 to 2012 there was an airship zeppelin revival in the SF Bay Area. A private company called Airship Ventures offered sight-seeing rides (which they called "flight seeing") in a 12-passenger Zeppelin NT that flew out of Moffett Naval Air Station on the SF Peninsula. In 2010 they called me and asked me to shoot some images for promotional purposes (and they eventually asked me along for another ride around Monterey Bay in 2011). Only 3 of these airships were ever built. Even though tickets were very expensive (about $300 each for a 1-hr ride), they generously let me bring my wife and daughter along.
Here's the story of our trip...
The immense (75 meter-long) zeppelin picked us up around 2pm on a beautiful autumn day. Winds were light (they only fly in <20kt winds) and we hopped on along with 9 other passengers. Ballast is an issue with zeppelins because they must be neutrally buoyant, so getting on and off is a delicate process of moving sand bags on and off the airship along with the people.
The ZeppelinNT is built in Germany (of course, it's a zeppelin!) and the seating is very comfortable, everyone gets a window seat. Some of the windows open so you can take pictures without reflections. Look at that panoramic view from inside the whisper-quiet cabin.
As we pass over the Port of Oakland you can see our shadow next to the big cranes used for loading/unloading the ships. (Those cranes were originally thought to be the inspiration for the Imperial Walkers in Empire Strikes Back but George Lucas eventually set the record straight. I think that they do bear a resemblance though.)
My wife always dreamt of riding on a blimp or zeppelin... this was a bucket list event for her.
Passing over Treasure Island in the middle of the Bay, with SF in the distance. Treasure Island is an artificial island that was originally built in the 1930s for the 1939 Golden Gate Int'l Exposition, one of the early World's Fairs.
As we pass Alcatraz Island with the former federal penitentiary on it, we see a regatta of sailboats in the distance. Alcatraz was occupied by Native American activists for 2 years in the late 1960s, raising awareness to unfair federal policies related to American indigenous people. It is now a National Historic Landmark.
The SF Skyline with San Bruno mountain (which is really more of a ridge) in the distance to the south.
Close-up of San Francisco, with the Transamerica Pyramid in the foreground and the Bank of America building on the rightmost edge. That's SF Int'l Airport in the distance.
Here we are over the regatta, and the wind shows that we were on the hairy edge of a no-go flight. Was probably around 20kts at this point, but still very smooth. Being in the airship felt a lot like the neutral buoyancy feeling you get when you're scuba diving and your BC vest is
inflated perfectly.
The Golden Gate Bridge with a P-51 Mustang flying overhead.
As we passed over the bridge, looking north you can see Mt. Tamalpais and where our house in Mill Valley is at the foot of the mountain.
Fort Cronkite in the Marin Headlands, a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
After passing over the GG Bridge it was time to turn around and head back home.
We skirted the edge of the city, right over the Presidio.
There's lots of instrumentation, but Captain Kate Board says she flies by the seat of her pants 99% of the time. Kate is one of the only two female zeppelin pilots in the world, and she now flies in Germany for another Zeppelin NT company)
Happy people.
Flying directly over downtown Oakland as we begin to make our landing approach.
The trip of a lifetime!
Thanks for watching.
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