Airship Ventures

Airship Ventures Inc. is a private company offering sight-seeing rides (which the company calls "flightseeing") in a 12-passenger Zeppelin NT out of a World War II United States Navy hangar at Moffett Federal Airfield near Mountain View, California.[1][2]

As of 2008, their airship, built by Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH, is one of two zeppelins in the world. Dedicated and christened Eureka at the 75th anniversary celebration for Moffett Field on November 21, 2008, at 246 feet (75 m) long it is the largest airship in the world.[3][4] Its flight en-route from Beaumont, Texas, where it was shipped, to the Bay Area was the first zeppelin flight in the United States in 71 years.[5]

The company is owned by a husband-wife team, Alexandra and Brian Hall of Los Gatos, California.[6] Alexandra Hall previously ran the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California.[1] One of their pilots, Katherine "Kate" Board, is the only female Zeppelin pilot in the world.[7]

Airship Ventures is based in the NASA Research Park and uses Moffett Federal Airfield.

References

  1. ^ a b Anthony Ha (2008-05-09). "Look, up in the sky: Zeppelin company Airship Ventures raises $8M". Venture Beat. http://venturebeat.com/2008/05/09/look-up-in-the-sky-zeppelin-company-airship-ventures-raises-8m/. 
  2. ^ "Zeppelin revival over skies of San Francisco". USA Today. 2007-06-22. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2007-06-22-zeppelin-airship_N.htm. 
  3. ^ Daniel DeBolt, "Moffett Field's serendipitous 75th anniversary," Mountain View Voice, Nov. 28, 2008, p. 6
  4. ^ George Raine (2008-10-19). "Bay Area firm to offer $500 zeppelin rides". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/19/BUVD13JIMG.DTL. 
  5. ^ "Airship Ventures Zeppelin Successfully Crosses Atlantic:Zeppelin to Embark on Historic Cross-Country Flight". Marketwatch (press release). http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/19/BUVD13JIMG.DTL. 
  6. ^ Cody Kraatz, "Zeppelin provides a backdrop for Moffett's 75th anniversary," Sunnyvale Sun, Nov. 26, 2008, p. 25
  7. ^ Airship Ventures: People-Pilots http://www.airshipventures.com/people-pilots.php accessed Nov. 30, 2008

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