The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Editorial Comment tSSsSltej s®? iSif " Sljt Canadian » ta Usman August 17,1994 by Rick James would affect the blimp's flight path, we were "Hello Rick, this is Charlie Trim calling, out-fitted with our official Goodyear hats and How'd you like to go flying with me.. .in the blimp memorabilia to prove we belonged to a Goodyear Blimp 7 " select group of lighter-than-air aviators. Then On a busy day at work, filled with 50-50 onto the bus and into Stars and Stripes. _ decisions, I was finally able to give someone You cannot appreciate how big die blimp a very simple answer. Count me in. is until it lands directly in front of you. Its In the newspaper business, you get to do lazy movement gives no indication this big some pretty neat things in the Une of duty, balloon actually weighs close to 13,000 I've test driven exotic cars like Ferraris and pounds. Only when the 16 ground crew Lamborghinis. I've been in the cockpit of a members grab the dangling ropes and rails to CF-18 fighter iet, and aboard a Labrador wrestle it to the ground do you realize a sud- Rescue helicopter. I've even flown a Boeing 707 airliner by myself, crash landing it at night, short of an airstrip in Germany. Fortunately, it was only a Canadian Armed Forces' training simulator that I drove into the ground. But, for whatever reason, reason, none of those experiences experiences comes close to the thrill of the once-in-a-life- time chance of flying in the 1 famous Goodyear Blimp. While the airship Stars and Stripes was docked at Buttonville airport last Wednesday, traffic came to a standstill on Hwy. 404 as How Big Is It? 1,000 to 3,000 ft 10,000fl. max. a stanasuii on nwy. a, Night Sign Lights._.„™. J,5to curious commuters slowed ^^fôSôngôfS^^Fiv^pkl^puot so they could tell their den gust of wind could mean big trouble for passengers passengers and crew. Because of that constant constant danger, we were hustled on-board, one by one. I was last to board and quickly jumped in the co-pilot's seat in the hope I might have the chance to add "blimp flying" to my aviation resumé. The pilot must have heard about my crash landing in Germany, because there weren't any controls on my side. He also didn't accept my offer offer to switch seats. With the roar of the propellers behind us, we headed upwards in a steep climb that pushed us back in our seats. At 600 feet, The Goodyear Bowmanville Plant Flying Team earned its wings last Wednesday at Buttonville Airport aboard the corporate blimp Stars and Stripes. Above, from left to right, are John Lux ton, Sam Piper, Charlie Trim and Doug Hatherley. families they saw one of the most recognized Captain Drew Marshall levelled her off and corporate symbols in the world. But, only a we floated effortlessly around die City of A handful of us could go home that night and Toronto for close to an hour. Besides the say we actually flew mit. complex network of highways and buildings, Along with Charlie and yours truly, three you'd be amazed at how many backyards in of the most senior employees of the downtown Toronto have swimming pools. Bowmanville plant would complete our Because of the busy schedule of Goodyear flying team. While having a pre- Goodyear s fleet of three blimps, we all real- flight coffee and donut, I knew this flight was ize how lucky we were to be able to ride m going to be an adventure when John Luxton, the most famous of aU corporate airships. It Sam Piper and Doug Hatherley accused each was awesome, spectacular, incredible, amaz- other's waistlines of making the airship list to ing, and one heck of a lot of fun...even one side though we were listing slighdy to one side After debating whether another donut because Charlie snuck an extra donut. r „ „ J ^ ^ :■ ^ Co-pilot Charlie Trim assists Goodyear blimp Captain Drew Marshall in the cockpit of With the threat of a sudden wind shift always present, the take-off and landing procedure S/flr and stripes. The weather was perfect last Wednesday, offering passengers a spectacular m •• < v* • 1 aI .il a 1 ivr/\nn/1 /'fAUl nAA/lPH t H f'fMTl H If 1 . If 1 . A -- « 1 . t nvr rr l_ 1 i 1m r T Inné hiaaIt no Of Ü has to be strictiy followed. Besides the pUot, there are 16 ground crew needed to complete view of Toronto and the CN Tower. The blimp was in Toronto last week as*part ol the docking, requiring precise timing, teamwork, and strength. The gondola of Stars ana Goodyear Tire promotion. When not travelling, it is stationed in Pompano Beach, Florida. Stripes accommodates five passengers and one oilot.