THE GOODYEAR BLIMP BASE: From 1969 to 1992, Goodyear had a blimp base north of Houston, near Spring. Today, almost nothing of the base and hangar remains. A Lowe’s and a Home Depot now occupy the spot.

The Spring base and hangar sat on a wedge of about 40 acres just off Interstate 45, down the street from Spring High School. Five pilots and 16 ground crew members worked out of the base, which also served as a site for constructing new blimps.

There are no tickets to buy. All Blimp rides are auctioned off for charity at a cost of $14,000 for two people as told to us by a Blimp pilot during our tour. If you wish to take a free tour then you only need to call at the hangar and ask when they have available tours.

Since then, four Goodyear blimps have crashed due to bad weather or malfunctions, the most recent accident was The Spirit of Safety which, ironically enough, on June 12, 2011 caught fire.

Take a virtual tour of Goodyear’s Blimp hangar at Wingfoot Lake in Akron, Ohio, or request a visit to one of the three airship bases located across the country in: Akron, Ohio; Pompano Beach, Florida; and Carson, California.

Border officials also say the balloons also serve as a visual deterrent to illegal activity both by air and ground. The CPB article called them “eyes in the sky.” The other two blimps in Texas are located in the areas of Eagle Pass and Rio Grande City.

Spirit of Innovation, Goodyear’s last true blimp (non-rigid airship), was retired on March 14, 2017.

The new model isn’t technically a Blimp, due to the internal structure inside its balloon, or envelope. This is what it’s like to fly on the iconic Goodyear Blimp, which isn’t accessible to the public — only the crew and invited guests are allowed to go for a ride.