Goodyear announced the construction of its newest airship, which will be named the "Spirit of America" in honor of the patriotic spirit of its home country.
This new blimp is part of a long-scheduled replacement of the company's Los Angeles-based airship, "Eagle." The "Eagle," which has been operating since 1992, will be retired this fall.
For more than 75 years, Goodyear blimps have adorned the skies

as very visible corporate symbols of the tire and rubber company that began operations in 1898. Today, these graceful giants travel more than 100,000 miles across the United States per year as Goodyear's "Aerial Ambassadors."
The blimp tradition began in 1925 when Goodyear built its first helium-filled public relations airship, the Pilgrim. The tire company painted its name on the side and began barnstorming the United States.
Over the years, Goodyear built more than 300 airships, more than any other company in the world. Akron, Ohio, the company's world headquarters, was the center of blimp manufacturing for several decades.
During World War II many of the Goodyear-built airships provided the U.S. Navy with a unique aerial surveillance capability. Often used as convoy escorts, the blimps were able to look down on the ocean surface and spot a rising submarine and radio its position to the convoy's surface ships. . . in essence acting as an early warning system. Modern surveillance technology eventually eclipsed the advantages of the airship fleet, and in 1962 the Navy discontinued the program.
Today, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company no longer mass-produces airships. In the United States it operates three well-recognized blimps: the “Spirit of Goodyear,” based in Akron, Ohio; the “Eagle,” based in Carson, Calif.; and the Stars & Stripes, in Pompano Beach, Fla.
"Our airships have a proud 77-year tradition of serving as Goodyear's aerial ambassadors and are regarded as American icons," said Sam G. Gibara, Goodyear's chairman and chief executive officer. "By naming our newest blimp the "Spirit of America" we embrace and honor the patriotic spirit of our nation."
The "Spirit of America" is being built at Goodyear's Suffield, Ohio, airship hangar, the home of the Akron-based "Spirit of Goodyear" airship. The GZ-20A airships measure 192 feet long and 59 feet high, hold more than 202,000 cubic feet of helium and air. They have a maximum speed of 50 mph with a cruising speed of 30 mph, and can carry a pilot and six passengers.
In the meantime, the "Eagle" continues to maintain a busy schedule. She has flown astronauts, comedians, actors, musicians -- even a former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, while accommodating thousands of Goodyear's corporate customers. The "Eagle" has appeared on popular television shows such as the final episode of "Cheers," "The Nanny" and "Ally McBeal," and in movies such as 1994's "Miracle on 34th Street" and "Strange Days" with Bruce Willis. A familiar sight at major sports events, she has safely provided aerial coverage for almost every television network of nearly every championship.
Following the 1994 San Francisco earthquake, the "Eagle" assisted officials with special disaster area survey flights as well as public service emergency messages on its EagleVision aerial sign.
The "Eagle" and her crew will make the ceremonial cross-country trip to the Wingfoot Lake airship hangar in August. After the christening, they will fly home with the "Spirit of America" and resume a busy fall schedule.