HomeMy WebLinkAbout1971 Texas Trivia - How big is Texas?Busch Gardens, genealogy, lighter - than - aircraft, travel bureaus and Capote Falls
• There's something eerie about lighter -
than- airships, sort of H. G. Wellsian, espe-
cially when you see one at night, em-
blazoned with flashing lights. The first
uneasy reaction is that Martians are hover-
ing for a landing.
For some six months of the year, the
Goodyear blimp America is stationed out-
side of Houston at Spring, Texas. There,
she waits out the unfavorable weather. ( Her
sister ships, the Columbia and Mayflower,
do likewise in their respective home ports
of Los Angeles and Miami.)
The other six months, the fleet is out
barnstorming the country, scaring the wits
out of the uninitiated and thrilling the more
knowledgeable with their night -time mobile
billboard acts.
Anyone who has beheld the ,America as
she silently passes overhead with her "super
Skytacular" night show fully operational,
will tell you it's a sight you're not apt to
soon forget. More than 7,500 lamps ( 3,780
on each side) flash out advertising and
public service announcements as well as
spicing up the darkness with four -color
animated cartoons. The Columbia and May-
flower are capable of the same sky show,
though on a somewhat less spectacular basis.
Together, they cover more than 100,000
air miles a year in their public relations
work for Goodyear. In addition to serving
Goodyear, the airships are in great demand
for similar work by the news media and
community organizations.
Perhaps lesser known generally, but by
no means any less thrilling, are the rides
some 8,000 lucky passengers a year take
in the America, a total that's remarkable
when the limited capacity of the ship of
only six to a flight is considered. And to
get those six plus the pilot airborne takes a
lot of behind -the -scene effort.
The America is a mammoth 192 ft. long,
59.5 ft. high and 50 ft. wide. The neoprene-
coated Dacron envelope that makes up the
blimp holds 202,700 cubic feet of helium
valued at $13,000. Once in the air, power
for maneuvering is supplied by twin, six -
cylinder 210 hp engines giving the blimp
a cruising speed of 30 -35 mph. Flight alti-
tude is normally between 1,000 and 3,000
feet with a maximum ceiling of 7,500 ft.
Maintaining the America while "out on
the road" is no simple task. The ship is
staffed with a crew of 22 —five pilots, a
public relations representative and 16 crew-
men. Four specially equipped ground -sup-
port vehicles, travel from city to city ac-
companying the America flying overhead.
They carry a special mast for landing the
blimp if an emergency should arise.
JUST IN CASE you've forgotten how big
Texas is, consider this item from Travel
Log, the Texas Highway Department's
monthly newsletter: "We've done a little
checking and we've discovered that all nine
of the Highway Department's state line
tourist bureaus are closer to the capitals
of other states than they are to Austin.
Anthony, for example, is closer to four
other state capitals — Santa Fe and Phoenix
as well as two Mexican capitals, Hermosillo
and Chihuahua. Texarkana also is nearer
to four other capitals —Baton Rouge, Little
Rock, Jackson, and Oklahoma City. The
Amarillo bureau is, closer to three —Santa Fe,
Oklahoma City and Denver, and is about
the same distance from Topeka as Austin."
The piece goes on to point out that in
21 instances bureaus are closer to other
state capitals than to Austin.
We were talking recently with Contribu-
ting Editor Keith Elliott about the town of
Goodyear airship America, one of only three lighter-than-aircraft known to be operating in
the world today, touches down on her landing pad at winter quarters near Houston.
TEX PARADE / APRIL, 1971