Blimps

In light of budget cutting there is a “new,” money saving weapon in our arsenal being considered for use by the military and Coast Guard, the blimp. I put the word “new” in quotation marks because the blimp has a long storied history. It’s not really new but the use of it today by the defense department may seem novel to many like me that figures blimps are best used for sky cams and advertising above major sporting events. Blimps are free flying airships that have almost no rigid structure, framework, or keel like their relative the zeppelin. Blimps were used by the US Navy during and after World War I and for anti-submarine patrol during World War II. In the 1950s they were used as radar early warning platforms. But like landline telephones and cable TV, being replaced by cell phones and internet TV, newer technologies replaced them and pushed them out of the limelight at least for defense department use.

My most close encounter with a blimp goes like this. One summer day, I heard our dog, Maggie, howling mournfully in the yard. A quick peek out the back door showed her cowering with her tail between her legs too. When I realized there were no sirens screaming from the fire station a few blocks away from our house, the usual impetus for Mag’s famous howl, I decided to step out into the yard for further information. Hovering high above us (and obviously terrorizing our poor pooch) was the Goodyear Blimp!

If blimps could strike the same kind of terror in the hearts of Pirates of the Caribbean drug runners in the Caribbean then that would really be something! Blimps may become more than just platforms for advertising once again and I think that is a pretty nifty thrifty idea.