|
|
Flying, February 1996
The Windup, The Pitch
Canadian blimp-maker, 21st Century Airships has flown what it claims to be the world's largest baseball, a spherical airship that, as you can see here, looks for all the world like a big baseball. The lighter-than-air orb was flown in Atlanta during the playing of the 1995 World Series between the Braves and the Cleveland Indians.
Unlike most blimps, the 43-foot-diameter "Ball of Dreams," as the company has dubbed its airship, has no gondola. The pilot and a single passenger ride in an envelope located inside the "ball". Power is via a pair of 50-hp engines mounted on pylons on each side of the ship. With a top speed of 30 mph, a fastball it's not.
If "Ball of Dreams" seems like a big hit, the company has a grand slam in store. A 50-foot-diameter baseball blimp is in the works. With a capacity of one pilot and three passengers - bases loaded, so to speak - "Ball of Dreams II" gets thrown out around spring training time in 1996.
Fortunately, as of press time, there are no reports of giant bat-shaped blimps under development. That would be a midair just waiting to happen.
|
