Blimp Hangar
This is the blimp airdock at Akron Fulton Airport, in Akron, Ohio. Completed in 1929, it was the world’s largest structure without interior supports. Originally built by Goodyear, it is now owned by Lockheed Martin.
Thanks: Beth
Google Sightseeing takes you on tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Each weekday your guides James and Alex present new weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.
17 Responses to 'Blimp Hangar' 
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Is that a blimp parked on the grass in the north east?
Certainly it looks like a blimp (on the grass). Something tells me though that back in the day they were thinking of building blimps much bigger than they build them now-a-days. They were supposed to be big transporters capable of moving everything to anywhere in the world, hence the MASSIVE building!
1929 puts it in the same era as the needle atop the Empire State Building, which was intended to be used for mooring dirigibles.
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth is the view of the naval air station tillamook. http://www.nastillamook.org/sisters/ has better arial pictures of several blimp hangers.
This one now houses a museum. It is fascinating to be inside a structure this large and think of how large the airships were that it was built to hold, versus the size of modern blimps.
Does anyone know what Lockheed Martin uses this structure for now??
These are the blimp hangers at Moffett field in Mountain View, CA. I went to a corporate party held inside one several years ago.
Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth
The more interesting looking hanger at Moffet is right across the runway to the west. I’ve driven by it so many times, but always marvelled at the old stuff that we used to build. http://www.moffettfieldmuseum.org/
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I believe Lockheed is triyng to get a new contract to build some new, manless, blimps for surveillance. Don’t know if they got the go-ahead. right now part of the building is used as office space.
i thinkt hat is a blimp in the grass, but its not a goodyear blimp (the one based in akron is docked at a goodyear facility to the SE) so more likely its one of the smaller metlife blimps or something like it.
Here’s the Largest building in the world NOW! Boeing Assembly plant in Everett, WA.
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Look at photos in Image Gallery at http://www.moffettfieldmuseum.org/ and you’ll see that the hangars held several blimps at once. Some very fine photos of blimps in the hangars and flying in formation.
This is not a blimp hangar (although there is a blimp on the field, yes). This is a zeppelin hangar for one of the two large airships (the USS Macon and USS Akron) built by the Zeppelinwerke in Germany for the US Navy. Both crashed — and the last large airship ever built was the Graf Zeppelin II. She was scrapped (as was the original Graf Zeppelin) when the materials were needed for the war effort and when the public was no longer willing to fly on airships due to the loss of the Hindenburg (which was not solely due to the hydrogen lifting gas but instead due to the fact that the silver doping used had the same content as does solid rocket fuel!).
Look closely and you can see the spot where the mooring mast used to be located for takeoffs and landings as well as remnants of the rails that led from the hangar to the field (the mast was movable).
Hey thats right down the street from me
And Don’t forget The AKron Zips Stadium, and Derby downs, but a few hundred feet away.
Here’s the actual hangar where the Goodyear blimps are housed.
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Jennifer the Akron and Macon ships were not built by the Germans they were built by Akronites in the hanger. There is still a spare stringer sub assembly for the airships tied to the inside wall. It’s 5 stories high. I work in that building.
The place actually caught fire a few days ago. No major damage, as far as I’ve read, however. Which is nice to know.
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Akron Fulton Airport is also the home of the “All Americia Soap Box Derby†On ESPN this past weekend. In the Northeastern corner of the airport property you will find the word “AKRONâ€
In large letters. That is near the finish line at the Derby Downs racetrack.