Lighter Than Air

By Linda K. Stanek
Illustrated by Tom Powers ~ Photos by Linda K. Stanek

A blimp looks like a giant bubble, floating high in the sky.
What is it like to ride in one?

Across the pavement, a blimp balanced on one wheel. My twelve-year-old son, Elliott, had won tickets for our ride. “I want to be a blimp pilot someday,” he said. “I love blimps!”

	Elliott sits in the copilot's seat.

We hurried to the blimp. Workers on the ground were holding the blimp steady against the wind. Some held on to a rail that ran along the outside of the gondola. Others held two long ropes that came from the blimp’s nose. 

A yellow ladder led to a small door in the gondola. “The ladder is attached to the blimp,” a man in a blue coat said. “If the wind gusts, the blimp will move. Watch that first step.”

Elliott grabbed the ladder. He took four steps to climb through the tiny door. I followed. Elliott got to sit in the copilot’s seat. I sat behind the pilot and grinned at Elliott.

The gondola was about the size of a minivan. Dials and switches covered the dashboard. A low ceiling arched above us.

The ground crew snapped the door shut. The pilot revved the engines. The blimp lurched forward.

A blimp has two airplane engines with propellers. The pilot pushes a throttle to give the engines more power and to move the blimp forward.

Takeoff!
Vibrations rumbled through our feet. The blimp raced across the ground and lifted into the air. It rocked this way and that. 

	The cockpit.

“I steer with foot pedals,” the pilot said. “Push the left pedal to go left. Push the right pedal to go right.” He tapped the wooden wheel at his side. “To go up and down, I use this wheel.” He spun the wheel forward. “Spin it forward, and we go down.” He eased the wheel back. “Spin it backward, and we go up.” He raised his hands above his head. “Let go of the wheel, and the ship comes back to level.”

Floating High
We sailed through the sky a thousand feet above the ground. We gazed down at tiny ponds, deer, and a train. After half an hour, we approached the landing site. The blimp circled and headed down. The ground crew grabbed the ropes. Bump!—we landed.

Flying in a blimp felt like rocking on the water. “We weren’t flying. We were floating,” I said to Elliott. The future blimp pilot looked back at me and smiled. We had been floating under a giant silver bubble—lighter than air!