For my Dad’s birthday, we took the Zeppelin on a trip to Monterey for lunch and the aquarium and then back to NASA.

Captain Fritz (right) let my Dad drive the airship once airborne, which was a sweet experience. It’s bigger than a 747.

Video of the Zeppelin lifting off from a Monterey field after dropping us off.

By chance, we ran into one of my work colleagues on the refueling airstrip as she was skydiving from above.

28 responses to “Full Speed Ahead”

  1. ideastoday Avatar
    ideastoday

    You don’t get a cockpit like that in an Airbus. Fantastic!

    Reply
  2. biotron Avatar
    biotron

    another cracking cockpit shot – mmmm, one day…

    Reply
  3. TEG2 Avatar
    TEG2

    Much nicer weather than your drizzle flight last time!

    Reply
  4. brian Braun Avatar
    brian Braun

    such a cool shot

    Reply
  5. Eric Rolph Avatar
    Eric Rolph

    There should be more Zeppelin commuter flights servicing non-traditional hops.

    Reply
  6. nhr Avatar
    nhr

    > we ran into one of my work colleagues on the refueling
    > airstrip as she was skydiving from above.

    The responsibilities would be difficult to apportion.
    Airships indeed tend to have a fairly extended blind corner overhead, of which their pilots must be constantly aware in VFR, but I also suspect your skydiving colleague didn’t comply with the "climb, climb" Resolution Advisory that could have been voiced by her TCAS. Did she survive the encounter ?

    Reply
  7. pegleg000 Avatar
    pegleg000

    Hey…. my birthday is coming up!!! (hint, hint;)

    Reply
  8. brentdanley Avatar
    brentdanley

    Wonderful photograph!!

    Reply
  9. Duncan Rawlinson - Duncan.co Avatar
    Duncan Rawlinson – Duncan.co

    nice hdr!

    Reply
  10. Gone-Walkabout Avatar
    Gone-Walkabout

    wow, great shot! what lens were you using?

    Also what a great birthday! Some of us would just be happy for the ride.

    btw, does the rear prop run while it’s lifting off?

    Reply
  11. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Yes, and there are two props at the rear tip. One can pivot up like the side motors, and the other is side facing like the rear rotor of a helicopter.

    Canon 16-35mm f2.8 lens, my favorite lens (and a surprise birthday gift from my Dad no less! Back when I did not know why I would want to shoot wide angle =) Here are some more shots at 16mm.

    Oh, and the dynamic range of this shot was made possible by stitching three shots together in Photomatix. A bit tricky for a handheld shot where everything is moving.

    nhr: she landed nearby. It was not a direct encounter. But one of the pilots mentioned that a skydiver had bounced off a blimp once in a prior job (I’m assuming under chute at the time).

    Reply
  12. msamaclean © Avatar
    msamaclean ©

    Happy birthday, Mr. J! Love the shot & the lens! Nice job on the HDR, handheld.

    Reply
  13. nhr Avatar
    nhr

    > she landed nearby. It was not a direct encounter.

    Wot? No internecine office conflicts being creatively resolved with a skydiving "accident", mangled bodies, ambulances, lawyers, firefighters, police cars, NTSB investigators, airspace closures, entire neighborhoods being cordoned off, frenzied journalists and TV crews, newsflashes, expert witnesses, vicious fingerpointing, subpoenas, federal grand juries, multi-million dollar civil lawsuits, shaky amateur videos posted on Youtube, pontificating pundits and talkshows feeding the public’s outrage ?

    No drama ? Just an uneventful flight ?

    Why am I not surprised that airships get no respect from the movie scriptwriters 😛

    Reply
  14. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Heh… so true. Just got the video link for the bounce (midway through)

    Reply
  15. lahijadeunminero Avatar
    lahijadeunminero

    great shot!

    Reply
  16. Vanita Avatar
    Vanita

    The distant ground looks friendlier from a zeppelin for some reason.

    Reply
  17. Kerry Hughes Avatar
    Kerry Hughes

    cool

    Reply
  18. joff Avatar
    joff

    Love the perspective … aperture is just perfect to bleed the controls in the overhang but stay crisp on dad, instrument panel and world below.

    Reply
  19. planephotoman Avatar
    planephotoman

    This is a great pic!!

    I have always wanted an airship ride….

    Reply
  20. marcp_dmoz Avatar
    marcp_dmoz

    Amazing shot! Perfectly processed! Well done!

    Reply
  21. DNSF David Newman Avatar
    DNSF David Newman

    Stunning photo.

    It reminds me of the old movie, Jules Verne – Master of the World.

    Dreamlike, toylike, and way too beautiful to be real.

    The formal framing and symmetry make it look like a beatiful art-directed CG still.

    Reply
  22. raigol Avatar
    raigol

    lovely shot, well done

    Reply
  23. padinisantiago Avatar
    padinisantiago

    NICE!!!!

    Reply
  24. aeruginosa Avatar
    aeruginosa

    Excellent shot, nice dynamic!

    >>>seen on
    1-2-3 group

    Reply
  25. Dynamic Range Avatar
    Dynamic Range

    Nice, I’m amazed they didn’t move while taking those three shots. Photomatix must do a nice job of lining up the image.

    Reply
  26. Michael Layefsky Avatar
    Michael Layefsky

    Wonderful! The HDR really makes both the interior and exterior sparkle.

    Reply
  27. Airships Avatar
    Airships

    Very interesting view of the Zeppelin NT!

    Reply
  28. Christopher.Michel Avatar
    Christopher.Michel

    but yours is even cooler!

    Reply

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