June 2009
For four years, a frequent sight over San Francisco Bay Area/Silicon Valley was ‘Eureka’, a flightseeing Zeppelin operated by the now defunct Airship Ventures. In 2009 Eureka made an appearance at the Hiller Aviation Museum’s Vertical Challenge airshow. Six of these helium-filled airships have been manufactured manufactured since 1997 by the German company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (ZLT) in Friedrichshafen. In addition to thrust, two engines provides maneuverability via their swiveling propellers; the two forward engines can be tilted 90° upward or 30° downward, while the aft engine powers a fixed lateral propeller. The company considers itself the successor of the companies founded by Ferdinand von Zeppelin which constructed and operated the very successful Zeppelin airships in the first third of the 20th century. Nikon D300 w/80-200mm.