Nascar and Oscars

Though the M Lightship is based in Las Vegas, it does travel upon occasion to California. I took a few of these pictures of California Motor Speedway in Fontana, Ca while we were flying over the NASCAR festivities last weekend. We also had a chance to swing by the Oscars in Hollywood last Sunday before heading back to the field for the night. Goodyear was there also providing aerial coverage for the big awards show.

Flying the Big Blimp

Well I haven't had any time to do any updates lately because I've been busy getting some experience on one of our big airships. It it an A170 model for The M Resort Spa Casino in Las Vegas. The M Lightship is 179 feet long, 55 feet high and 46 feet wide with a 170,000 cubic feet envelope. Being so large, the airship still only cruises at a top speed of around 30 to 35mph with no wind. Also as you can see in the picture, it also has a huge LCD screen on the side of it for advertisements which measures 70 feet wide by 30 feet high.

Flying Around Phoenix

Its been beautiful here in Phoenix so far this week. Hopefully it stays that way all the way through the weekend for the FBR Open. I took a bunch of pictures while I was flying around on Saturday. Some highlights include the stadium the Chicago Cubs play in during spring training, some pictures of the golf course at TPC Scottsdale and numerous pictures of the desert and mountain landscape. Another beautiful Arizona afternoon!

Desert Pictures

We left California for the Arizona desert this week to begin our golf season coverage. I took a few of these pictures near Blythe, CA which is about the halfway point between LA and Phoenix. From now through March, we'll be in a new city every week providing aerial coverage of the PGA Tour Golf Tournaments.

San Diego Fun

These pictures are from our time here in San Diego. Included are a bunch from the Holiday Bowl Parade which featured a number of inflatable balloons. I had a first class seat watching it from the air. I even found the end of the parade where they deflated the inflatables. So quickly the large characters disappear!

San Francisco

San Francisco is one of my favorite places to fly around. Its just great scenery everywhere you go. I can see why Airship Ventures decided to bring a Zeppelin to the area for aerial tours. I was able to get a few pictures of it over the bay while I was up flying around the other day. Its a truly impressive aircraft. I also snapped a few other pictures of downtown, the Golden Gate Bridge and a few other land marks. One more week here and then back to Southern California!

Watching Goodyear Video

Just a little video montage of the Goodyear Blimp landing and climbing out of their base in Carson, CA. I was flying some exposure along the 405 when I saw them coming in for a passenger exchange. A rare blimp to blimp video.

Flying the Coast Video

A little video from my transit from San Diego to Long Beach. As you can tell, I had some fun playing around off the coast. The camera moved a little bit in my one shot but it gives you an idea of my perspective from the gondola anyway. Christopher Cross's "Sailing" is the accompanying music which sets the laid back mood that the whole trip had that day.