Loral GZ-22

The Loral GZ-22 (also known as the Goodyear GZ-22) was a class of non-rigid airship, or blimp first flown in 1989 and operated by Goodyear as its flagship promotional aircraft, with civil registration N4A and christened Spirit of Akron. This was the only airship of this class ever built.[1] Goodyear originally designed the GZ-22 to demonstrate the possible renewed use of airships to the United States Navy, which had ended their airship operations in 1962. The GZ-22 was designed by Goodyear, but built by Loral after Goodyear sold its aerospace division to Loral in 1987.[1] The GZ-22 had a steel-framed, composite-skinned gondola under a neoprene-impregnated polyester 2-ply envelope, inflated with helium.[1] At its launch in 1987, the 205-foot 6-inch long Spirit of Akron was the longest airship in service at that time.[2] The GZ-22 Type Certificate was issued on 31 August 1989.[3]

GZ-22
Role non-rigid airship
National origin United States
Manufacturer Loral Corporation
Designer Goodyear
First flight 1989
Primary user Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
Number built 1

On 28 October 1999, the Spirit of Akron suddenly entered an uncontrolled left turn and began descending over Suffield Township, Ohio, crashing into trees and sustaining severe damage. The pilot and technician on board received minor injuries. The NTSB report on the crash identified improperly hardened metal splines on the control actuators had sheared, causing loss of control and identified the probable cause as being failure by the "flight control system manufacturer to meet design (hardness) specifications".[4]

The control car of the Spirit of Akron is on display at the MAPS Air Museum.[5]

Specifications

Data from [1]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 1
  • Capacity: 10 passengers
  • Length: 205 ft 6 in (62.64 m)
  • Width: 47 ft 0 in (14.33 m)
  • Height: 60 ft 2 in (18.34 m)
  • Volume: 247,800 cu ft (7,017 m3)
  • Gross weight: 15,000 lb (6,804 kg)
  • Powerplant: 2 × Allison 250-B17C turboprops , 420 hp (312.2 kW) each

Performance

  • Maximum speed: 65 mph (105 km/h, 56 kn)
  • Service ceiling: 10,000 ft (3,050 m)

References
Notes
  1. Taylor 1996, p. 548
  2. "Blimp Arbourne". Air Progress. December 1987.
  3. "Type Certificate Data Sheet No.AS1GL Lockheed Martin (Loral) GZ-22" (PDF). Federal Aviation Authority. 1 October 1997. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  4. "Aircraft: Loral Corp. GZ-22, registration: N4A". National Transportation Safety Board. 17 May 2001. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  5. Elliott, Dave (10 January 2018). "LORAL GZ-22 "SPIRIT OF AKRON"". MAPS Air Museum. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
Bibliography
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