Fly on a blimp

“Once we were all loaded up, the blimp gently lifted off the ground and floated over the grounds at Wittman Regional Airport. The motion was similar to a helicopter taking off, but was smoother and infinitely quieter. [...] The next surprising blimp trait I learned about was how they cruise. Blimps look like they fly pretty straight when you’re on the ground, but when you’re in the sky, it feels a whole lot like being in a small-ish boat out on a lake. The blimp gently rocks back and forth as it slowly moves through the sky. This is never really violent or anything; you just need to put your hand on the top of a seat as you meander through the cabin.”

“My first Eureka ride was almost three years ago, and it felt really surreal. I was terrified because we had to line up in pairs in the middle of a huge vacant field while they tethered this enormous thing to the ground with ropes so that it wouldn’t move. It seemed kind of unwieldy yet delicate. One passenger would disembark, then the new passenger would climb aboard. They had to do this switcheroo deal because otherwise, the tiny cabin wouldn’t be heavy enough to stay close to the ground long enough for us to get inside. Once we were all buckled up and it started to lift off the ground, I was amazed at how quiet it was, and how safe it felt. [...] It went something like 45 miles an hour, so it wasn’t scary at all. But it was weird, because it’s not like flying in a helicopter or a plane; it’s more like flying on a cloud.”

“As it landed, I realised how weird it was. This giant mass of helium dwarfing the carriage underneath, a couple of stubby propellers off to each side, all balancing on a tiny wheel that had me imagining the world’s weirdest unicycle. [...] Inside it felt more bus than plane — I think because of the giant windows. Once you’re inside, you tend to forget the near-football field sized balloon above your head. [...] The views of this vast mess of a city — and the ocean out to the west — were spectacular, our shadow a reminder of how unusual this vessel was; a whale drifting through the sky.”