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The Last Goodyear Wingfoot Blimp Takes Flight

Goodyear christened Wingfoot Three this week, the last in its line of modern airships. 

Spanning almost a football field, the massive blimp took to the sky in what’s become a familiar sight in Northeast Ohio. 

Shaesta Waiz, the youngest woman to fly solo around the world in a single engine plane, did the honors of christening the blimp with a bottle of champagne. 

She said there’s a long line of female aviators dedicating Goodyear’s airships, including Amelia Earhart.

"And now to be following her steps, I keep pinching myself. This is all happening because I had the courage to go after my dreams. It’s so unreal. It’s really an honor," Waiz said.

Like its two siblings, Wingfoot Three was built by the German company Zeppelin and shipped to Ohio in pieces for assembly.

This marks the last of Goodyear’s modern fleet of airships, which the company launched in 2014.

The blimps are based in Akron, California and Florida.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd3xwbtNE3k

Mark Arehart joined the award-winning WKSU news team as its arts/culture reporter in 2017. Before coming to Northeast Ohio, Arehart hosted Morning Edition and covered the arts scene for Delaware Public Media. He previously worked for KNKX in Seattle, Kansas Public Radio, and KYUK in Bethel, Alaska.