How do you celebrate a 75th birthday? With the Goodyear blimp, of course

As most septuagenarian parties go, the celebration that marked Phoenix Goodyear Airport’s 75th birthday was relatively tame. A few dozen people gathered at the tiny airport on a brisk, windy Monday morning. Inside, there was sheet cake and iced tea. Outside, several rows of folding chairs faced a temporary stage, where officials would make a few remarks.

Unusually strong gusts meant it was unclear if a planned appearance by the “Spirit of Innovation” would happen. The Spirit of Innovation, of course, is just a name for a specific member of a fleet of flying objects more commonly referred to as "the Goodyear blimp."

The weather was uncooperative, but darned if the iconic Goodyear airship was not going to fly on such a momentous occasion at its eponymous airport. And fly, it did.

As Phoenix Aviation Director Jim Bennett spoke of the Goodyear airport’s $70 million annual economic impact, a low, distant hum gradually grew louder. Soon, it was all that could be heard, the blimp's twin propellers drowning out the PA system as all in the crowd craned their eyes skyward.

Indeed, as if perfectly timed, the much-anticipated Goodyear blimp rumbled overhead, its LED lights flashing a message for the times: “CONGRATS TO PHOENIX-GOODYEAR AIRPORT ON 75 YEARS! PROUD TO SHARE HISTORY IN ARIZONA.” It was followed by Sky Harbor airport’s Twitter handle.

The flyover lasted no longer than two minutes, but the blimp could still be seen in the periphery for some time, lolling in the wind like a giant manatee in the sky, as it floated south to an open field at the airport.

What is it about the Goodyear blimp (the company actually has more than one) that inspires many to consider it an American icon?

“I had my first blimp ride probably almost on the original blimp in Germany, which was extremely exciting,” said Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord. The ride she referred to took place around 1979, when she and her husband were stationed in Germany for diplomatic duty. While playing tennis there, they met other aviation enthusiasts who invited them to see the blimp.

“They decided we should have a ride, and so we did,” Lord said, clearly still delighted more than three decades later. “It is so silent while you’re riding it, and you can see forever.”

Though the Goodyear blimp is based in Carson, Calif., it is no stranger to the Goodyear Airport, where it stays any time it flies to (or sometimes through) Arizona. Both share long ties to their namesake tire company, so it was fitting that the blimp be on hand for the airport’s 75th birthday.

Phoenix Goodyear Airport is one of three airports owned and operated by the city of Phoenix. Goodyear Aircraft Corporation originally acquired the land in 1940, donating some of it a year later to the U.S. Navy. Soon it opened, as the Naval Air Facility at Litchfield Park, to support war efforts during World War II. After the war, the airport became an aircraft storage facility. In 1968, Phoenix acquired the airport and has been operating it ever since for general aviation relief to Sky Harbor. Today known as the Phoenix Goodyear Airport, it also serves as a landing pad for some of the Valley’s corporate and private planes.

“Goodyear airport’s a little piece of heaven for those of us who work in aviation,” said David Dotts, an operations technician who has worked at  there for 13 years. “You get to enjoy not just the job but the camaraderie.”

Most pilots, technicians and staff members know one another, he said. It’s the sort of place where the receptionist keeps a bucket of Red Vines on her desk and where the bulletin board includes a flier for a used Titan T-51 Mustang, complete with tear-off phone-number tabs. Goodyear’s sister municipal airports may see more activity, Dotts added, “but here it’s a little more personal.”

After the morning ceremonies, Dotts drove around the airport to the field where the Spirit of Innovation was moored. Several onlookers milled underneath the blimp as it swayed gently from side to side, anchored by ropes and bags filled with steel.

The blimp typically travels five days a week providing broadcast coverage of sporting events or giving passenger rides, according to Goodyear spokeswoman Priscilla Tasker. (This includes open and domed stadiums. Those establishing aerial shots you see of the outside of arenas during NBA games? They’re often filmed live from a blimp.)

Goodyear airport is a favorite for blimp pilots, Dotts said, “not because of the name only, but mainly because this big, open field.” This was the Goodyear blimp’s third visit to Arizona this year. In February, it hovered over various Super Bowl XLIX week activities. This past weekend, it provided aerial coverage of the NASCAR races at Phoenix International Raceway.

When it isn’t at sporting events, the blimp flies Goodyear Tire customers through invitations or charity auctions. In a world of flashy corporate perks, there do exist professional adults who are still excited to ride one of the slowest-moving forms of transportation.

The flight between Los Angeles and Phoenix can take anywhere between eight and 14 hours, depending on wind conditions, said Kristen Arambula, one of the blimp pilots. She stumbled upon the profession while training to fly commercial airplanes and now loves it.

“I took a little detour thinking I’d go back to jets, but I just stayed,” Arambula said. “All my passengers are always in a good mood.”