The Loral GZ-22 (also known as the Goodyear GZ-22) was a class of

non-rigid airship A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydr ...

, or

blimp A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hydr ...

first flown in 1989 and operated by Goodyear as its flagship promotional aircraft, with

civil registration Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events (births, marriages, and deaths) of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database has different names in different countries and even in differen ...

''N4A'' and christened ''Spirit of Akron''. This was the only airship of this class ever built. 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. The GZ-22 had a steel-framed, composite-skinned gondola under a

neoprene Neoprene (also polychloroprene) is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene.Werner Obrecht, Jean-Pierre Lambert, Michael Happ, Christiane Oppenheimer-Stix, John Dunn and Ralf Krüger "Rubber, 4. Emulsion R ...

-impregnated

polyester Polyester is a category of polymers that contain the ester functional group in every repeat unit of their main chain. As a specific material, it most commonly refers to a type called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Polyesters include natural ...

2-ply envelope, inflated with

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

. At its launch in 1987, the 205-foot 6-inch long ''Spirit of Akron'' was the longest airship in service at that time. The GZ-22 Type Certificate was issued on 31 August 1989. On 28 October 1999, the ''Spirit of Akron'' suddenly entered an uncontrolled left turn and began descending over

Suffield Township, Ohio Suffield Township is one of the eighteen civil township, townships of Portage County, Ohio, Portage County, Ohio, United States. The United States Census, 2000, 2000 census found 6,383 people in the township. Geography Located in the southwestern ...

, crashing into trees and sustaining severe damage. The pilot and technician on board received minor injuries. The

NTSB The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...

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". The control car of the ''Spirit of Akron'' is on display at the

MAPS Air Museum The MAPS Air Museum is an aviation museum in Green, Ohio, United States. Run by the Military Aviation Preservation Society, it is located off SR241 on the west side of the Akron-Canton Regional Airport. The museum holds more than 50 aircraft, m ...

Specifications

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{Goodyear aircraft 1980s United States special-purpose aircraft Airships of the United States Goodyear aircraft