Loral GZ-22

The Loral GZ-22, also called the Goodyear GZ-22, was a non-rigid airship, or blimp, that first flew in 1989 and served as Goodyear's flagship promotional aircraft. Registered N4A and named Spirit of Akron, it was the only airship of its class ever built. Goodyear designed it partly to show the United States Navy that airships might be worth using again after the Navy ended its airship operations in 1962, and it was built by Loral after Goodyear sold its aerospace division to Loral in 1987. The ship had a steel-framed, composite-skinned gondola beneath a two-ply neoprene-impregnated polyester envelope filled with helium, carried a pilot and ten passengers, measured about 205 feet 6 inches (62.64 m) long, and was driven by two Allison 250-B17C turboprops. Its type certificate was issued on 31 August 1989. On 28 October 1999 it lost control and crashed into trees in Suffield Township, Ohio, slightly injuring the two people aboard, and its gondola is now displayed at the MAPS Air Museum.