Blimp hangar appears overnight

CARSON, Calif. — A new landmark appeared on the Southern California horizon overnight.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company inflated a 337-foot-long hangar at its Carson blimp base along the I-405 freeway during the overnight hours. The new structure will serve as the home of Goodyear’s newest blimp, Wingfoot Two, which began operating in Los Angeles in October.

Stretching about as long as a football field, the nine-story hangar is the largest inflatable structure of its kind in North America and will protect the company’s new state-of-the-art blimp from the environment, Goodyear officials said.

“The Goodyear Blimp has been a fixture in the skies over Los Angeles for a half century and the new hangar gives us a highly visible presence on the ground along one of the busiest highways in the country,” said Paul Fitzhenry, Goodyear’s senior vice president and chief communications officer.

The new hangar was manufactured for Goodyear by Lindstrand Technologies, which designs and builds inflatable structures for uses including passenger airline hangars, airline terminal roofs and on military bases.

Goodyear has flown its iconic blimps for more than 90 years and has operated its base in Carson since 1968. A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Carson base is planned in 2018.