It was a wonderful day. We were able to see as far as the eye is allowed to see on the horizon

Ellington Space Port, Houston December 28, 2024 - The World Air League had the distinguished honor to treat one of our esteemed advisory directors, Ambassador Chase Untermeyer to a daytime excursion on the DICK'S House of Sport blimp.

“It was a wonderful day. We were able to see as far as the eye is allowed to see on the horizon,” said Don Hartsell, the Commissioner and Managing Director of the World Air League.


The Skyship Services A-170 Lightship, a giant airship, measures 178 feet in length, stands 55 feet tall, and is 46 feet wide. With a volume of 170,000 cubic feet of helium and powered by two Lycoming engines, the blimp is a rare sight, as it’s one of just a handful currently flying in American skies.

Mr. Hartsell and Mr. Untermeyer, who met while Mr. Untermeyer was the United States ambassador to Qatar from 2004 to 2007, were guests of Julien Benscher, the president of Skyship Services, who had offered a sightseeing morning excursion, while the blimp was conducting an aerial campaign over Texas. As the blimp gracefully sailed in the sky, the two aficionados spoke about their love for airships, and the latest technological advances that aim to make them fly without using any fossil fuel which could make airships, already the greenest form of aviation, be even greener.


After the ride, Mr. Untermeyer, who has published four books about his adventurous life, told the World Air League, “The flight itself was of course a special treat. But I was equally fascinated watching the ground crew at work. Just as it was a century and more ago, airships depend on human muscle power to be guided on the ground. Seen from the gondola, it was quite a ballet. And as the blimp came in to land, the crew formed a big letter V, indicating which way it should point (i.e., into the wind). I wish I could have talked with members of the crew about their jobs, but they were busy doing them. Were they all airship fans from boyhood, as Don Hartsell and I were, or is it for them just an interesting thing to do with a high school degree?”