FARMERS AIRSHIP
This video by DallasNews.com perfectly captures our experience
on the world's largest airship, a 246-foot Zeppelin.
Click here for details on the airship. (Not a blimp; there's a difference!) A big thanks to the folks at Farmers Insurance
for all they do to support the March of Dimes,
and for including us in this unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.Click here to see the handmade thank-you notes by Jake & Josh.
Click here for our own pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150480217934689.457787.565184688&l=c202f91a7f&type=1
And click here for some brief videos:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150480245154689
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150480247559689
We also were featured in this story, in the Sept. 30, 2011, edition of The Dallas Morning News (full text below):
Twin brothers Josh and Jake Aron got a bird’s-eye
view of Dallas-Fort Worth on
Thursday.
The bird that carried them was bigger than a jumbo jet, quiet as a cat
and lighter than air.
“It was awesome!” said 9-year-old Jake, of Dallas. “But we didn’t get to
go to school and brag about it to our friends today; we gotta wait.”
This weekend, residents across the area may catch a glimpse of the
Farmers airship, the largest in the world and one of only two zeppelins flying
commercially. The dirigible, dubbed Eureka, is making the final stop on its
six-month Covering Communities Tour.
The Aron twins were invited with their parents, Jaime and Lori, and
older brother Zac to ride Eureka on Thursday morning on behalf of Farmers
Insurance and the March of Dimes.
“They … asked if we’d like to do this, and who wouldn’t want to?” Jaime
Aron said. “We’ve been so fortunate to have so many great experiences on behalf
of March of Dimes.”
Josh and Jake were born four months premature, and the family has been
ambassadors for the March of Dimes for the past six years. They said Thursday’s
flight was the experience of a lifetime.
“My alarm was set for 5:40,” Jaime Aron said, “and he [Jake] woke me up
at 5:39, and he was already dressed. … So he was a wee bit looking forward to
it.”
The Arons’ trip was on the house, but limited seats were available this
weekend for a shade over $500 for a one-hour trip or $1,000 for two hours. For
more information, or to track the airship’s journeys throughout the world, go
to airshipventures.com.
According to Airship Ventures, owner and operator of Eureka, the
zeppelin is 246 feet long and travels at an average speed of 35 mph and an
altitude of 1,200 feet. Its internal framework distinguishes it from the more
common blimps. The airship’s gondola holds 12 passengers, complete with a
restroom and views from every angle.
“Sometimes I’ll see kids during playtime at school waving, so I’ll make
a few spins to let them know I see them,” said Eureka’s pilot, Katharine Board.
“That’s what it’s all about.”
Board, the only female zeppelin pilot in the world, said she flies with
people who have wanted to ride an airship their whole lives and feels fortunate
to make those dreams come true. She also enjoys proving to youngsters that
anything is possible.
“I really notice being the only woman pilot when I hear a dad tell his
daughter she can do whatever she wants,” she said.
The red, white and blue airship lifts off for its last trip around the
area on Sunday at Fort Worth’s Alliance Airport.