LTA Airship Rating

Gucci Pilot

Gucci Pilot

Pattern Altitude
Joined
Aug 1, 2014
Messages
2,066
Display Name
Display name:
Gucci Pilot
Looking to just add the rating. Anyone know of how to do this without getting hired by Goodyear? Been looking online with no luck.
 
I know one person that has it, cough-KSCessnaDriver-cough. Kinda hoping he'll chime in
 
Get hired, is really the only way. Or ask John/Martha King. They bought their ratings, at probably between 30 & 50K a piece.
 
Besides seeking out training at the usual suspects (very expensive as I understand it, usually with a prerequisite commercial rating in some other category,) one other way is to buy a hot-air (thermal) airship and train in it - provided you can find a commercial airship pilot to do the training. I think Cameron Balloon may be one of the few commercial options: http://cameronballoons.com/airships.html

I found this Brazilian company with a $20,000 price for a Cameron built thermal airship: http://www.skyzepp.com/Hot_airship.pdf
I have no idea how realistic that is - seems low.

Or consider designing and building your own airship; good luck finding plans - and definitely no kits (which I find odd, given that airships predate airplanes). One starting point is the Experimental Lighter than Air web site http://www.xlta.org/
 
A review of pilot hiring information on the internet indicates those blimp operators like Goodyear really do hire pilots with no airship experience and then train them. Training seems to take about six months on the job before you get the rating and long-term contracts are the norm.
 
Ron Levy said:
A review of pilot hiring information on the internet indicates those blimp operators like Goodyear really do hire pilots with no airship experience and then train them. Training seems to take about six months on the job before you get the rating and long-term contracts are the norm.
Click to expand...

6 months, I'd buy that at Goodyear. If they set up a ship and dedicated it to training, you could do it in 2 weeks.
 
I bet you could build one for less than 10k that would fly 2-3 people. Lot of sewing to do though. It wouldn't be very difficult to design and build.
 
Henning said:
I bet you could build one for less than 10k that would fly 2-3 people. Lot of sewing to do though. It wouldn't be very difficult to design and build.
Click to expand...

Probably could. But not looking to invest that much time into it.
 
Ron Levy said:
A review of pilot hiring information on the internet indicates those blimp operators like Goodyear really do hire pilots with no airship experience and then train them. Training seems to take about six months on the job before you get the rating and long-term contracts are the norm.
Click to expand...

Not sure what they do these days, but my CFII flew for them for nearly 3 decades. He got some LTA in the Navy durring the 60's. He flew mostly fixed wing in the Navy and he wanted an airline job when he got out. He took a temporary job at Goodyear flying the blimp and stayed nearly 30 years.
 
The airport museum at post mills has some experimental balloon baskets that are lawn chairs and lawn mower motors bolted together. I understand they were flown(under hot air balloons)no idea how well they worked. Probably couldn't get a rating that way but you could log pic of an airship.
 
Something that requires a ground crew for launch and especially recovery does not sound like it would be a cheap rating to get. Still, it would be fun. I watch them going in and out of KPMP all the time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top