American Blimp Corporation
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| Private | |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | Hillsboro, Oregon, USA Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Products | non rigid airships |
| Subsidiaries | The Lightship Group |
| Website | www.americanblimp.com |
American Blimp Company (ABC) is a privately owned Hillsboro, Oregon-based company that is the largest manufacturer of blimps in the United States. It manufactures the hardware and rigging for the Lightship and Spector brands of airships. In 2012, American Blimp Corporation and The Lightship Group were acquired by Van Wagner Communications LLC, and are now referred to as the Van Wagner Airship Group.[1]
Contents
Models
ABC was founded in 1987 by James Thiele.[2] The company's lightships are the A-60 and A-60+, as well as the A-150 and A-170.[2] The website says, "There are more A-60+ airships flying in commercial service than those of all other manufacturers combined."[2]
In 1995 it launched the Spector series, with a gondola capable of nine passengers plus the pilot.[2]
The blimps feature internal lights and translucent envelopes for the advertising and sales promotion markets. The airship's envelopes are manufactured by ILC Dover's Lighter than air division based in Frederica, Delaware.[citation needed]
Oregon facilities
Its Hillsboro location has a 2,300-square-metre (25,000 sq ft) facility and leased space in a former US Navy airship hangar at Tillamook, Oregon.[2] There are 45 employees in Oregon.[2]
The Lightship Group
Wholly owned subsidiary The Lightship Group (TLG) sells lightships and is based in Orlando, Florida and has more than 200 employees.[2] TLG was formed in 1995 as a partnership of Virgin Lightship and ABC's Lightship America. In 2002 ABC acquired control of the group.[3] In 2012, TLG was acquired by Van Wagner Communications LLC, and now operates under The Van Wagner Airship Group.[1]
TLG has operated the Goodyear Blimp outside of the United States, in Europe and countries such as Australia, Brazil, and China; this includes airships such as the "Spirit of Europe 1" and 2 as well as the "Spirit of the South Pacific".[4] It was one of TLG's Goodyear airships that crashed in Reichelsheim, Germany on 14 June 2011, resulting in the death of Michael Nerandzic, an experienced pilot whose last-minute actions saved the lives of his three passengers.[5]
According to its website, Van Wagner Airship Group is the "world's largest airship operator, providing integrated, full service Airship advertising and promotion programs for companies such as Goodyear, Met Life, General Motors, DirecTV and Sanyo."[4][5]
Aircraft
- American Blimp A-170
- American Blimp MZ-3
- Conan blimp
- DIRECTV blimp
- List of companies based in Oregon
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to American Blimp Corporation. |
- Official website --> Now operating under Van Wagner Airship Group.
- [1] of ABC's Lightship Group subsidiary
- [2] official site of the MetLife Blimp, DirecTV blimp, HP Hood blimp, etc.
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles with unsourced statements from June 2011
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Airships
- Aircraft manufacturers of the United States
- Companies based in Hillsboro, Oregon
- Manufacturing companies established in 1987
- 1987 establishments in Oregon
- Privately held companies based in Oregon
