Flying High Above and Touring California in a Zeppelin

There are many ways to tour California. By hiking, biking, driving, trains and zeppelin. Wait. A zeppelin?

The last time a zeppelin loomed over the Los Angeles skies was in 1929, when Germany's Graf Zeppelin made a stop before continuing on its way to a successful around-the-world-flight. And zeppelins pretty much met their demise at, "oh the humanity," New Jersey's Lakehurst Naval Air Station when the Hindenburg, filled with flammable hydrogen, exploded in flames while landing, killing 36 people. The zeppelin, like a dinosaur, appeared extinct.

But like the fictional Phoenix arising from ashes, new technology and swapping hydrogen for helium has spawned a re-born zeppelin, one that a California company has eagerly embraced.

Based out of California's San Francisco's south bay area, is the husband-and-wife-owned company Airship Ventures. Owners Alexandra and Brian Hall's company operates the Eureka, a 246-foot-long zeppelin that is 15 feet longer than a Boeing 747.

Using the only zeppelin operating in the United States, the company's craft can carry up to 13 passengers and a crew of two in a comfortable and relatively quiet cabin large enough that passengers are encouraged to roam around. That freedom to walk about comes in handy as Airship Ventures offers a variety of cruising sky tours of California ranging from Los Angeles to northern California's Napa Valley wine country that allow passengers to view the sights below from various angles.

While many people are familiar with a blimp, such as the Goodyear hovering over the Super Bowl, a zeppelin is constructed differently. Blimps are shaped by their helium fuel. Zeppelins (invented by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the late 1800's), by contrast, are shaped by their rigid-framed hulls. Airship Ventures uses the German-made Zeppelin NT (NT standing for New Technology) airships that are filled with non-flammable helium. The NT's hull is covered with a multi-layer laminate, created by the same company that makes NASA's space suits, that can withstand a lightning strike. And if any one or all of the ship's three propeller-driven engines should fail, the craft will still float, instead of crashing, until its pilot finds a suitable landing spot.

With a top speed of 77 mph and a range of about 500 miles, the Eureka is well-suited for a variety of tours. Airship Ventures offers flights over the San Francisco Bay area (including a sunset tour of the Bay), Monterey Bay, northern California's wine country, Los Angeles and the owners continue to expand their flights, including their flights along the Pacific coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco. In addition to its regular tours, the company also provides private charters for such events as weddings or company outings. And for all you electronic geeks out there, the Halls also offer a 90-minute aerial tour of Silicon Valley called, appropriately enough, the Geek Tour.

An usual offering is the company's "Pilots-For-A-Day" experience that allows qualified pilots the opportunity to actually take control of the craft. Costing about $3,000 for the day, pilots maneuver the Eureka and can even practice touch-and-go landings.

All the seats on the Eureka have picture-windows that offer panoramic views of the earth below. The windows also can be opened and you can actually peer outside as the air flows by. The three engines are very quiet compared to a fixed-wing airplane. And if you are on an extended tour and need to use the "facilities," the bathroom also features a window.

Prices for the tours vary and are not inexpensive, starting at around $500. Check with the company to find where you will be departing from on the various flights. It is also best to make reservations well in advance as, with only up to 13 seats available, the Eureka tends to be booked very quickly.