# Do Blimps and Helos fly at night? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 16, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719 "2007-11-16T17:36:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/1 "2007-11-16T17:36:57Z")
Does anyone know if blimps, such as the Goodyear’s promotional blimp, does any flying at night? Seems to me it would only be relocated from site to site during daylight hours only. Is this correct? And, if it flew by night, are there “landing lights” (for lack of the correct term) on it? Perhaps on the gondola portion, if at all? Also, I’ve heard it said that helicopters only fly by day. Is that true? It does seem to be the case, but…what is the SD? It’s even been mentioned on MASH which had good advisors. (But, if true, it seems like a big handicap to the military.) …Do helos have “landing lights”? If this is true for either blimp or helo, why? What instrumentation do they lack for night flying? - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/2 "2007-11-16T17:38:11Z")
[QUOTE=Jinx] Does anyone know if blimps, such as the Goodyear’s promotional blimp, does any flying at night? [/QUOTE] Have you ever watched Monday Night Football? There’s almost always a blimp overhead. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/3 "2007-11-16T17:38:43Z")
No…I mean en route! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/4 "2007-11-16T17:39:26Z")
Helicopters definitely fly at night. Part of getting a license is night flying. The Goodyear blimps als fly at night. They have huge animated marquees that light up for advertising. Other blimps also fly at night, and some are internally lit so that they can advertise at night ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/5 "2007-11-16T17:41:22Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Helicopters definitely fly at night. Part of getting a license is night flying. The Goodyear blimps als fly at night. They have huge animated marquees that light up for advertising. Other blimps also fly at night, and some are internally lit so that they can advertise at night [/QUOTE] Johnny - While I’ve seen Goodyear blimp toys with changeable messages capabilities, I’ve never seen this on the actual blimp. I saw the blimp in person only once, however. Maybe I was on its back side? ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/6 "2007-11-16T17:50:09Z")
[QUOTE=Jinx] No…I mean en route! [/QUOTE] I highly doubt they keep the thing above the stadium until the sun comes up. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/7 "2007-11-16T17:54:01Z")
[QUOTE=Jinx] No…I mean en route! [/QUOTE] Whether repositioning is done at night is an operational business rather than a legal one. There are three Goodyear Blimps in the U.S.; one in L.A., one in Ohio, and one in Florida. So they have regions they can cover. The point of blimps is advertising. Flying long distances would put them out of the public eye, and cross-country flights at night doubly so. I don’t know if they do this, but deflating them and crating them up might be a better way to reposition them. Blimps and helicopters have short ranges compared to fixed-wing aircraft, and they are slower. A blimp also requires an experienced ground crew and a suitable landing area. Blimps and helicopters are very good at what they do; but expensive and limited in their utility when it comes to travelling. I could hop in a Robinson R-22 and fly to Florida if I wanted to (and could afford it), but it would be a gruelling trip. So yes, they do fly at night. There’s nothing legally preventing it. But costs of long distance flights have to be considered. FWIW I asked (about 20 years ago) what it takes to fly for Goodyear. They said a Commercial and Multi-Engine certificate. They’d pay for the LTA cert. But the least senior pilot on the team had been there 20 years. A bit of a waiting list. As for the marquees, Goodyear blimps have them on both sides just above the gondola. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/8 "2007-11-16T18:13:36Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Flying long distances would put them out of the public eye, and cross-country flights at night doubly so. I don’t know if they do this, but deflating them and crating them up might be a better way to reposition them. [/QUOTE] I take my flying lessons out of Hanscom field outside of Boston. It is actually quite large and handles most large and small aircraft for landing and services. Twice I have noticed a blimp coming into the Boston skyline and driven to Hanscom to watch it land. It takes a while but it will eventually get there and there is a large ground crew of maybe 50 people on hand to handle the ropes and tethering. Once there was some moderate gusty wind and that was a scary thing to watch. It looked like trying to wrestle down a movie monster. Those were interesting experiences and I got within 50 yards of the landing blimps and their crew. There aren’t any blimps based in Boston that I know of so they were being ferried from some other city for a sporting event. I can’t see breaking one down as being a viable option for anything other than a coast to coast trip. Those things are big and aren’t just simple balloons with a car hanging under it. I don’t see why flying one at night would be any more of a problem than any other aircraft. They have instruments and GPS systems and talk to Air Traffic Control just like everyone else. They are just slow. I could see storms being a problem as well as getting ground crews on site in the event of an en route problem but that applies to local flying as well. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/9 "2007-11-16T18:40:35Z")
Yes, [blimps can fly at night](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=160851). 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/10 "2007-11-16T18:43:48Z")
Goodyear has a [FAQ page](http://www.goodyearblimp.com/faqs/faqs_business.html)regarding their blimps. Some points in the OP are covered, but not directly. > [@](#): > > The crew of the Goodyear Blimps consist of professional mechanics, electrical and electronics technicians and specialized crewmen that all have a variety of skills. Because the blimps can spend between six and eight months a year on the road a love of travel is a must I don’t think they mean “on the road, deflated, in the back of a truck”. The amount of helium required to re-inflate a blimp after every leg would probably be more than anybody would pay for having the blimp show up. More: > [@](#): > > How many crewmen and pilots are there for each ship? > > The usual complement is seventeen crewmen (riggers, engine mechanics, ground handlers, and electronic technicians), five pilots, and a public relations manager. Crewmen also share driving chores in the bus and truck and they take turns standing watch over the ship which is never, ever, left alone. > > Do people get airsick in the blimp? > > It’s less likely than in almost any other aircraft. On a long flight in turbulence it is possible to get seasick, however, since the blimp will pitch and roll much like a boat. Fortunately, the envelope absorbs the bumpiness on normal flights, and the ride is usually as smooth as can be. > > How high does the blimp usually fly? > > Most flights, whether with passengers or cross-country, are at 1,000-1,500 feet. Goodyear likes to keep the ship close to the ground so that people can see it more easily. It has a maximum altitude, depending on the variables of the atmosphere, of about 5.000 feet. Beyond that height the air gets thinner and the helium expands, causing automatic safety valves to open. So “long flights” and “cross-country” are mentioned. ETA: More info [here](http://www.goodyearblimp.com/basics/crew.html) > [@](#): > > Each modern blimp is staffed with an air and ground crew consisting of 4 pilots, a public relations manager, and at least 16 ground crew, including aircraft mechanics, electronic technicians and riggers. With three specially equipped ground-support vehicles, the crew is almost self-sustaining in the field in regard to operation and maintenance. Moving from city to city, the caravan travels by highway as the blimp flies to its next engagement. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/11 "2007-11-16T18:44:35Z")
As someone who lived 2 years wedged between two housing complexes with recurring crime problems I can attest to the fact that helicopters do, indeed, fly at night. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/12 "2007-11-16T18:51:14Z")
Here is a link to a website that has a couple pictures of nighttime lights on a helo: [http://www.kmrt.org.uk/site\_2005/diary\_jan\_07.shtm](http://www.kmrt.org.uk/site_2005/diary_jan_07.shtm) (Scroll halfway down.) I googled\>image\>“helicopter, night” ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/13 "2007-11-16T18:56:01Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] As someone who lived 2 years wedged between two housing complexes with recurring crime problems I can attest to the fact that helicopters do, indeed, fly at night. [/QUOTE] Oh yea. That’s at least a monthly occurrence on our block. And I just saw a MetLife blimp flying over the San Francisco Bay at night a couple of weeks ago. It was all lit up and really very pretty. Plus, Snoopy! ---
**Author:** ![Barrington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Barrington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrington)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/14 "2007-11-16T19:06:50Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] As someone who lived 2 years wedged between two housing complexes with recurring crime problems I can attest to the fact that helicopters do, indeed, fly at night. [/QUOTE] Same here, but I live _in_ a neighbourhood with crime problems. It’s a bitch. I normally sleep very deeply, but the local police chopper wakes me up quite easily. I don’t mind that so much - it’s the way it goes away, comes back, goes away, comes back … very annoying. Not only is the chopper equipped with lights, it has an extremely powerful searchlight, plus night-vision IR cameras. This baby is very capable of night flight. Oh, and it’s black. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/15 "2007-11-16T19:10:03Z")
I’ve attended outdoor theater performed on the campus of a large state university–near the university hospital (also large). To be clear–the hospital building would be a long hike from the ampitheater, but there were no buildings in between, just green space and parking lots. On at least one occassion, the performance was interuppted by a helicopter which landed at the hospital. Kind of neat, but mostly annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/16 "2007-11-16T19:15:54Z")
When my mom was pregnant with me, they were at the Orange Bowl and she went out to the balcony of the hotel room because she couldn’t handle the cigarette smoke anymore, and the Goodyear blimp passed so close on its way to its next stop that she could have almost reached out and touched it! (At night.) Everybody thought she was drunk or hallucinating when she told them. ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/17 "2007-11-16T19:16:26Z")
Here’s a piece about helicopters in the [Korean War](http://www.historynet.com/wars_conflicts/korean_war/5219936.html), which suggests that while the early helicopters were not equipped for night flying, they were soon flown at night anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mike\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Fun)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/18 "2007-11-16T19:21:24Z")
A friend of mine used to work as part of a blimp ground crew (the Fuji blimp, not Goodyear) and it definitely flew at night, but not very often. I once visited him at an airfield near Richmond, VA and he showed me something extremely cool. We went up to the tethered blimp (which is about 300 ft. long and several stories high) and he lifted it up over his head with one hand. Makes perfect sense, of course, but damn did it look freaky! ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/19 "2007-11-16T19:26:36Z")
The Hood blimp that hovers over Fenway lives in my town. Sometimes after night games we can see it following us home from the park. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719/20 "2007-11-16T19:32:53Z")
I have both flown **in** the Good Year blimp based in Florida, Pompano Beach actually, and \*\*flown \*\* the blimp myself. Not by myself of course :smack: but sat in the left seat and flown up the Atlantic coast. 😃 OK, it was only for about ten minutes and the pilot in command was right there, but I did get to work the pedals (yaw control) and wheel (attitude). We were heading North and there was a on shore breeze, so we were pointing NE to go North. Quite interesting. Nothing happens too fast either. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-blimps-and-helos-fly-at-night/426719.md?page=2)