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Blimp.indd 1 5/19/11 5:05 PM Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing Ann Arbor, Michigan www.cherrylakepublishing.com

Content Adviser: Jacob Zeiger, Production Support Engineer, the Boeing Company

Special thanks to Rob Delagrange, Goodyear blimp pilot, for sharing his time, knowledge, and support in the writing of this book.

Photo Credits: Cover and pages 1, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 21, Photos courtesy of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; page 15, ©First Light/Alamy; page 17, ©Kenneth Summers/Shutterstock, Inc.; page 19, ©Kenneth Sponsler/Shutterstock, Inc.

Copyright ©2012 by Cherry Lake Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress CataLoging-in-PubLiCation Data Nittinger, Sharon, 1966– How does it fly? Blimp/by Sharon Nittinger. p. cm.—(Community connections) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-61080-071-6 (lib. bdg.) ISBN-10: 1-61080-071-0 (lib. bdg.) 1. Airships—Juvenile literature. I. Title. II. Title: Blimp. TL650.5.N58 2011 629.133’27—dc22 2010051213

Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the

work of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Please blImp visit www.21stcenturyskills.org for more information.

Printed in the United States of America Corporate Graphics Inc. July 2011 CLFA09

Blimp.indd 2 5/19/11 5:05 PM contents

4 Lighter than air 8 Parts of a blimp 12 Controlling a blimp 18 How blimps are used

22 Glossary

23 Find Out More

24 Index blImp

24 About the Author DOes It fly? HOW

Blimp.indd 3 5/19/11 5:05 PM Lighter t han a ir

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to float on a cloud? Riding in a blimp is like sitting on a cloud. A blimp gently floats in the sky.

4 The Goodyear blimp is one of the most recognized blimps.

Blimp.indd 4 5/19/11 5:05 PM 5

Blimp.indd 5 5/19/11 5:05 PM What happens when you fill a balloon with air? It lies on the ground. A balloon filled with helium floats up. Helium is a gas that is lighter than air. A blimp is filled with helium and air. The helium makes the blimp lighter than the outside air. This makes the blimp float up.

6 This blimp is being filled with helium. It is already starting to float.

Blimp.indd 6 5/19/11 5:06 PM ask Questions!

Blimps are dirigibles. Hot air balloons are not dirigibles. Ask a librarian to help you learn why a hot air balloon is not a dirigible.

7

Blimp.indd 7 5/19/11 5:07 PM Parts of a BL imP

Blimps are airships. An airship has a big bag called an envelope. The envelope gets its shape when it is filled with helium and air. The envelope is made of sturdy material. nose cone battens are long metal rods. They help support the front of the blimp.

8 Nose cone battens help a blimp’s nose keep its shape.

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Blimp.indd 9 5/19/11 5:08 PM

g L ossarY

airships (AIR-ships) lighter than air aircraft

elevators (EL-uh-vay-torz) fins that direct a blimp up or down

envelope (EN-vuh-lohp) large bag that holds helium and air and gives the blimp its shape

gondola (GAHN-doh-luh) cabin attached under the envelope that carries passengers and the pilot

helium (HEE-lee-um) gas that is lighter than air and will not burn

mooring mast (MOR-ing MAST) small tower or post used to secure a blimp after landing

nose cone battens (NOZE KONE BAT-enz) supports for the blimp nose and used to moor the blimp

rudders (RUH-durz) fins that direct a blimp to the right or left 22

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find o ut m ore

Books

Galvin, Laura Gates. First Look at Aircraft. Washington, DC: Trudy Corporation and the Smithsonian Institution, 2009.

Hodgkins, Fran. How People Learned to Fly. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.

weB sites

goodyear blimp www.goodyearblimp.com Read about the history of the Goodyear blimp and how a blimp is made.

Modern airships www.modern-airships.info/en/home.html Look at many cool pictures of all different kinds of airships, including blimps. 23

Blimp.indd 23 5/19/11 5:13 PM i ndex air, 6, 14, 21 mooring, 14, airplanes, 20, 21 16, 17 aBout the author airships, 8 mooring masts, Sharon Nittinger lives 16, 17 cameras, 18 near the Winoot Lake movement, 10, 12, Hangar in Ohio, dirigibles, 7 20, 21 which is home to the elevators, 12, 14 nose cone battens, 8 Goodyear Airship engines, 10, 14 nose lines, 16 Operations. The envelopes, 8, 10, passengers, 10, 11, Goodyear blimp 18 20 frequently flies over fins, 12 pilots, 10, 12, 14, her house, providing floating, 4, 6, 15 15 excitement for fuel, 21 Sharon, her rudders, 12 husband, Bill, and gondolas, 10, 11 sightseeing, 20 their two children. ground crews, 14, speeds, 20 This is her second 16 sporting events, 18 book for Cherry 24 helium, 6, 8, 15, 17 weather, 15 Lake Publishing. launching, 14 winds, 17

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