Goodyear Blimp Lands In Joliet: Here's Why

JOLIET, IL — The world-famous Goodyear Blimp has landed in "The City of Champions" at the Joliet Regional Airport. Goodyear's crew landed Wednesday afternoon and planned to stay the night in Joliet.

The Goodyear Blimp is on its way to Minnesota for the PGA 3M Golf Tournament in the Twin Cities. The blimp will be departing Joliet late Thursday morning, weather permitting.

Goodyear's team made a stop in Elkhart, Indiana, on Tuesday before arriving in Joliet on Wednesday, according to Goodyear crew chief Charles Shankle.

"We're here until Thursday morning, we should be able to take off around 10:30 a.m. or 11 a.m.," he remarked.

The Goodyear Blimp plans to make a return stop in Joliet next Tuesday, weather permitting, he told Joliet Patch's editor during Wednesday's interview at the Joliet Regional Airport.

The entire traveling Goodyear Blimp crew consists of about 20 people.

There are several motor vehicles that accompany the blimp along the trip including maintenance, mechanics and technicians.

Why did the pilots land in Joliet?

"We're trying to split up the drive," Shankle told Joliet Patch. "We stopped here on the way to Minnesota last year. We're trying to get to Minnesota to cover golf.

Shankle said the Goodyear Blimp typically flies about 1,500 feet off the ground. Normally, it cruises at about 45 mph, but it can travel a lot of faster depending on the winds. On Wednesday, the winds were about 15 to 20 mph, he said.

Goodyear has three blimps in the United States at the moment.

The Wingfoot Three is the one that landed in Joliet on Wednesday. It's Goodyear's newest, and it's the only one kept Akron, Ohio.

The other two are based in Florida and California, respectively.

The Wingfoot Three was built in 2018, Shankle said.

"This one operates more like a helicopter."