TALES FROM THE ROAD
Flying high with the Goodyear Blimp bus

MCI coaches carry lots of celebrities, but perhaps the biggest of all — literally — is the Goodyear Blimp. Goodyear relies on three MC-8 Crusaders dating back to 1978 to act as chase vehicles for its famous floating aircraft as well as tow them in and out of hangars.

"The bus is our tour bus. It's also our office for our administrative assistant and also a temporary mooring mast," says Bob Urhausen, airship public relations manager for the Spirit of America, Goodyear's blimp based out of Carson, California. Other blimp-and-bus teams work out of Pompano Beach, Florida, and Goodyear's headquarters in Akron, Ohio.

Each time the Spirit of America wafts out of its hangar, its belly tied securely to the MC-8, it is supported by a crew of about 20 people, including pilots, mechanics, technicians, ground handlers and the public relations manager. Three support vehicles go along, keeping sight of the blimp at all times: a tractor-trailer mobile maintenance vehicle, a van and, of course, the MC-8, which has space for 22 crew members.

First flight
Few know the Spirit of America, and the MC-8 that shepherds it, better than Mike Spurlin. Spurlin, a longtime airship crewmember and now senior groundskeeper, was the driver who picked up the California coach back in the winter of 1978 at MCI's Pembina plant. "It had an automatic transmission. Boy, that was nice," remembers Spurlin. "We drove it to Fargo, then all the way to Minneapolis and then to Madison, Wisconsin. It was snowy and cold. There was black ice all the way, but those buses were excellent and stuck to the road very well."

After its icy maiden trip, the coach went to Custom Coach for some interior work, including the installation of an office area. Then the coach went to Goodyear's Akron headquarters where it got the crowning touch — diamond plating in the roof so a four-foot mooring mast could be installed (when not moving in and out of hangars, the blimp is moored on a 32-foot expeditionary mast).

Three decades of service
Today, 30 years later, the coach still serves admirably, traveling as far as British Columbia and the East Coast — or wherever the blimp may take it. It is, in fact, older than the blimp it is towing, which was christened in 2002. The Spirit of America is in fact the third blimp the MC-8 has towed. Goodyear has been reluctant to replace the coaches, both because they've been so dependable and because most modern models don't have the roof clearance to accommodate a mast and a blimp.

Spurlin, who has also served stints as chief maintenance mechanic and the technician tasked with programming the blimp's marquis lights from up high, last drove the coach in 2003. "Being on the crew is a young man's game," he says, noting that chasing a blimp can involve a lot of running — including the occasional jog through a cow pasture or other rough terrain. And though he obviously gets a bigger thrill out of riding the blimp than the bus, Spurlin retains a lot of affection for the MC-8. He says he loved driving it, with its easy handling and smooth ride (on Goodyear tires, of course).

So next time you see a Goodyear blimp in the sky, keep your eyes on the road: there may just be a 30-year-old MCI coach leading the way.

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