FORTY FORT, Pa. -- Newswatch 16 got to ride on the Goodyear Blimp over the Wyoming Valley on Wednesday.
We started our adventure at the Wyoming Valley Airport in Forty Fort. The Goodyear Blimp isn't hard to miss, so it attracted a lot of attention. Fred Proleika of Forty Fort stopped at the airport to see the blimp.
"Every now and then they bring the Goodyear Blimp in, and I'm fascinated by it, and I really like things like that with avionics," Proleika said.
Goodyear brought one of its three blimps to our area on behalf of Jack Williams Tire.
"We're one of the oldest Goodyear dealers in the country, and because of the business we give Goodyear and our relationship, they reward us whenever they possibly can by bringing the blimp in," Jack Williams Chairman Bill Williams said.
We were a little worried we wouldn't be able to go up in the blimp because of the weather. Luckily, things cleared up and we were off.
"It's just really serene," Williams said. "It's nice and quiet. It's like you're in a space capsule."
Exploring the Wyoming Valley from above wasn't just a treat for us, our pilot also enjoyed the view.
"You get used to seeing some of the same things when you fly," pilot Matthew St. John said. "Whereas out here you see all these mountains, all this green, we're not used to green trees. So for us it like eyes are wide open."
We were flying about 1,000 feet in the air. The view was a lot different from that high up. We noticed just how many backyards have pools. We also saw a few familiar places, including Dallas High School.
Goodyear employees said the best part of the whole experience was seeing all the people who come to see the blimp.
"I do like taking passengers," Goodyear spokesperson Eddie Ogden said. "That's where we get the smiles and TV is a great adventure for us, too, because we know more people are going to see it on TV than they will in person."
After the Goodyear blimp leaves our area, it will be making a stop in Virginia.