Airship in São Paulo: see video of how it is to fly in the cabin – 07/24/2023 – Market

Boarding an airship at Campo de Marte reminds us of scenes from a war movie. The aircraft is stopped on the grass, with four men on each side holding large ropes that keep it on the ground. Passengers stand in a demarcated area, waiting for a signal to approach.

When the boarding permit arrives, you have to walk through the tall grass, with hasty steps, avoiding holes, until you climb a ladder that rocks, because the airship, lighter than air, seems to want to leave the ground immediately.

The vehicle cabin resembles that of a helicopter. The report of Sheet sits next to pilot Charles Chueiri, 64, puts on headphones and prepares for takeoff, which took place this Monday morning (24).

The airship unites elements of several aircraft. It flies at the same height as helicopters, about 900 meters from the ground, but takes off and lands like an airplane. In practice, it is a balloon, which rises because it has pockets of helium at the top, and can be steered more easily because it has flaps (wings with moving parts) and an engine.

The flights are an advertising action, paid for by the carrier Braspress, which started in June and was repeated in July. The last exhibitions of this season take place this Monday (24). New dates have not been announced.

With the release of the control tower, the men let go of the ropes, the pilot accelerates the engines and takes off. The climb is fast and the flight smooth. The airship flies over the Tietê waterfront, then the center of São Paulo and turns south, towards Ipiranga.

The route is agreed with São Paulo air control. Neighborhood and altitude changes are combined over the radio. There are messages like “I’m going to fly over Luz station while I wait for authorization to proceed to Ipiranga”.

On the other side, alerts from the control tower to the other aircraft: “attention, airship passing through the region”. Impossible not to remember the meme “Attention, pickpocket”.

The airship seeks to avoid the routes approaching airports, such as Congonhas and Guarulhos. During the flight, some helicopters pass at the same height, but at a good distance.

The flight is usually quite stable and pleasant. At a slower speed, you can see the beauty of São Paulo from above and identify well-known buildings, such as Copan and Market Municipal, and roads such as Radial Leste. After 40 minutes of travel, the airship returned to Campo de Marte and made a smooth landing. Shortly after the vehicle touches down, more than ten men rush to grab the ropes and hold it back.

However, not all journeys are calm. On Friday (21) morning, for example, there was a lot of wind, and the airship had to go around twice before being able to land. The passengers on board had a scare, as the aircraft picked up a lot of speed when approaching the runway. The go-around, however, is a safe procedure and foreseen since the pilots’ training.

After the attacks, air traffic control did not authorize further flights of the airship that Friday (21), which left Chueiri, the pilot, angry. On the same day, there would be a graduation of an Air Force class, and the takeoff of exhibition flights was cited as a reason for canceling the blimp’s schedule.

On Monday, Chueiri said the air traffic issues had been resolved.

Before the start of the actions, the pilot says he sought out the CRCEA-SE (Regional Control Center for Southeast Air Space) to explain his plans and how airships work, although he was under no obligation to do so. “Sometimes people confuse airship flight with balloon flight, but the airship is a certified aircraft, which can fly in any airspace”, he says.

The airship in use is the ADB-3-3 model, owned by the company Airship do Brasil. The aircraft was manufactured in Brazil, based on a project developed abroad.

The vehicle has capacity for six people, including the pilot. At the top, it takes 3,908 m³ of helium gas. It is 49 meters long and can fly at up to 86 km/h, at a maximum altitude of 2.7 km.

Between 1998 and 2006, a blimp with the Goodyear brand used to fly through the skies of São Paulo to publicize the brand. It was also used to capture footage of stadiums in sports broadcasts. With that, many people still have memories of the airship they saw in childhood, and posted photos on social networks when they caught the vehicle in the sky of São Paulo again.