By Karen House
- 1: Introduction
- 2: History of the Weeksville Blimps
- 3: Modern Operations
- 4: Blimp FAQ
- Download the full article
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Modern Operations
Today the hangar shelters blimps that perform a wide variety of civilian and military functions. About one-fifth of the 300,000 square-foot indoor space is separately enclosed to make up a fabrication room, where TCOM, L.P. workers construct the blimps’ envelopes or “bags.” In the rest of the hangar, workers glide by on bicycles and use manlifts that reach 120 feet high to evaluate, test and maintain the blimps.
Based in Columbia, Md., TCOM, L.P. employs about 50 local workers at the hangar and a ground systems facility up the road off Highway 34. Usually Chalker gives a hangar tour Wednesday afternoons for interested groups and individuals. However, the hangar sustained some roof damage from Hurricane Isabel in September, extending an existing repair and maintenance project. Tours were halted but will resume. Call (252) 330-5555 or visit www.elizcity.com/weeksnas
A separate company, Airship Management Services, leases hangar and field space from TCOM, L.P. and is housed in a blue building nearby. AMS, headquartered in Greenwich, Conn., employs about 30 local residents, and maintains, operates, leases and sells blimps.
Last June, AMS began operating one and two-hour blimp rides to the public over Elizabeth City and to the Outer Banks. Their “low and slow” rides were a big hit. Tickets cost $100 per person per hour. But the company suspended the public excursions in September because of a lack of available blimps. According to AMS staff, their rides were the only ones offered in the U.S. to paying passengers. Call AMS in Elizabeth City at (252) 330-3010.
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