Goodyear Blimp blasts from past

April 1, 2025

After discovering the secret to time travel, tiremaker Goodyear has retrieved its inaugural blimp, The Pilgrim, from 1925 to celebrate the helium-filled airship’s centennial anniversary. Its monochrome wrap and original blue-and yellow house flag are dead giveaways.

OK, April Fool’s. While the blimp’s color scheme matches the original Pilgrim, Goodyear just re-wrapped its 11-year-old Wingfoot One blimp “to evoke a sense of nostalgia and excitement among our fans as we celebrate this year,” according to Laura Duda, Goodyear’s senior vice president and chief communications officer.

A shot of Goodyear's newly christened Pilgrim blimp in 1925., The hanger located just outside of Akron, Ohio is still home base for the company's fleet of four blimps.

The vintage wrap process has taken several weeks and is nearly complete, a Goodyear spokesperson said. The Akron-based company will provide clues to its first public appearance via social media.

Goodyear’s other blimps will maintain their current blue and yellow design.

Wingfoot One's retro makeover took several weeks.

And anyone who wants a true inside look into the Goodyear blimp, take a look at the time we were invited to bounce around the helium space as workers climbed up and repelled down the structure to perform maintenance.

About the Author

John Hitch | Editor-in-chief, Fleet Maintenance

John Hitch is the award-winning editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, where his mission is to provide maintenance leaders and technicians with the the latest information on tools, strategies, and best practices to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving.

He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and has worked in the B2B journalism space for more than a decade. Hitch was previously senior editor for FleetOwner and before that was technology editor for IndustryWeek and and managing editor of New Equipment Digest.

Hitch graduated from Kent State University and was editor of the student magazine The Burr in 2009.

The former sonar technician served honorably aboard the fast-attack submarine USS Oklahoma City (SSN-723), where he participated in counter-drug ops, an under-ice expedition, and other missions he's not allowed to talk about for several more decades.