Tillamook Air Museum: Thompsom Blimp (photo diary)

The Tillamook Air Museum, housed in a World War II Navy Blimp Hanger in Tillamook, Oregon, has the Thompsom Blimp, a non-rigid, two passenger airship. It was built by James “Buddy” Thompson of Louisville, Kentucky over a nine-year period. The FAA certified it as an airworthy and operating amateur-built aircraft in 1994 and it first flew in 1995.

This aircraft is 82 feet long and 26 feet in diameter. It holds 28,000 cubic feet of helium and it powered by a 1200 cc liquid-cooled Honda engine with a fixed-pitch pusher propeller.

The graphic designs on the blimp’s surface, suggested by Thompson’s children, are alien “green men” from Mars who are looking for intelligent life on Earth. The designs were painted by airship painter and artist Burton J. Dodge.

Note: These photographs were taken on October 24, 2024.

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