Actually, there are three Goodyear blimps, one based in California, one in Florida, and one at the firm's headquarters in Akron, Ohio.  Goodyear's "Spirit of America," the newest one, based in California, holds 200,000 cubic feet (5,660 cubic meters) of helium and has a lifting capacity of 12,000 pounds (5,455 kilograms).  The exterior consists of a rubber-coated polyester fabric.  Inside this envelope are a large central helium-filled balloon and smaller fore and aft "ballonets" which are used to control the blimp's pitch, inflating or deflating to point the blimp's nose up or down when needed.  Its cabin seats six and its two side engines give it a cruising speed of 35 miles per hour (about 55 km/hour).

The sensation of flying in a blimp--gliding slowly and majestically through the air--is said to be unique.  Unfortunately, it is not something that most people will ever be able to experience, since the costs of operating a blimp make it uneconomical to use them for tourism and sightseeing.  Those few individuals who do get the opprotunity to ride in one, or who become blimp pilots--and there are said to be fewer blimp pilots than astronauts--may, however, get to share the experience described picturesquely by writer David Samuels in a recent article in The New Yorker:  "Watching the sun set over the Pacific while floating in a Goodyear blimp is like being suspended inside the world's biggest lava lamp."

The blimp is one of those technologies whose time has never quite arrived.  Perhaps it was the series of disasters capped by the widely publicized explosion of the Hindenberg in 1937 that caused people to lose confidence in the technology.  Or perhaps it is just that competing technologies--airplanes, helicopters, observation balloons, and more recently, miniature unmanned drone aircraft--can do virtually all that blimps can do and more, and are smaller, easier to fly, and easier to maintain and handle on the ground.  In any event, while blimps have many enthusiasts, their renaissance as cargo or passenger vehicles continues to be "just around the corner."

The Goodyear Blimp. Certainly the best known blimp in the air today.  Its site has information about its history, how it works, the people who fly it, and more.  There's also a substantial picture gallery.

Airship and Blimp Resources. According to its creator, this site provides "information about airships to both novices and seasoned airship enthusiasts. The main focus is on contemporary development, rather than history. Explore this site and you will see why airships are destined to a bright future."  The site was created by enthusiast Roland Escher of New York.  The FAQ has the story (perhaps apocryphal) of how the term "blimp" originated, one of several places on the web where it can be found.

"Blimps: Big, Beautiful & Everywhere You Look."  Teaser for an article in the June 1998 issue of Smithsonian magazine.  Some nice photos by Chad Slattery.

"How Blimps Work," by Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D., on How Stuff Works.  How they fly, history, uses, links, and more.

Airships Online, web site of the Airship Heritage Trust, "a charitable voluntary run organisation based in the U.K. We own and are responsible for the national heritage airship archive and large collection of airship artifact's and photographs relating to the British Airship Programme, from its early days at the turn of the century to the Skyships of the 1980’s."  Lots of information. Souvenirs, too.  Even a blimp-shaped teapot for £ 62.00 (plus postage, less in the U.K.).

"Blimps of the Future," by David Stevenson on TechLive, a program on TechTV, May 6, 2002.  Short article about potential future uses of blimp technology.  Includes a 2 minute video clip.

The American Blimp Corporation homepage. "American Blimp Airships are Operating on Every Continent Except Antarctica."  (I hope their blimps are better designed than their web site. . . .)

Trenches on the Web -- Special Feature:  Dirigibles, Airships, Zeppelins, and Blimps.  An interesting  page on a site devoted to World War I. 

"Exclusive: Blimps Make Comeback In Aerial Security," on WNBC-TV news (Channel 4 in New York City). 

"Military Has High Hopes For New Eye in the Sky:  Sensor-Equipped Blimps Could Aid Homeland Security," by Steve Vogel, The Washington Post (August 8, 2003), p. B1. 

"Larry's U.S. Navy Airship Picture Book."  Larry Rodrigues flew Navy blimps from 1954-56 and relives his experiences (enlivened with many black & white photos) on this site.  An interesting first person account of what it was like to fly a blimp in the 1950s supplemented with lots of additional material.

"Blimp," by Elise Allen on Outdoor Advertising Authority.com.

California Blimps.  "We are the #1 manufacturer of durable nylon advertising blimps."

And, of course, you knew there had to be a musical group called The Blimps.  Based in Sittingbourne, Kent, England, they describe themselves as a "rock/funk/blues alternative group with funky bass & beats fused with crunchy guitar & soulful vocals."