Abandoned & Little-Known Airfields:
Texas: Northwestern Houston area
© 2008 by Paul Freeman. Revised 8/1/07.
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Goodyear Blimp Airfield, Spring, TX
30.06 North / 95.43 West (Northwest of Houston, TX)
The Goodyear Blimp Airfield, as depicted on the 1976 USGS topo map.
This blimp airfield was evidently established at some point between 1964-69,
as no airfield was yet depicted at this location on the 1964 San Antonio Sectional Chart,
and nothing related to an airfield was yet recognizable on a 1964 aerial photo (courtesy of David Owens).
Starting in 1969, the Goodyear airship America was based at this facility in Spring, TX.
During its travels the blimp's night signs were used to display advertising messages,
and its TV camera filmed many sporting & public events.
Inexplicably, no airfield was yet depicted at this location
on the March 1973 Houston Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy).
The earliest depiction of the airfield which has been located
was on the 1976 USGS topo map.
It labeled the airfield as “Goodyear Blimp”.
The earliest aeronautical chart depiction which has been located of the Goodyear Blimp Airfield
was on the September 1977 Houston Terminal Area Chart (courtesy of Chris Kennedy).
It depicted “Good Year Blimp” as a private airfield with a 1,700' unpaved runway.
The August 1981 Houston Sectional Chart (courtesy of Steve Cruse)
depicted “Goodyear Blimp” as a private airfield.
The 1982 USGS topo map depicted the “Landing Field (Blimp)” as having 2 blimp mooring circles,
along with a single hangar on the northwest side of the field.
The August 1985 Houston Sectional Chart (according to Chris Kennedy)
depicted “Goodyear Blimp” as a private airfield.
A November 28, 1987 aerial view of the Goodyear Blimp field (courtesy of David Owens)
showed the blimp hangar in the northwest corner,
two paved blimp mooring circles in the center of the field,
and some type of paved feature (?) at the northeast corner of the property.
Eric Bauer reported, “I work about 1 mile from the Goodyear Blimp site in Spring,
and used to routinely watch the blimp fly over my office at low altitude as it was preparing to land.”
In 1992, the home base of the Goodyear airship America was moved to Akron, OH.
However, the February 1993 Houston Sectional Chart (courtesy of Steve Cruse)
continued to depict “Goodyear Airship Operations” as a private airfield.
According to Greg Havens, “The old blimp base... was closed around 1993.
One of the last occupants was Genesis tuning up & preparing for a tour.
We could hear them whenever we drove by.”
The 1995 USGS aerial photo depicted that a new building & parking lot had been built over the location
of the blimp mooring circle on the southern part of the field.
It also appears as if the blimp hangar on the northwest corner of the field had been removed.
Other portions of the blimp field still remained intact though,
including the blimp mooring circle in the center of the field.
In the 2002 USGS aerial photo, the remaining traces of the former Goodyear Blimp airfield had been built over,
and the site was no longer recognizable as ever having been an airfield.
Greg Havens reported in 2006 that the site of the former blimp base “is now a Home Depot & a Lowe's hardware store.”
The site of the Goodyear Blimp Airfield is located southwest of the intersection of Interstate 45 & Meadow Edge Lane.
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