Maiden voyage of ‘sky freighter’ is on horizon
From The Toledo Blade: “There are all kinds of interesting aircraft around Toledo Express Airport or flying in and out, but the one that seems to have elicited the most intrigue is about eight inches off the ground and resting on scaffolding. “We have all kinds of people stop and look, especially when the [hangar] doors are open,” explained Fred Rist, a native of Pemberville.”
“We’ve even had a couple flashes of light coming from cockpits [of taxiing airplanes], where pilots were snapping pictures,” he said. Mr. Rist, his brother Robert, and two other partners are the men behind an aeronautical Moby Dick — a great white whale of an airship being built in a hangar at Toledo Express.
The craft, owned by start-up company Ohio Airships Inc. and funded in part with a $50,000 grant last month from the Regional Growth Partnership’s Rocket Ventures, is expected to make its maiden flight as early as next month.
And though the 110-foot-long, 20-foot-high behemoth fills a big portion of its protective hangar at the airport, it pales in comparison to the dreams its developers have to build a fleet of sky freighters, including one nearly 1,000-feet long and 120-feet high.” Maiden voyage of ‘sky freighter’ is on horizon
