It's lift-off for the Goodyear blimp

The famous Goodyear blimp returned to the West Midlands today for the first time in more than a decade.

Goodyear airships, known as blimps, were once a familiar sight across the region, when they were based at Halfpenny Green, near Wolverhampton, but have not flown in the UK since 1999.

Goodyear, which employs around 400 workers at its Bushbury plant, has now commissioned a new pair of blimps, Spirit of Safety I and Spirit of Safety II.

Spirit of Safety 1 was due to launch later today from Halfpenny Green — weather permitting.

High winds delayed an early take-off today.

Pilot James Peplow said there were strict rules governing the operation of airships, which cannot fly when winds are above 30 knots. He said winds speeds of around 40 knots at 2,000ft made flying too dangerous.

Mr Peplow explained that the blimp was a powered craft, with controls similar to a plane or helicopter. "It operates like a plane or helicopter but cannot cope with higher wind speeds," he said.

Blimps tend to fly at between 1,000ft and 2,000 ft but can go as high as 10,000ft. Their maximum speed is around 50mph.