Airship Ventures

{{Short description|US airline}}

{{Infobox airline

| airline =Airship Ventures

| image =

| caption =

| IATA =

| ICAO =

| callsign =

| founded =

| commenced = {{Start date and age|2008|11|21|br=y}}

| ceased = {{Start date and age|2012|11|14|br=y}}

| bases = Moffett Federal Airfield

| fleet_size = One Zeppelin NT

| destinations =

| headquarters = Mountain View, California, United States

| key_people =

• Alexandra Hall (Owner)
• Brian Hall (Owner)

| num_employees =

| website =

}}

File:285022main airship ventures 1600-1200.jpg named Eureka arrives at Moffett Federal Airfield on October 25, 2008]]

Airship Ventures Inc. was a private company that offered sight-seeing rides (which the company called "flightseeing") in a 12-passenger Zeppelin NT out of a World War II United States Navy hangar at Moffett Federal Airfield near Mountain View, California.{{cite news |publisher=Venture Beat |url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/05/09/look-up-in-the-sky-zeppelin-company-airship-ventures-raises-8m/ |title=Look, up in the sky: Zeppelin company Airship Ventures raises $8M |author=Anthony Ha |date=2008-05-09}}{{cite news |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2007-06-22-zeppelin-airship_N.htm |title=Zeppelin revival over skies of San Francisco |date=2007-06-22}}{{cite news |author=Stacy Finz |url=http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Airship-Ventures-ends-operations-4041288.php |title=Airship Ventures ends operations |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2012-11-15 |accessdate=2013-02-25}}

{{as of|2012|12}}, their airship, built by Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH, is in a state of disassembly, but is still one of three zeppelins in the world. The ship was dedicated and christened Eureka at the 75th anniversary celebration for Moffett Field on November 21, 2008;{{cite news|author=Daniel DeBolt |title=Moffett Field's serendipitous 75th anniversary |newspaper=Mountain View Voice |date=2008-11-28 |page=6}}{{cite news |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |title=Bay Area firm to offer $500 zeppelin rides |author=George Raine |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/19/BUVD13JIMG.DTL |date=2008-10-19}} its flight from Beaumont, Texas, where it was shipped, to the Bay Area was the first zeppelin flight in the United States in 71 years.{{cite news |publisher=Marketwatch (press release) |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/airship-ventures-zeppelin-successfully-crosses/story.aspx?guid={1795D725-AF4E-41F2-AA3E-B90B37D91565}&dist=hppr |title=Airship Ventures Zeppelin Successfully Crosses Atlantic:Zeppelin to Embark on Historic Cross-Country Flight }}

At {{convert|246|ft}} long, it was the largest airship in the world until the U.S. Army's LEMV had its maiden flight in 2012.

The company was owned by the husband and wife team of Alexandra and Brian Hall of Los Gatos, California.{{cite news |author=Cody Kraatz |title=Zeppelin provides a backdrop for Moffett's 75th anniversary |newspaper=Sunnyvale Sun |date=2008-11-26 |page=25}} Alexandra Hall previously ran the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California, and Brian Hall is the CEO of telecommunications software company Mark/Space.{{cite news |last1=Webby |first1=Sean |title=Majestic airship lands at Moffett Field |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2008/10/26/majestic-airship-lands-at-moffett-field-3/ |access-date=27 June 2021 |publisher=The Mercury News |date=October 26, 2008 |quote=Brian Hall first thought of the idea after flying in one over a World Cup soccer match in Cologne. For the founder and CEO of Mark/Space, a Los Gatos software company, modern zeppelins played into many of his interests — high technology, history and aeronautics.}} Two of their pilots, Katherine "Kate" Board (who left the company to fly another Zeppelin NT in Germany) and Andrea Deyling, are the only female zeppelin pilots in the world.[http://www.airshipventures.com/people-pilots.php Airship Ventures: People-Pilots], retrieved 2008-11-30, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110619023750/http://airshipventures.com/people-pilots.php archived] at the Internet Archive 2011-6-19.{{cite web|url=http://www.airshipventures.com/assets/pr/2012-05-31_Andrea_PIlot_FINAL.pdf |publisher=Airship Ventures |title=Airship Ventures Announces First American Female to Earn Zeppelin Pilot Qualification |date=2012-05-30 |accessdate=2013-02-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220010103/http://www.airshipventures.com/assets/pr/2012-05-31_Andrea_PIlot_FINAL.pdf |archivedate=2013-12-20 }} (pdf)

Airship Ventures was based out of the Bachelor Officer Quarters in Building 20 in the NASA Research Park. The airship was stored in the World War II era Hangar Two, a former blimp hangar.

On November 14, 2012, the company announced that it was closing its doors and grounding flight operations due to a lack of long-term sponsorship.{{cite web|title=Airship Ventures Ceases Operations |url=http://www.airshipventures.com/assets/pr/2012-11-14_Airship_Ventures_Ceases_Operations.pdf |publisher=Airship Ventures |date=2012-11-14 |accessdate=2012-11-15 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (pdf) In mid-December the decision was announced to wind up the company and disassemble the Eureka, which was shipped back to Germany.{{cite web |url=http://mountainview.patch.com/articles/airship-ventures-says-goodbye#photo-12541663 |title=Airship Ventures Says 'Goodbye' |author=Claudia Cruz |publisher=Mountain View Patch |date=2012-12-12 |accessdate=2013-02-25}}{{cite news |author=Daniel DeBolt |title=Former Airship Ventures employee loved her work |newspaper=Mountain View Voice |date=2013-02-22 |page=7}}