Charles Goodyear secured a patent in 1844 for vulcanized rubber, and Frank Seiberling later memorialized Goodyear’s name when he founded his tire company in 1898. Ever since 1925, the company has stayed the course on flying blimps. For the world’s leading tire manufacturer, the blimp program is ultimately a marketing expense. Today, its fleet is comprised of just three blimps. Plans are in the works to replace them with Zeppelin NT airships, which will begin flying in January 2014. See more pictures of the Goodyear Blimp in our photo gallery.

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