Oct. 20--Marty Chandler has a great job.

Chandler is the pilot in charge of Goodyear's blimp "Spirit of Innovation," and despite 13 years of piloting blimps, he said the job hasn't become routine.

"I still love it," he said.

The blimp, which is based in Florida, flies around the county filming sporting events from a bird's-eye view, and occasionally giving Goodyear employees a chance to take a short ride. Chandler flew over the NASCAR Sprint Cup race Charlotte, N.C., over the weekend, and will fly over the race in Martinsville this weekend, but for a couple of days this week, the airship will be tied down at Danville Regional Airport.

Chandler said his seat at the races is the best one around.

"You really can see everything," he said.

Chandler said he likes visiting Danville, where he began his flight training at Averett University.

"I took my first solo flight there," Chandler said. "It's nice to fly over places where you recognize things."

The worst part of the job is when the ship is grounded because of weather conditions, he said.

The blimp has an entourage that includes its crew, tour bus, two vans, and a tractor-trailer full of equipment and the pole that tethers the blimp at airfields. The tour bus isn't very impressive looking from the outside -- "We get teased about our antique bus," Chandler laughed -- but the inside and engine are constantly updated, renovated and maintained, he said.

The bus doesn't get replaced because it is the backup landing pole. A pole lies on the heavily reinforced roof that can be raised to tether the ship until the tractor-trailer is repaired and catches up with the rest of the crew.

Jo Andrews, the communication manager at Goodyear's Danville plant, said a handful of employees will get to take a ride on the blimp today and Wednesday.

The blimp only holds six passengers besides the pilot, and only 10 45-minute flights have been scheduled for each day -- so only a total of 120 people will get a ride in the two-day schedule ... and that's only if the weather is right. Flights won't be rescheduled because the crew is due to take a day off Thursday, and then travel to Martinsville.

"If the weather's bad, the flights get cancelled," Chandler said. "Believe me, if I don't want to fly, you don't want to fly."

Some employees are chosen in a random drawing, others have won contests throughout the year, Andrews said.

Andrews said one employee who is scheduled for a ride has been with the company for 42 years and an-other, who got married last weekend, delayed her honeymoon so she doesn't lose her chance to ride in the blimp.

The last time the "Spirit of Innovation" stopped in Danville was two years ago, and was here just before the October Martinsville race as well, and it's unknown when the Danville plant's employees will get another chance at a ride. There are only three Goodyear blimps based in the United States, with a fourth based in China.

"I think we've only been here twice in the last eight years," Chandler said. Getting to Danville all depends on the schedules drawn up for different events the blimps are scheduled to film, he said.

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