Zeppelin NT 'Yokoso Japan' in Finland

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Zeppelin NT 'Yokoso Japan' in Finland Nippon Airship Corporation bought in 2004 a Zeppelin NT from the same German company that made the legendary huge  Zeppelins. The idea was to fly it home over Siberia after a tour in several European countries. The last stop before entering Russian airspace was to be Finland. The stop lasted couple of months and the airship never entered Russia. Masashi Kakuda was hired to take care of logistics of the 30 people strong crew and their vehicles up to the border of Russia. Masashi in turn contacted one of his balloonist friends in each country and asked them to be his dragomans (local guides and interpreters) on volunteer basis. That is how I became involved. In Finland Masashi needed OK from Civil Aviation Authority parking place for the 76 m long airship hangar space for maintenance work freight forwarder for all supplies that the crew would take to Russia visas for three Russian pilots of whom one would be in the cockpit during flight over Russian border Finland is a small nation. Not so small that everybody knows everydody but small enough that there is no great mental gap between the high-ups and ordinary citizen. One can contact  president and prime minister without difficulty. People in businesses and government organizations are easy to reach and they try to make things easy and simple. They do not pretend to be semi-gods. I was many times impressed how patiently, flexibly and fast they dealt with my problems, caused by the many delays of the Zeppelin's arrival and departure. ONLY ONE PLACE FOR MOORING. In May Masashi and I scouted for possible mooring fields. There were two requirements: the area was to be without any obstacles withind 100 m radius from the mooring mast and the ground must bear the weight of the 56 metric ton mast truck. It finally turned out that only one place was available, Malmi airport in Helsinki. The big Helsinki-Vantaa airport was a no-no, none of the small glider airfields could be put out of service, and the summer turned out so rainy that the mast truck would have sunk into any unpaved field. Masashi rented one of the two runways at Malmi. It was closed from July 18 to September 5.

ZEPPELIN NT YOKOSO JAPAN AT MALMI AIRPORT IN HELSINKI ON JULY 18 SEEN FROM THE CONTROL TOWER. THE PROFILE BELONGS TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER PETRI HILTUNEN, WHO REPRESENTS HERE THE WHOLE BUNCH OF THE MOST HELPFULL ATC OFFICIALS. THANK YOU ALL!

Civil Aviation Authority caused no problems, quite the contrary. It was, however, difficult for the Zeppelin company to understand that no special permission is needed. Zeppelin was to CAA like any other aircraft. Citizens of Russian Federation need an invitation from someone in Finland when they apply for visa. I was that someone. In the very end, one day before the Japanese decided to cancel the Siberia flight, I went to Helsinki and got one week extension to visa of one Russian pilot who was ready to step into cockpit. Yokoso's engines needed maintenance before Siberia and the hull  needed more helium. Some banners had to be replaced with new ones in Russian. All that was done in Finnair's big hangar at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Masashi looked a little bit surprised when I explained the terms: the airship would remain inside untill the bill was settled. No problem, of course. FROM PIT STOP TO LOVE AFFAIR.Masashi and Nippon Airship Corporation expected Finland to be nothing more than a pit stop before diving into the unknown, Russia and Siberia. Their idea was to enter Malmi airport through back door over the woods and to do several very short flights around the airport for Koniga Minolta, the biggest sponsor of the their European tour. During the week of waiting I did everything I could in order to convince the NAC people that Yokoso must come to Helsinki through front door, over the central city, and that the VIP flights should be 30 minute tours over downtown. From my lowly position it was an uphill struggle. I also insisted that the Zeppelin should fly over Turku, our oldest town, when it enters Finland proper. I felt like levitating when I finally heard on Sunday July 18th that Yokoso had departed from Tullinge airfield near Stockholm and will take my route, weather permitting. It permitted. Strong head­wind only kept them from  flying over the Westernmost point of Finland,  the Åland Islands between Sweden and Finland. Timing was perfect. The morning's Helsingin Sanomat, the biggest newspaper in country, had carried a full page story about the old and mighty Zeppelins.

HELSINGIN SANOMAT ON DAY OF YOKOSO'S ARRIVAL.  BIGGER

Thousands of people crowded Malmi airport and the roads there when Yokoso arrived. Koniga's marketing director  -  who turned out to be one of my former pupils! -  had selected her favourites for two first flights, and I was authorized to choose the lucky ones from mass media. I naturally selected on basis of each media's coverage, which did not please the editor of Finnish Aero Clubs magazin, but fortunately he could fit in the Koniga group. Yokoso had only seven passenger seats instead of the usual twelve. When I had delivered all my people to Yokoso's gondola, Fritz Günther commanded by hand gestures: You too, get in!

YOKOSO READY FOR TAKE-OFF, JULY 24. TAKE-OFF, BIGGER.

SHOOTING FOR TV, TAKING NOTES FOR  A BIG NEWSPAPER.

FRITZ GÜNTHER, CHIEF PILOT OF ZEPPELIN LUFTSCHIFFTECHNIK BEING INTERVIEWED DURING MASS MEDIA FLIGHT OVER HELSINKI ON JULY 18, 2004.  NIPPON AIRSHIP CORPORATION'S CHIEF PILOT  FUMIO OMORI AT CONTROLS.

ZEPPELIN AND HELSINKI, BIGGER.

HELSINKI DOWNTOWN AND SOUTH HARBOUR SEEN FROM YOKOSO. BIGGER.

YOKOSO'S APPROACH FOR LANDING AT MALMI ON EVENING OF JULY 24, 2004. BIGGER AND DIFFERENT.

Next day Masashi came from Malmi visibly sorry and shaken. He had met a mother and a small boy who had come to see the Zeppelin. But there was no Zeppelin to see because it was in Finnair hangar at the big airport. Masashi realized that many kids must feel that they have been deceived.  He told me to inform media immediately when Yokoso would be back. He also decided that there must be a day when people can see the airship from shorter distance. Tero Auranen and other Malmi airport activists organized an Aviation Day on short notice: on Saturday July 24 thousands of people came again to Malmi. Unfortunately the day  was so windy that Yokoso could fly only late in the evening, when only the closest family was present.  -  People kept coming to Malmi from all over Finland just to see the airship. The car mechanic who keeps my jalopy running was one of them. He lives 400 km to North West from Helsinki. Masashi was like father to the Zeppelin crew that included the vice president of Nippon Airship Corporation  -  the president was in Moscow sorting things out at that end. Whatever the crew needed it asked Masashi to arrange. Masashi turned to me and I turned to Pertti Mero, if chief pilot Fumio Omori needed some more or less exotic spare parts that could be found in Helsinki. Pertti reported that they got some substantial parts for nothing. Yes, the Zeppelin had a love affair with Finland.

ZEPPELIN'S VISIT BECAME A VERITABLE MEDIA EVENT IN FINLAND. THE ARRIVAL  WAS WELL COVERED BY RADIO CHANNELS AND ALL NATIONAL TV NEWS CHANNELS. BIGGER.

FOR THE RECORD 12 take-offs and landings landing on July 18 on arrival from Stockholm three flights over central Helsinki on July 18 transfer flight to Finnair hangar on July 18 transfer flight to Malmi on July 21 four local flights on July 24 on September 4 Yokoso departed for Stockholm, turned back near Turku and returned to Malmi departed for Stockholm on September 5 No flight over Siberia When Nippon Airship Corporation finally got all the permissions that it needed from Russian authorities it was too late. If Yokoso could have survived autumn winds in Siberia, which was not likely, it woud have met hurricane season in Far East. NAC decided to fly back to Friedrichshafen. In 2005 Yokoso was transported by ship from Italy to Kobe. In  2007 NAC's parent company, shipping giant Nippon Yusen Kaisha, sold all its shares of Nippon Airship Corporation to another shipping company, Tochiki Kisen,  and withdrew from the airship business. The company bowed out from its costly experiment in style: "We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to everyone who supported NYK's airship business over the past three and a half years." (The last sentence of NYK's press release April 2, 2007) Tochiki Kisen considers the airship business to have great potential and is planning business expansion. The Zeppelin was busy flying passengers and advertizing for NAC. Nippon Airship Corporation filed for bankruptcy on 31st May 2010. Yokoso was dismantled and shipped back to Germany in parts. I will fly again in 2012.