PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - As excitement builds for Super Bowl 54, a blimp flying over South Florida is providing a unique view of the festivities leading up to the big game.
The best view of Sunday’s showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs might not be at Hard Rock Stadium. Carnival Cruise Line’s AirShip, a 120-foot blimp that looks like a floating cruise ship, has a literal bird’s-eye view of the highly anticipated event.
The AirShip that takes off from North Perry Airport in Pembroke Pines is one of only five in the country.
“There’s roughly about 12 in the world,” said pilot Terry Dillard. “First, we’ve got to tell you that we’ve come all the way across the country from California, so it took us about seven to 10 days to get here, so we’ve brought fun to the big game here this weekend.”
7News went along for the ride on board the blimp on Monday.
“We’ll put on our seat belts, tighten them up tight. It won’t be a wild bull ride, but it’ll be a wild flight today,” said Dillard.
It only took about 10 minutes to reach Hard Rock Stadium, which gave Dillard enough time for a lesson on the age-old technology behind the AirShip.
“On the tail of the blimp there’s a rudder. That’s my left, that’s my right. Left and right, up and down,” he said as the AirShip turned from one side to the other.
It did not take long for the blimp to hover above the stadium from about 1,100 feet above the ground.
Despite the overcast skies, cameras also captured the downtown Miami skyline, as well as parts of Miami Beach.
Blimps move at around 35 mph, so they are easy to spot from the ground.
The Carnival AirShip will be flying over all of South Florida’s hottest Super Bowl events and parties all week long.
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