On the front page of the Arizona Republic dated July 2, 1974, an article by Dave Spriggs reads "Pilot hopes to revive age of zeppelins." For many newcomers in the area, such a title may have little significance in understanding Higley's history; to long-time residents and travelers of the past, it strikes a chord of remembrance for Mr. Conrad's airship, constructed in the grassy pasture off of Williams Field Road.
For a short introduction into the semantics of airships, the rigid type has an internal frame (airships, dirigibles and zeppelins) differing from the non-rigid type (blimps) which are most commonly associated with Goodyear's current aerial advertising. Goodyear was in charge of constructing rigid-frame airships for the US Navy, but stopped its efforts after the crashes of the USS Akron in 1933 and the USS Macon in 1935. A couple of years later, the famous German passenger Zeppelin, the Hindenburg, crashed in New Jersey on May 6th, 1937, killing 36 passengers/crew and crippling global interest in the industry.
Despite the dirigible's flaws having been so widely broadcast to the world, rigid-frame airships did have successful flights as well, having logged thousands of hours and miles of trans-Atlantic service for military assistance and passenger flights during the 1900's to 1930's. Since the construction of any aircraft is a costly venture with little expense for error, and the peak of the airship's trials and tribulations pushed towards the start of WWII (the industry leader, Zeppelin, was based in Germany), experimentation with technological advances were set aside. Consequently, the idea of constructing a successful rigid airship took on a mythical interest to many aviators, including Clarence "Clare" Conrad forty years later, just "east of Chandler" in Higley, Arizona.
Clarence W. Conrad hailed from Washington state where his life-long interest in aviation was honed as a private pilot. After years of independent study, he started a 20' airship project in 1969. His son Darwin moved to Arizona to attend ASU in 1972 and Mr. Conrad followed the next year to start a task of epic scale, the construction of a dirigible 225' in length and 50' in diameter. The airship was envisioned for advertising and touristic purposes. It was designed to travel 100 miles per hour and carry 25 passengers all the while being "petroleum free" and raising to the skies on helium, the non-flammable alternative to hydrogen.
While laboring as electrical contractors during the day, Mr. Conrad and Darwin, along with family and friends, toiled on nights and weekends to complete the airship. As they were pursuing the amazing feat, the press picked up the story, and Mr. Conrad's vision was spread across the state and country ("Father and son try to bring back airship," John Fialka, Washington Star Service, St. Petersburg Times, FL 5/27/1975). As the Conrad's finished the frame and prepared to move closer towards completion, a tornado-like monsoon storm came through the area and blew Mr. Conrad's airship with it, reducing it to rubble 100 yards from the construction site (Storm Losses High, Mesa Tribune, 7/17/1975). Although smaller models including a saucer-shaped airship were constructed by the father-son team, the storm, along with financial constraints, stymied their efforts and the project was never completed.
Despite the setbacks, the press coverage continued for Conrad Airship Co. and in the subsequent years, fascination and support still proved to be widespread. The Kingman Daily Miner (AZ) reported on 12/22/1975 "There's Still Hope - Dirigible Will Be Aloft by Christmas." Over a year past the storm on 10/21/1976, the Christian Science Monitor featured a special article penned by reporter Dale Van Atta revisiting the story. Because of the national syndication of CSM's articles, the story "Backyard builders working on airship" appeared in such places as the Boca Raton News (FL) on 11/7/1976. Ten years after that, Mr. Conrad and his airship appeared in the 5/26/1986 Tucson Daily Star article titled, "Airships are making comeback to become new heroes of the skies."
In May 2002, Mr. Conrad passed away in Mesa, Arizona with his dream of completing the airship to the scale of his vision unrealized. However, after crawling all over the place to piece together his history, rest assured that his legacy is not one forgotten. When it came to contributors, they were everywhere! Your Friendly Higley Historians thank the following:
- Arizona State History and Archives Division with their stellar keyword searches and careful placement of the story's 7/2/1974 Arizona Republic headline in their card catalogue of Arizona history (yes- card catalogues still do exist and this is the best one in the state!). All in-state articles without links were found with the help of their service - copies will be placed at the San Tan Historical Society.
- The staff of the Chandler Airport, whose former employees like Mike Smith, were able to recollect Mr. Conrad's airship with perfect detail, as the saucer airship was housed there prior to airport expansion. Current employees jumped at the opportunity to recite the story as well since it was a legend passed on to them.
- Google, who is working away at making publication archives searchable and accessible across the world. Every article mentioned in this story with a link is courtesy of their diligence.
- Countless community members, visitors and far-away readers who shared how Mr. Conrad's work made them marvel at the thought of flight. Darrell Campbell, owner of Turtle Airships, was one of these readers and cited Conrad Airship Corp. in his blog as inspiration for airship technology with upward thrust (as the saucer-shaped airship permitted). In 1979, Mr. Campbell was led to Mr. Conrad by searching the archives in his own library where he found an article in Popular Mechanics, July 1977 edition, "Big Boom in Gas Bags" by Bill Allen.
- Darwin Conrad who thankfully shared his story and provided the absolutely spectacular photos above (make sure you click on them to get the "big picture"). He continues his legacy of taking flight in Spokane modifying aircraft with 500 completed to date.
- The inspiration for this article, Chip Cunningham, who when asked, "What do you know about Higley?" without a breath was the first to exclaim... "the dirigible."
Modern-day rigid airships are hard to come by, but companies are still out there constructing them and tightening the technology to expand uses including cargo transport, military surveillance, humanitarian applications, touristic uses and advertising. We wish them all the best of luck in their endeavors and thank them kindly for allowing us to discover their history in Higley. As for Mr. Conrad, his airship stayed grounded but his story took flight and captured the imagination of many across the world. We owe him the biggest debt of gratitude for reminding us that great achievements take great risk, and for that, he will always be a Higley Town Hero.
“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
-Leonardo da Vinci
