IN THE PIPELINE:

When the Goodyear Blimp takes off, you’re looking almost straight up into the sky. On the way down, it’s the same thing in reverse — and the ground comes at you fast.

Beyond those two extremes, though, the ride itself is a soothing, gentle cruise that seems to slow down the hectic pace of life. Through your headset, your pilot points out various sites along the coast near Long Beach, but truth be told, the mind wanders at 1,000 feet, taking in the slow-motion ride foot by foot. So I learned several months ago.

I was writing a story for Westways Magazine on the 40th anniversary of the blimp being at the Carson Air Station, so I was fortunate enough to be invited along for a ride one warm, breezy day in May. I learned a lot about the hallowed ship during my research and of course on my journey aboard. But I also became aware that the man I was profiling for the Westways piece, Bob Urhausen, is a Huntington Beach local.

Since the blimp first arrived in January 1968, Urhausen has been with there. Except for a two-year stint in the U.S. Army (he was honorably discharged in 1971), Bob has worked at the air base in a variety of positions, including crewman, airship rigger and, since 1979, as the public relations manager for the Goodyear Airship in Carson. His knowledge of the famed craft is exceeded perhaps only by his enthusiasm for the ship, and he seems just as awed by the blimp today as he presumably was back when he was a college student.

But he also loves Huntington Beach.

“My wife and I moved to Huntington Beach from Hermosa Beach in 1980,” he told me. “There is just something about salt air that keeps me near the beach.”

Urhausen, born in Santa Cruz, moved to Redondo Beach with his family at age 5. After ending his time in the Army in 1971, he lived in Hermosa Beach until 1980. He and his wife, Barb, have been married for 28 years.

“She and I met while the blimp was on ‘summer tour’ up the Northwest (Portland), although she is from Mankato, Minn.,” Urhausen said.

Urhausen’s two children graduated from Marina High School. His son, Eric, almost 27, will soon graduate from the Art Institute. His daughter, Nicole, 23, is a 2007 graduate of Cal State Long Beach and is now earning her teaching credential.

Bob is a funny, genial man who so genuinely enjoys what he does that it’s infectious — you love the blimp even more after hearing Bob wax on about it. From time to time I notice it over our house, and so I wondered if Bob ever flew over Surf City.

“I have flown over Huntington a few times; however, my job keeps me on the ground a lot, so it is a special treat when I fly,” he said. “The blimp on the other hand gets over Huntington Beach quite often. One of our former pilots, Tom Matus — now retired but still living in Huntington Beach — would fly over every chance he could. Recently one of our new pilots, Kristen Davis, bought a home in Huntington Beach and she gets out there often.”

And as I said, he loves this town like he loves the ship.

“From the time I first surfed Huntington Beach back in the ’60s, I loved the access to the beach,” he said. “Even today on my way home form work, I will take the long way just to drive down Warner to Pacific Coast Highway and follow PCH to the Pier just to see the majestic beauty that is Huntington Beach. Huntington Beach has been a great place to live and raise a family. As I travel the country with the Goodyear blimp I am always proud to tell people that I live in Huntington Beach, California.”

Bob says he is often asked how folks can get a ride in the blimp.

“Much as we’d love to give all Goodyear tire buyers a ride, it’s reserved primarily for corporate customers,” he says. “We donate rides to charities and fundraisers, and they’ve been known to raise as much as $5,000 to $8,000 at auction for two seats on board.”

Some more blimp facts: Its skin is thick as a trampoline; a two-ply polyester fabric that’s very strong and very hard to tear. Also, blimps can last about seven to eight years. And the daily flight schedule involves five one-hour passenger flights each day if the ship is not away covering a game or other event. Then there’s a sixth, non-passenger flight, in the evening. It’s a promotional flight around the area with the message-board lights on. (At Goodyear’s other two air bases, in Akron, Ohio, and Pompano Beach, Fla., the same basic schedule is maintained.)

So next time you see the Goodyear Blimp overhead, know that our own Bob Urhausen, perhaps her biggest fan, may be onboard. But even if he’s not, his heart is always up there with her.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 14 books, including the new “Huntington Beach Then & Now.” You can write him at [email protected].