The Nova documentary film, Flying The Blimp chronicles the early history of lighter-than-air blimps and dirigibles from the earliest Montgolfier brothers hot air balloon in the late 18th century up through World War I, the "golden era" of airship travel in the 1920s and 1930s on to their use in World War II and then to the latest high-tech airships in the late 20th century.  The viewer will revisit the romantic and surprising early years of these lighter-than-air machines.  The first aircraft to carry passengers, the dirigibles were also the first to drop bombs during World War I.  Next, through rare vintage film footage, the viewer will board a luxury cabin on what was to be the world's fastest and smoothest transatlantic airship ride, a journey that would end, in the destruction in a giant fireball, of the German Hindenburg Zeppelin.  Fast forward past World War II into the late 20th century to meet entrepreneurs who are battling funding deadlines and technological glitches to launch a new breed of blimp.  Once built by Goodyear for the use by the United States Navy for surveillance missions, blimps are now being built for a variety of new missions including the role of flying billboards.  While the United States Navy is no longer flying blimps, foreign governments including France have used them to perform limited surveillance mission over Paris during an international economic summit.  Another high technology blimp being developed is called the "cyclocrane", which was commissioned by the United States Forest Service to hoist heavy loads of logs in an environmentally sensitive manner from remote locations.  The viewer will also see the largest hot-air dirigible, afloat in tropical French Guiana, which affords the research crew flying it the best way to examine 100-foot tall treetops and rainforest canopy in remote jungle areas.  "Flying The Blimp" is sure to appeal to any lighter-than-air airship enthusiast or history maven.  Full screen in black & white and color.  Released in 1990.  Runtime 60 minutes.