The six of us lucked out and obtained a reservation for the entire 6-passenger gondola of the Goodyear GZ-19 Blimp Mayflower VII N1A back when Goodyear offered limited public blimp rides from Watson Island as part of their land lease Watson Island from the City of Miami. When Goodyear transitioned to a larger GZ-20 blimp for their 1977 flight season they couldn't operate safely out of Watson Island and they tried to lease land on Virginia Key for the blimp. Unfortunately the city government refused to cooperate and Goodyear moved to Opa-locka Airport temporarily until they could lease land and build a hangar at Pompano Air Park where Goodyear operates today year-round. What a shame that Miami lost Goodyear after several decades of operating out of Watson Island.

Goodyear GZ-19A Blimp Mayflower VII N1A flew flew more flights than any blimp in history with a total of 13,145 flights. It was scrapped in 1976 after their winter season in Miami 1975/1976.