Zeppelin with Vice City Livery Spotted Promoting GTA 6

The Aircraft

Goodyear Zeppelin LZ N07-101, registration number N3A (also known as Wingfoot Three), left its hangar in Suffield, near Akron, Ohio. The airship sports a gray-and-black livery featuring the words Vice City in a classic design that is now nearly 25 years old, against a palm tree backdrop, along with the VI logo, also featuring palm trees.

There are only six airships of this type in the world. Known as zeppelins, these are airships with an internal semi-rigid framework. Three are based in Germany, where they are manufactured, and the other three are in the United States. They are used for commercial and research purposes, and now one of them is promoting Grand Theft Auto VI.

The Route

After spending just under five and a half hours in the air, the zeppelin landed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It then continued its journey south. Its final destination is Pompano Beach, a city north of Miami, Florida. You can track its progress in real time on the dedicated website.

Airships in Franchise History

Airships are nothing new to the Grand Theft Auto series. They have appeared in several games, and some can even be piloted.

• GASH Blimp in GTA: Vice City:
  • cannot be piloted,
  • can be seen high above the city.
• Atomic Blimp in GTA 5:
  • can be piloted,
  • initially available to players who pre-ordered the game or purchased a Special or Collector’s Edition, and later unlocked for everyone with the release of the PC, PS4, and Xbox One versions.
• Xero Blimp in Grand Theft Auto V:
  • can be piloted,
  • differs from the Atomic Blimp only in its livery,
  • was introduced in the PC, PS4, and Xbox One versions and all subsequent releases.
• Blimp in GTA Online:
  • can be piloted,
  • added with the After Hours update,
  • used during one of the nightclub promotion missions,
  • features 20 different liveries.

A similar airship also appears in GTA VI, although little is known about it so far beyond a few small glimpses in the first two trailers.