Background

The initial concept for Airship Ventures was the vision of an entrepreneurial husband/wife team, who brought their love of aviation, aerospace and airships to life to create a unique, upstart company designed to bring Zeppelin airships to the skies over America for the first time in over 70 years.

Brian and Alexandra (Alex) Hall both began life with a fascination for aviation. Brian spent summers at a family retreat in upstate New York, near an aerospace museum – Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome – featuring vintage World War I aircraft. Watching dogfights there got him hooked on aviation of that era. A child of the moon-landing generation, he was also intrigued with space – building an extensive collection of model rockets.

Alex grew up dreaming of becoming an astronaut and going into space. When investigating careers, she thought about becoming a pilot so she could then become an astronaut, but discovered that, at the time, she was too short to fly commercial planes. She also had an early connection with airships – growing up near the Cardington Airship Hangars in Bedford, England. Seeing the huge airship sheds, she became fascinated with the oversized aircraft, and interested in airship history, particularly the trans-global flights of the Graf Zeppelin.

As their careers progressed, aviation remained a common element. Brian's first entrepreneurial venture was with a company dedicated to writing flight planning software. Alex translated her degree in Astrophysics into a career in space related visitor centers -- first at the England's National Space Center, and later at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, California.

When they first met, Brian and Alex discovered they had shared interests and aspirations. Around that time, Brian had an experience that would change the future for both of them.

Next: Early Days