Pilots to be retrained after Goodyear upgrades fleet of flying machines

AKRON, Ohio - When William Bayliss is in the air, he wants to make sure he's the one flying the machine, not the machine flying him. That's why blimps are more his speed than planes.

Bayliss, one of about only 40 airship pilots in the world, flies for the Akron-based Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. It's one of the most difficult jobs in aviation, a position so rare and out of fashion that there are more astronauts in the world. In this realm, there is no autopilot like on traditional planes.

"They fly all by themselves," said Bayliss, a cherub-cheeked, sandy-haired 31-year-old. "As a pilot, you want to fly. You don't want to watch a computer fly."