Today's coolest thing: Man floats 193 miles using chair, balloons

[Heidi]

I would _so_ love to do this. :)



Man floats 193 miles using chair, balloons
Oregon resident fulfills childhood dream with 105 helium balloons
BEND, Ore. - Last weekend, Kent Couch settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks — and a parachute. Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons.

Destination: Idaho.

With instruments to measure his altitude and speed, a global positioning system device in his pocket, and about four plastic bags holding five gallons of water each to act as ballast — he could turn a spigot, release water and rise — Couch headed into the Oregon sky.

Nearly nine hours later, the 47-year-old gas station owner came back to earth in a farmer’s field near Union, short of Idaho but about 193 miles from home.

<snip>

“When you’re laying in the grass on a summer day, and you see the clouds, you wish you could jump on them,” he said. “This is as close as you can come to jumping on them. It’s just like that.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19694083/

[SeattleGirl]

1. Hey gf! Doesn't that look like fun?

Don't know if I would have the nerve to do it, but I can just imagine the feeling of freedom I would have if I did.

[Heidi]

3. Hi, SeattleGirl!

It couldn't be any more dangerous than driving in Italy. :scared:

:hug: :loveya: :*

[SeattleGirl]

5. I've heard it gets pretty scary there!

:loveya: :hug: :loveya:

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. My favorite bit:

Couch is the latest American to emulate Larry Walters — who in 1982 rose three miles above Los Angeles in a lawn chair lifted by balloons. Walters had surprised an airline pilot, who radioed the control tower that he had just passed a guy in a lawn chair.


OH, to have heard that radio traffic! :rofl:

[Heidi]

4. That graf cracked me up, too.

I love waking up in the morning to a cool story like this. :)

By the way: :loveya: and :*

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. Yeah, props to the writer

for paraphrasing. "...a man in a lawn chair" wouldn't have been as funny.

Oh, and to the copy desk for keeping it.

Wait — does MSGOP have a copy desk? Do any teevee "news" operations? :shrug:



:loveya:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. My dear Heidi!

Well.....

I'd rather go up in a hot air balloon....with some other folks on board!

People who know how to fly those things....

Looks like it would be a spectacular flight, though...

:hi:

:hug:

[Heidi]

7. A hot air balloon probably would be more safe,

but I think a lawn chair and helium balloons would be waaaaaaaay more fun. :)

Hi, gf! :hug: :hug:

[truedelphi]

10. Plus no hot air!! No polluting stinky gases!!

I always wonder what the air traffic controller said back?

I mean, what could the guy say?

[Heidi]

9. Coolest thing kick.

:kick:

[EstimatedProphet]

11. I really want to do that

[Heidi]

13. Me, too, waaaaaaaaaaay bad.

However, I have a CMW and a Ginger who've already ix-nayed that notion. Spoil sports. x(

[SteppingRazor]

14. Y'know, I might too, except I went hang-gliding once...

and I don't think I'd do it again. It's fun and all, but it takes awhile to make your brain realize that everything's going to be OK. When you're a mile up staring down at nothing, you get a sort of animal, hackles-raising, fight-or-flight thing that modern man doesn't experience too often.

[NaturalHigh]

12. This is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

[DrDan]

15. this was done before in the 80's . . . in California by a guy

named Larry Walters.

He was subsequently arrested for not having a pilot's license.