Oregonian floats 193 miles using chair, balloons

[IDemo]

Man fulfills childhood dream, flies to Idaho using 105 helium balloons

AP -Updated: 1 hour, 45 minutes ago

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.

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

Anyone old enough to remember 'Lawn Chair Larry'?

[AlCzervik]

1. looks like i'm not the only one that rented Danny Deck chair.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337960/

[Orrex]

2. Yes indeed

Here's The Straight Dope

[peacebird]

3. omg - the Darwin awards infamous Lawn Chair Larry revisited!

http://www.darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid1998-11.html

[Poll_Blind]

4. People get high any way they can out here! n/t

PB

[no_hypocrisy]

5. Reminds me of the end of "The Red Balloon", the award-winning

children's film from 1956 where Pascal (a French grieving for his "dead" red balloon) is approached by several score of balloons in Paris, he fashions them into a seat and takes off into the air to see the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic8XzBJzsEE

[Cooley Hurd]

6. Idiotcarus...

;)

[Whoa_Nelly]

7. Pic of Couch in Chair (small pic)

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/dispatch/content/national_world/stories/2007/07/10/flying_lawn_chair.html

Couple of other pics


http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/hoonage-at-13,000-feet/lawn-chair-balloonist-travels-193-miles-276688.php


http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=48717

And, I DO! remeber Lawn Chair Larry! :rofl:
Thanks for the memory reminder! :hi:

Larry
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/l/lawnchairlarry.htm

[krispos42]

8. Mythbusters did this, IIRC

They got Adam airborne. He had a pellet gun to break the balloons so he could get down.