Sunday, July 6, 2008

Another Lawn Chair Flyer

Another Lawn Chair Flyer

I remember seeing the news reports back about 1981 when a Torrance, California man in a lawn chair passed several jetliners--leading to some rather bizarre questions from air traffic control, who found the reports from pilots... somewhat difficult to believe. Someone in Oregon decided to replicate this. From the July 6, 2008 Idaho Statesman:

CAMBRIDGE, Idaho — Using his trusty BB gun to help him return to Earth, a 48-year-old gas station owner flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons more than 200 miles across the Oregon desert Saturday, landing in a field in Idaho.

Kent Couch created a sensation in this tiny farming community, where he touched down safely in a pasture after lifting off from Bend, Ore., and was soon greeted by dozens of people who gave him drinks of water, local plumber Mark Hetz said.

"My wife works at the City Market," Hetz said. "She called and said, 'The balloon guy in the lawn chair just flew by the market, and if you look out the door you can see him.

"We go outside to look, and lo and behold, there he is. He's flying by probably 100 to 200 feet off the ground.

"He takes his BB gun and shoots some balloons to lower himself to the ground. When he hit the ground he released all the little tiny balloons. People were racing down the road with cameras. They were all talking and laughing."

Couch covered about 235 miles in about nine hours after lifting off at dawn from his gas station riding in a green lawn chair rigged with an array of more than 150 giant party balloons.

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