"Pilot" Likens Flight to "Jumping on Clouds"

Following in the high-flying footsteps of the infamous "Lawn Chair Larry," an Oregon man took to the skies last weekend with 105 helium balloons and a lawn chair.

Kent Couch was a little better prepared than Larry Walters (shown at right), who achieved an altitude of about 16,000 feet in a Sears lawn chair and 45 weather balloons in 1982. Walters' feat earned him a $1,500 fine from the Federal Aviation Administration, and an honorary Darwin Award.

Couch loaded his lawn chair with the requisite snacks, but also instruments to monitor his altitude and speed, a global positioning device, digital camcorder, cell phone and a parachute. He used five gallon plastic bags filled with water for ballast -- complete with a release spigot, according to the Associated Press.

"When you're a little kid and you're holding a helium balloon, it has to cross your mind," he told the Bend (OR) Bulletin. "When you're laying in the grass on a summer day, and you see the clouds, you wish you could jump on them. This is as close as you can come to jumping on them. It's just like that."

This flight is actually Couch's second. Last September, he remained airborne for six hours in a similar contraption. He had to use his parachute that time, when he put himself into a rapid descent by firing one too many BBs at his balloons.

This time, he reconfigured his balloons and fixed it where he had some control over his helium release rather than just cutting a balloon loose.

His trip lasted nine hours and 193 miles, according to the AP. He ended up in a farm field, short of his destination, but happy with the result.

"It was beautiful -- beautiful," he told KTVZ-TV. He said the flight, overall, was uneventful with a bit of turbulence, similar to a real hot-air balloon setting down.

To prove he did actually make the flight, local pilot Brandon Wilcox flew a plane nearby and took photos.

After achieving altitudes of 13,000 feet, according to ABC News, Couch decided to land when he did because he was down to eight pounds of ballast and was running low on water. He considered the rugged terrain where he was, including Hells Canyon, and decided to set down.

He decreased his altitude by popping balloons and ended up with a few rope burns. When he reached the ground and stood up, the chair, video camera and remaining balloons took off again - if anyone finds them, he'd like to have them back, please.

The 47-year-old gas station owner's wife, Susan, followed her husband on his trip to make sure he made out all right. She, their Chihuahua, Isabella, and a few more family and friends formed a chase caravan.

"I was terrified, but I was being supportive," she said. "I know once something gets in his mind he's not going to forget it."

"I know he'd be thinking about it more and more, it would always be on his mind," she said.

Couch said he could hear children and cattle during his trip and described it as a serene experience, even passing through clouds. Will he be going up again?

He said it's up to his wife but she isn't so sure she's up to another trip and helium balloons can be very expensive.
 
"This way, at least he's fulfilled his dream," she said.

FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Walters