"Lawn Chair, Two O'Clock, One Mile..."

[quietguy]

John Deakin included this link in his latest "Pelican's Perch" column
on AvWeb.com:

http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html

Despite the downbeat ending I find it inspirational: chase that
dream...

[Kingfish]

On May 14, 11:10 am, quietguy > wrote:
> John Deakin included this link in his latest "Pelican's Perch" column
> on AvWeb.com:
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html
>
> Despite the downbeat ending I find it inspirational: chase that
> dream...

I loved the part about him taking a portable CB radio aloft to "alert
air traffic to his presence". Did they set up a trucker/FAA relay? <G>

[Robert M. Gary]

On May 14, 8:10 am, quietguy > wrote:
> John Deakin included this link in his latest "Pelican's Perch" column
> on AvWeb.com:
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html
>
> Despite the downbeat ending I find it inspirational: chase that
> dream...

His exchange was actually recorded .
http://www.markbarry.com/audio/lawnchairman.ram
BTW: He did win one with the FAA. He was able to successfully argue
that his lawn chair did not need an airworthiness certificate. That
charge was dropped and he setted for $1500. He was quoted as saying
its a good thing the FAA was not around when the Wright brothers flew!
-Robert

[Private]

"quietguy" > wrote in message
ps.com...
> John Deakin included this link in his latest "Pelican's Perch" column
> on AvWeb.com:
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html
>
> Despite the downbeat ending I find it inspirational: chase that
> dream...

Google search on 'lawnchair larry' returns 78,900 hits
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=lawnchair+larry&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

[d&tm]

"quietguy" > wrote in message
ps.com...
> John Deakin included this link in his latest "Pelican's Perch" column
> on AvWeb.com:
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html
>
> Despite the downbeat ending I find it inspirational: chase that
> dream...
>
They made a movie in Australia about a guy doing the same thing. It would
never win an Academy award or anything but it was a real fun movie, about a
guy just chasing a dream.
It is called Danny's Deckchair, and if you are really inspired by what Larry
Walters did then you would love this movie, although you might not get some
of the Aussie lingo.
terry

[Robert M. Gary]

On May 14, 1:30 pm, "d&tm" > wrote:
> "quietguy" > wrote in message
>
> ps.com...> John Deakin included this link in his latest "Pelican's Perch" column
> > on AvWeb.com:
>
> >http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html
>
> > Despite the downbeat ending I find it inspirational: chase that
> > dream...
>
> They made a movie in Australia about a guy doing the same thing. It would
> never win an Academy award or anything but it was a real fun movie, about a
> guy just chasing a dream.
> It is called Danny's Deckchair, and if you are really inspired by what Larry
> Walters did then you would love this movie, although you might not get some
> of the Aussie lingo.
> terry

Its funny, the TV show "Myth Busters" tried this one and found that it
did not work, they decided it must be a myth. Later they found out it
was real. Odd that these guys couldn't figure out how to get the lift
required of the ballons.

[Montblack]

("d&tm" wrote)
> They made a movie in Australia about a guy doing the same thing. It would
> never win an Academy award or anything but it was a real fun movie, about
> a guy just chasing a dream.

> It is called Danny's Deckchair, and if you are really inspired by what
> Larry Walters did then you would love this movie, although you might not
> get some of the Aussie lingo.


Cool links

http://www.clusterballoon.org/

http://www.clusterballoon.org/intro/intro.html

http://www.cloudhopper.org/Why.htm
Fun: Part 103 Balloon

http://www.cloudhopper.org/Hoppermania/Hoppermania.html
Cool: Hoppermania 2003 (Pics below Quick Time Slide Show)

http://www.cloudhopper.org/FAQs.htm (FAQs)

Q: Why do you call it an "ultralight"?
A: A Cloudhopper or other small, single-person balloon weighing less than
155 pounds is considered to be an "Ultralight Vehicle" by the FAA, and is
regulated under Part 103. Ultralight airplanes, hang-gliders and
paragliders are other examples of ultralight vehicles. The pilot of an
ultralight vehicle is not required to hold a pilot's license, and the
aircraft itself does not require FAA registration or an airworthiness
certificate.

Q: What's Part 103?
A: Part 103 is the part of the Federal Aviation Regulations that covers
ultralight vehicles. It contains the definition of an ultralight vehicle,
and covers flight rules in a manner similar to Part 91. Grossly
summarized, the rules tell you to stay away from controlled airspace and
"congested areas", and to observe VFR visibility minimums. It's included in
the commercial FAR/AIM books.

Q: Are all Cloudhoppers ultralights?
A: No. If you want a 15 gallon fuel tank, for example, that usually puts
you up over the 155 pound weight limitation, which means you're a regular
aircraft operating under Part 91. Since the two major balloon manufacturers
who make Cloudhoppers don't have standard type certificates for Cloudhoppers
in the U.S., that means you have to register your Cloudhopper as an
Experimental aircraft. This puts operating limitations on you that are in
many ways as restrictive as the rules for ultralights.


Montblack

[Larry Dighera]

On 14 May 2007 08:10:58 -0700, quietguy > wrote
in m>:

>John Deakin included this link in his latest "Pelican's Perch" column
>on AvWeb.com:
>
>http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html
>

http://www.markbarry.com/amazing/lawnchairman.html
The Official Site Of "The Lawn Chair Pilot"
(dedicated to the family, friends, and fans of Larry Walters)


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you hear my hour long interview on the national Art Bell radio
talk show on June 4th, 2001? What about my two TV shows on "The
Discovery Channel" and "The Learning Channel?" Click here to read
about them.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INTRODUCTION:
I first heard about Larry Walters' historic balloon flight around
1995. After doing some research to confirm it was true, I then
published what I knew about it on my aviation web site in 1999.
After doing so, I received many emails from all over the world
concerning this amazing story. But simply put, most of my readers
did not believe this story was true. Therefore, to set the record
straight, I went right to the source who was there when it
happened -- Larry's family. For the past several years, I have
interviewed Larry's girlfriend Carol and his mother and sisters. I
also spoke with REACT, the CB radio monitoring organization, and
was given permission by them to publish the audio file of the
actual flight from 1982. I believe I have the most accurate
information concerning Larry's flight (not all of which is
published on this web site at this time).

This page was put together to give my visitors 100% accurate
information about Larry's flight. Most other web sites that have
information on this story are not totally correct. But that's what
happens on the Internet and is why you should use this site as
your first resource.

What you are about to read and listen to is a by-product of many
years of research and interviews. And the audiotape that you will
listen to is so rare that not even Larry's mother knew it existed
until I told her about it.

This is probably the most complete and accurate web page about
Larry Walters' incredible flight currently on the Internet. A lot
of time and effort went into the research and the building of this
page and I hope you will enjoy it. I am also the first to publish
this audio file on the Internet.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT:
When Larry Walters was 13 years old, he went to a local Army-Navy
surplus store and saw the weather balloons hanging from the
ceiling. It was then he knew that some day he would be carried
aloft by such balloons. This obsession would be with him for the
next 20 years. On July 2nd, 1982, Larry tied 42 helium-filled
balloons to a Sears lawn chair in the backyard of his girlfriend's
house in San Pedro, California. With the help of his ground crew,
Larry then secured himself into the lawn chair which was anchored
to the bumper of a friend's car by two nylon tethers. He took with
him many supplies, including a BB gun to shoot out the balloons
when he was ready to descend. His goal was to sail across the
desert and hopefully make it to the Rocky Mountains in a few days.
But things didn't quite work out for Larry. After his crew
purposely cut the first tether, the second one also snapped which
shot Larry into the LA sky at over 1,000 feet per minute. So fast
was his ascent that he lost his glasses. He then climbed to over
16,000 feet. For several hours he drifted in the cold air near the
LA and Long Beach airports. A TWA pilot first spotted Larry and
radioed the tower that he was passing a guy in a lawn chair at
16,000! Larry started shooting out a few balloons to start his
descent but had accidentally dropped it. He eventually landed in a
Long Beach neighborhood. Although he was entangled in some power
lines, he was uninjured. ...

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

On 14 May 2007 14:04:26 -0700, "Robert M. Gary" > wrote in
om>:

>Its funny, the TV show "Myth Busters" tried this one and found that it
>did not work, they decided it must be a myth. Later they found out it
>was real. Odd that these guys couldn't figure out how to get the lift
>required of the ballons.

This site (and my recollection of watching the show) suggests that
they verified the essential details of the story:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MythBusters_special_episodes#Pilot_3_.E2.8 0.94_.22Larry.27s_Lawn_Chair_Balloon.2C_Poppy_Seed _Drug_Test.2C_Goldfinger.22>

<http://tinyurl.com/eoltr>

There's no way their research department could not have known
the truth about Larry (RIP).

Marty
--
Big-8 newsgroups: humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*
See http://www.big-8.org for info on how to add or remove newsgroups.

[flynrider via AviationKB.com]

Robert M. Gary wrote:
>
>Its funny, the TV show "Myth Busters" tried this one and found that it
>did not work, they decided it must be a myth. Later they found out it
>was real. Odd that these guys couldn't figure out how to get the lift
>required of the ballons.

I'm not sure which "Mythbusters" you watch, but on the one I watch, they
were able to duplicate the feat. As I recall, the balloons carried one of
the guys up to the limit of the teather. He then shot the balloons until he
returned to earth. If you were expecting them to cut the chair loose from
the teather, you would have been disappointed, but otherwise, their
experiment confirmed that it was possible.

John Galban=====>N4BQ (PA28-180)

--
Message posted via AviationKB.com
http://www.aviationkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/aviation/200705/1

[Larry Dighera]

On Mon, 14 May 2007 23:59:26 GMT, "flynrider via AviationKB.com"
<u32749@uwe> wrote in <722fe18ebe14a@uwe>:

>Robert M. Gary wrote:
>>
>>Its funny, the TV show "Myth Busters" tried this one and found that it
>>did not work, they decided it must be a myth. Later they found out it
>>was real. Odd that these guys couldn't figure out how to get the lift
>>required of the ballons.
>
> I'm not sure which "Mythbusters" you watch, but on the one I watch, they
>were able to duplicate the feat. As I recall, the balloons carried one of
>the guys up to the limit of the teather. He then shot the balloons until he
>returned to earth. If you were expecting them to cut the chair loose from
>the teather, you would have been disappointed, but otherwise, their
>experiment confirmed that it was possible.


http://www.tv.com/mythbusters/lawn-chair-balloon-poppy-seed-drug-test-goldfinger/episode/285544/summary.html
Lawn Chair Balloon - Myth Confirmed

[Maxwell]

"Montblack" > wrote in message
...
>
> Q: Why do you call it an "ultralight"?
> A: A Cloudhopper or other small, single-person balloon weighing less than
> 155 pounds is considered to be an "Ultralight Vehicle" by the FAA, and is
> regulated under Part 103. Ultralight airplanes, hang-gliders and
> paragliders are other examples of ultralight vehicles. The pilot of an
> ultralight vehicle is not required to hold a pilot's license, and the
> aircraft itself does not require FAA registration or an airworthiness
> certificate.
>
> Q: What's Part 103?
> A: Part 103 is the part of the Federal Aviation Regulations that covers
> ultralight vehicles. It contains the definition of an ultralight vehicle,
> and covers flight rules in a manner similar to Part 91. Grossly
> summarized, the rules tell you to stay away from controlled airspace and
> "congested areas", and to observe VFR visibility minimums. It's included
> in the commercial FAR/AIM books.
>
> Q: Are all Cloudhoppers ultralights?
> A: No. If you want a 15 gallon fuel tank, for example, that usually puts
> you up over the 155 pound weight limitation, which means you're a regular
> aircraft operating under Part 91. Since the two major balloon
> manufacturers who make Cloudhoppers don't have standard type certificates
> for Cloudhoppers in the U.S., that means you have to register your
> Cloudhopper as an Experimental aircraft. This puts operating limitations
> on you that are in many ways as restrictive as the rules for ultralights.
>

We didn't have Part 103 in 1982 did we? I think that happened later in the
80s.

[Maxwell]

"Robert M. Gary" > wrote in message
ups.com...

> Its funny, the TV show "Myth Busters" tried this one and found that it
> did not work, they decided it must be a myth. Later they found out it
> was real. Odd that these guys couldn't figure out how to get the lift
> required of the ballons.
>

They failed to catapult a man from a manlift on one of their shows also, and
claimed to have disproven it. But I had a close friend who died that way.

[Larry Dighera]

On Mon, 14 May 2007 20:05:27 -0500, "Maxwell" >
wrote in >:

>We didn't have Part 103 in 1982 did we?

Apparently Part 103 went into effect in September 1982:


http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFAR.nsf/MainFrame?OpenFrameSet
09/02/1982

[Maxwell]

"Larry Dighera" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 14 May 2007 20:05:27 -0500, "Maxwell" >
> wrote in >:
>
>>We didn't have Part 103 in 1982 did we?
>
> Apparently Part 103 went into effect in September 1982:
>
>
> http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgFAR.nsf/MainFrame?OpenFrameSet
> 09/02/1982

Just a few months too late for Lawnchair Larry.

Thanks.

[quietguy]

On May 14, 5:04 pm, "Robert M. Gary" > wrote:
>
> Its funny, the TV show "Myth Busters" tried this one and found that it
> did not work, they decided it must be a myth.
>
Mr. Gary may have been thinking of another chair-in-the-air
experiment: the "Ming Dynasty Astronaut" segment, in which long-
suffering 'Buster' was dressed in a period costume, strapped to a
replica period rocket-chair and came out the worse for wear (for the
umpteenth time).

[Montblack]

("Maxwell" wrote)
> They failed to catapult a man from a manlift on one of their shows also,
> and claimed to have disproven it. But I had a close friend who died that
> way.


Um ....?????


Montblack

[Maxwell]

"Montblack" > wrote in message
...
> ("Maxwell" wrote)
>> They failed to catapult a man from a manlift on one of their shows also,
>> and claimed to have disproven it. But I had a close friend who died that
>> way.
>
>
> Um ....?????
>
>

Something like this: http://www.manliftengineering.com/, for example only.
This company was not involved, and it was a different brand.

The boom type, as opposed to the scissor type.

The myth was someone was trying to remove an engine from a car with one.
During the lift, the rope or cable broke from the engine, and threw the
operator over his house.

They couldn't duplicate it on their show, and considered it busted. But a
good friend of mine was trying to move one in a church that was under
construction. He accidentally drove it into an orchestra pit and was thrown
across the sanctuary.

[d&tm]

"Robert M. Gary" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> On May 14, 1:30 pm, "d&tm" > wrote:
> > "quietguy" > wrote in message
> >
> > ps.com...> John Deakin
included this link in his latest "Pelican's Perch" column
> > > on AvWeb.com:
> >
> > >http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html
> >
> > > Despite the downbeat ending I find it inspirational: chase that
> > > dream...
> >
> > They made a movie in Australia about a guy doing the same thing. It
would
> > never win an Academy award or anything but it was a real fun movie,
about a
> > guy just chasing a dream.
> > It is called Danny's Deckchair, and if you are really inspired by what
Larry
> > Walters did then you would love this movie, although you might not get
some
> > of the Aussie lingo.
> > terry
>
> Its funny, the TV show "Myth Busters" tried this one and found that it
> did not work, they decided it must be a myth. Later they found out it
> was real. Odd that these guys couldn't figure out how to get the lift
> required of the ballons.

Calculating the lift is really not that difficult. And even if you cant
calculate it , how hard is it so simply measure the lift of a single balloon
on a scale to determine how many balloons are requried to lift the desired
payload. I remember doing this my 10 year old daughter using party balloons
and a kitchen scale. I recall we calculated about 5000 party balloons were
required to lift a small person.
terry

[B A R R Y[_2_]]

flynrider via AviationKB.com wrote:

>
> I'm not sure which "Mythbusters" you watch, but on the one I watch, they
> were able to duplicate the feat. As I recall, the balloons carried one of
> the guys up to the limit of the teather. He then shot the balloons until he
> returned to earth.

I saw that too.

They had no doubt that it was possible. Adam was lifted quite handily.

[B A R R Y[_2_]]

Maxwell wrote:
>
> They couldn't duplicate it on their show, and considered it busted. But a
> good friend of mine was trying to move one in a church that was under
> construction. He accidentally drove it into an orchestra pit and was thrown
> across the sanctuary.

That's very different than what they were investigating on the show.

On the show, the conditions involved suddenly removing a lifted weight,
causing the arm to suddenly apply the lifting force in the opposite
direction, launching the occupant as a projectile.

With all due respect to your friend, it sounds like he was thrown as one
set of wheels fell into a hole. This is totally different, very easy to
understand, and unfortunately, it happens on a regular basis.

I work for a utility company, and guess what happens when a line truck
with the boom up gets hit by a car? The same thing! This is why body
harnesses are OSHA required when working aloft on a platform or in a
bucket. We've had technicians travel a surprising distance to their
death as the parked truck was rear-ended and the harness wasn't attached.

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

On Mon, 14 May 2007 23:44:19 -0500, "Maxwell" > wrote in >:

> ... a
>good friend of mine was trying to move one in a church that was under
>construction. He accidentally drove it into an orchestra pit and was thrown
>across the sanctuary.

Condolences to you and to his family.

RIP.

Marty
--
Big-8 newsgroups: humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*
See http://www.big-8.org for info on how to add or remove newsgroups.

[Martin X. Moleski, SJ]

On Tue, 15 May 2007 19:11:04 +1000, "d&tm" > wrote in >:

>Calculating the lift is really not that difficult. And even if you cant
>calculate it , how hard is it so simply measure the lift of a single balloon
>on a scale to determine how many balloons are requried to lift the desired
>payload. I remember doing this my 10 year old daughter using party balloons
>and a kitchen scale. I recall we calculated about 5000 party balloons were
>required to lift a small person.

http://www.mythbustersfanclub.com/mb2/content/view/61/27/

Mythbusters miscalculated and didn't explain why their calculations
were off.

They thought 1700 would lift 40 pounds.

It took ~3500 to get the effect they sought.

One guess: they were conservative in filling the balloons
on the day of the test and didn't put as much gas in each
balloon (on average) as they did in the lab. Or there
was some weight in the tethers they used that they didn't
factor into their prediction.

Marty
--
Big-8 newsgroups: humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.*
See http://www.big-8.org for info on how to add or remove newsgroups.

[Maxwell]

"Martin X. Moleski, SJ" > wrote in message
...
>
> Condolences to you and to his family.
>

Thanks Marty. It's been 5 or so years ago, but he was a very good friend to
me. I owed Don a lot.

[Mike Young]

"Robert M. Gary" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> On May 14, 8:10 am, quietguy > wrote:
>> John Deakin included this link in his latest "Pelican's Perch" column
>> on AvWeb.com:
>>
>> http://home.earthlink.net/~quade/lawnchair.html
>>
>> Despite the downbeat ending I find it inspirational: chase that
>> dream...
>
> His exchange was actually recorded .
> http://www.markbarry.com/audio/lawnchairman.ram
> BTW: He did win one with the FAA. He was able to successfully argue
> that his lawn chair did not need an airworthiness certificate. That
> charge was dropped and he setted for $1500. He was quoted as saying
> its a good thing the FAA was not around when the Wright brothers flew!
> -Robert

That poor henpecked fool. :)

[Montblack]

"Mike Young"
>> His exchange was actually recorded .
>> http://www.markbarry.com/audio/lawnchairman.ram

> That poor henpecked fool. :)


In her defense, she did not hold him back! :-)


Montblack

[Mike Young]

"Montblack" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Mike Young"
>>> His exchange was actually recorded .
>>> http://www.markbarry.com/audio/lawnchairman.ram
>
>> That poor henpecked fool. :)
>
>
> In her defense, she did not hold him back! :-)

:)

And what's up with the BB-gun thing? A right thinking person (yes, they fly
lawnchairs, too) would just cut the strings with a ka-bar. Or a Leatherman,
for today's suburbanite; doubles as a bottle opener. Not much chance of
putting out an eye with an errant missile then. And no danglie strings to
snag in, ummm, powerlines.

[Dan Luke]

"Mike Young" wrote:

>>>> His exchange was actually recorded .
>>>> http://www.markbarry.com/audio/lawnchairman.ram
>>
>>> That poor henpecked fool. :)
>>
>>
>> In her defense, she did not hold him back! :-)
>
> :)
>
> And what's up with the BB-gun thing? A right thinking person (yes, they fly
> lawnchairs, too) would just cut the strings with a ka-bar.

More than one balloon per string?

--
Dan

"How can an idiot be a policeman? Answer me that!"
- Chief Inspector Dreyfus