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

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...

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

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

"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=...Search& meta=

"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

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.

("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

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

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. ...

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

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
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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)

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