Man travels 193 miles on balloon-powered lawn chair

(7/10/07 - BEND, OR) - Kent Couch attached to his lawn chair 105 large helium balloons, settled down in it with some snacks and a parachute and launched himself up in the air.

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 headed into the Oregon sky. Nearly nine hours later, Couch came back to earth in a farmer's field near Union, short of Idaho but about 193 miles from home.

Couch is the latest American to emulate Larry Walters -- who in 1982 rose three miles above Los Angeles in a lawn chair lifted by balloons. Walters had surprised an airline pilot, who radioed the control tower that he had just passed a guy in a lawn chair. Walters paid a $1,500 penalty for violating air traffic rules.

It was Couch's second flight. In September, he got off the ground for six hours. Like Walters, he used a BB gun to pop the balloons, but he went into a rapid descent and eventually parachuted to safety.

He popped enough balloons to set the craft down, although he suffered rope burns. But after he jumped out, the wind grabbed his chair, with his video recorder, and the remaining balloons and swept them away. He's hoping to get them back some day.

More details at abctv11.