"Lawn chair" balloonist to set sail from Oregon, seeks record

[SciphonicStranger]

I hope he doesn't get shot down by terrorists when he tries this in Iraq.

http://news.yahoo.com/lawn-chair-balloonist-set-sail-oregon-seeks-record-135607562.html

A balloonist who once flew 235 miles in a lawn chair tied to a bouquet of helium-filled party balloons will fly again on Saturday, this time with a co-pilot, seeking to set a Guinness World Record for the longest two-man cluster balloon flight.

Gas station owner Kent Couch, dubbed the "lawn chair balloonist," will set off from his Stop & Go station in Bend, Oregon, carried by 350 multi-colored balloons and guided only by the wind. With him will be with Iraqi national Fareed Lafta, with whom he is preparing to partner in a similar flight from Baghdad in October.

The pair will have parachutes in case of emergency.

Previous flights have taken Couch as far as Cambridge, Idaho, in 2008 - his personal best.

"It's a preflight for our trip to Iraq to bring more awareness to the orphans," Couch said. He said Lafta contacted him a year ago and asked to join him on a cluster balloon flight to raise funds for children orphaned by the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

 

[Bluce Ree]

I was seeking a record, too, many years ago. An old vinyl single called "Saved by Zero" by The Fixx, which I found at a friend's place under a glass being used as a coaster. I salvaged it and it played just fine.

 

[Overmind One]

I was seeking a record, too, many years ago. An old vinyl single called "Saved by Zero" by The Fixx, which I found at a friend's place under a glass being used as a coaster. I salvaged it and it played just fine.

LOL! I loved that song.

This sort of stuff seems silly to me. The ONLY reason somebody might have to do something like this is to be an attention whore. Anybody clever enough to create a new stunt will be listed in the record books. I might try to set one too! How about setting a record for the most sticky notes attached to my butt? Perhaps set a record for the most bells tied to my hair?

I hope this dude survives...temperatures drop DRASTICALLY at higher altitudes.

 

[Bluce Ree]

LOL! I loved that song.

This sort of stuff seems silly to me. The ONLY reason somebody might have to do something like this is to be an attention whore. Anybody clever enough to create a new stunt will be listed in the record books. I might try to set one too! How about setting a record for the most sticky notes attached to my butt? Perhaps set a record for the most bells tied to my hair?

I hope this dude survives...temperatures drop DRASTICALLY at higher altitudes.

Dude! The 80s had such an influx of really good, catchy tunes with nonsensical lyrics! This was one of them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euBzxXFEuA4

Sometimes, critics try to read meanings into lyrics that are nothing more than products of an afternoon spent high as a kite on pot. It's funny to see the artists indulge critics when they try to interpret the meaning of their own lyrics after-the-fact.

These are songs that are just meant as feel-good music with no real deep meaning in the words themselves. Even with nonsense lyrics written on a pot-ride, there's more talent in their little pinkies than in most of today's artists. This simple side-by-side comparison gives you a glimpse into the dumbing down of modern artists vs artists of yesterday:

 

[SciphonicStranger]

***UPDATE***

The weather turned the lawn chair balloon flight into an epic failure! Worse still, the lawn chair balloon flew away on its own.

http://news.yahoo.com/weather-stops-tandem-lawn-chair-balloon-flight-234034429.html?_esi=1

Hours into their lawn-chair balloon flight, two men made a hard landing after they were hit by hail and snow as thunderstorms swept into central Oregon. But their back-yard aircraft floated away.

Kent Couch and Fareed Lafta were about seven hours into their flight Saturday when they descended, coming down near the community of Post, about 30 miles east of their starting point. But after they scrambled out of the contraption, it floated away, flight organizer Mark Knowles said.

Some pictures of said contraption. It looks a little more sophisticated than a simple lawn chair.

 

[shavedape]

The weather turned the lawn chair balloon flight into an epic failure! Worse still, the lawn chair balloon flew away on its own.

http://news.yahoo.com/weather-stops-tandem-lawn-chair-balloon-flight-234034429.html?_esi=1

 

[Overmind One]

The weather turned the lawn chair balloon flight into an epic failure! Worse still, the lawn chair balloon flew away on its own.

http://news.yahoo.com/weather-stops-tandem-lawn-chair-balloon-flight-234034429.html?_esi=1



Some pictures of said contraption. It looks a little more sophisticated than a simple lawn chair.

View attachment 7392

View attachment 7393

....OMG, your update here made me laugh a full minute! I was picturing it happening and then uncontrollable laughter! I hope he did not lose too much money.

 

[SciphonicStranger]

There were some other interesting tidbits deeper into the article...

Their rig included 800 pounds of ballast — red Kool-Aid in 40-gallon barrels. Other than a GPS, navigation gear, satellite phone, oxygen, two-way radios, eight cameras, and parachutes, they were carrying two Red Ryder BB rifles and a pair of blowguns to shoot out enough balloons to land when the time is right.

Electronic gear was powered by a solar panel. A flare gun was tied to the framework for emergencies. They also carried the ashes of a family friend to spread over the high desert.

Lance Schliep, an appliance repairman, helped Couch with the latest design, made entirely from items bought at hardware stores and junk from Couch's garage.

"It's about as redneck as you can get," Couch said.

I guess the family friend is still up there somewhere.

 

[Rac80]

oh my...some people definitely have too much time on their hands! what will happen when it crashes? i am sure the environmentalists will have a field day with all of that red kool-aid spilling out and mucking up some weasel's habitat!

 

[Overmind One]

There were some other interesting tidbits deeper into the article...



I guess the family friend is still up there somewhere.

oh my...some people definitely have too much time on their hands! what will happen when it crashes? i am sure the environmentalists will have a field day with all of that red kool-aid spilling out and mucking up some weasel's habitat!

OMG! I am laughing so hard on this thread I cant stop laughing!

Their rig included 800 pounds of ballast — red Kool-Aid in 40-gallon barrels. Other than a GPS, navigation gear, satellite phone, oxygen, two-way radios, eight cameras, and parachutes, they were carrying two Red Ryder BB rifles and a pair of blowguns to shoot out enough balloons to land when the time is right.

 

[SciphonicStranger]

My first thought when I saw the original story was "Hmmmm, what could possibly go wrong?".

If he is planning to fly that contraption over Iraq, with that big American flag dangling off of it, his life insurance company should cancel his policy.