Lawn Chair Larry - Patron Saint of Idaho RISE

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Lawn Chair Larry - Patron Saint of Idaho RISE
Larrys Heart was in the right place (but perhaps
not his brain.) Larry had always wanted to learn
to fly. But his eyesight (and, as it turns out,
his intellect) were not quite up to task. But no
one could criticize his ambition or
imagination.. In April, 1982, Larry attached 24
helium weather balloons to his lawn chair
(Inspiration 1) and strapped himself in, and
equipped himself with a pellet gun (Inspiration
2), and sandwiches and beer (Inspiration
3). Larry planned to hover about 30 feet over
his house until he shot out some of the balloons
to come down. When the lines holding the chair
to his jeep were released (actually only one
was released. The second one snapped!), he shot
up at 1,000 feet per minute and.
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Lawn Chair Larry didnt fly to 30 feet. Or 100
feet. Or 1,000 feet. Or 10,000 feet!
Ol Larry got a first hand view of air traffic
control procedures at LAX from 16,000 feet! He
was first spotted by a TWA pilot who radioed
that he just flew past a guy in a lawn chair!
Lessons Learned 1. Shooting balloons to get down
sounds like a much dumber idea at 16,000
feet than at 30 feet. 2. It is much (much!)
colder at 16,000 feet than it is way down
here. 3. Generally, it is very difficult to steer
a balloon, especially if you are in a lawn
chair hanging underneath it. 4. However, steering
is a very good idea, especially if you plan
to hover within the approach corridor to LAX. 5.
Landing is important too. It is always a good
idea to avoid power lines (which Larry also
didnt do). 6. The FAA is not known for its sense
of humor..
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Moral to the Story Before trying to fly balloons
or lawn chairs to the moon - enroll in ENGR204
and become involved in Idaho RISE!!!
Thanks to Walt Harris and ESS205 at Univ of
Washington.