Check out this picture.
Attached files
Anyone for a balloon ride?
Anyone for a balloon ride?
Not me...:yh_bigsmi
And is that a fan on the back of that lawn chair?
And is that a fan on the back of that lawn chair?
Anyone for a balloon ride?
K.Snyder;589028 wrote: Not me...:yh_bigsmi
And is that a fan on the back of that lawn chair?
Now that I look again..yep, it is.
And is that a fan on the back of that lawn chair?
Now that I look again..yep, it is.
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RedGlitter
- Posts: 15777
- Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2005 3:51 am
Anyone for a balloon ride?
That is just too hick. The only thing missing is the ice cooler.
They could have put some pontoons on the bottom, you know just in case.
They could have put some pontoons on the bottom, you know just in case.
Anyone for a balloon ride?
this is a true story ,not for jimbo though as i'd make too big a crater if someone took my balloons out with a pellet gun
I believe I can fly...
James Clarke
November 02 2006 at 03:48AM
James Clarke's Tour de Farce
Some weeks ago I mentioned that I was sceptical about the story of a Californian man who, having strapped himself into a garden chair, soared to 16 000ft - that's almost 5 000m and far higher than South Africa's highest point and in fact higher than the Rockies or the Alps. He had harnessed the chair to 42 weather balloons in his girlfriend's garden in San Pedro near Long Beach, Los Angeles.
I assumed it was an urban legend.
It turns out to be true. A Sandton reader, Colin Pepin, emailed photographs of the event. The man who did it was Larry Walters (33), a truck driver.
On July 2, 1982 he tethered an aluminium garden chair to the ground, filled the weather balloons with helium and attached them to the chair and then strapped himself in.
Also strapped to the chair were several 5l bottles of water for ballast.
In the photograph the 2m-wide balloons appear to be in four bunches floating several storeys high above the garden chair.
Walters is wearing a parachute and is carrying several items including a citizen band radio and an air pistol. The pellet gun was to pop the balloons once he was at a satisfactory altitude so that he could then descend.
The story was apparently widely reported although I have no recollection of seeing it at the time. Walters became something of a folk hero.
Not realising how powerful the pull of the balloons would be he had two friends hold on to the chair while he cut the mooring ropes. The rig took off with such a jolt that it snapped the last rope and tore itself free of the hands of Larry's friends. It went up like a rocket.
Walters' spectacles flew off but this didn't seem to spoil his personal enjoyment.
The flight was over an intensely developed area and near an airport and Walters became somewhat alarmed as the houses, at a terrifying rate, grew smaller and smaller. He became so mesmerised by the scenes below that he forgot to use his camera.
He was aloft, according the New York Times, for only 45 minutes and at 16 000ft became numb with cold. The newspaper said Walters was spotted by various airline pilots and that he put out a May Day call. He was in touch with air traffic control.
He began to pop the balloons but then dropped his pistol.
Nevertheless the 35 balloons that were left were not enough to keep him aloft and he slowly descended until he landed in a residential neighbourhood in Long Beach, but not before snagging some power lines, causing a power blackout.
He dangled a couple of metres above the ground and then dropped down unhurt.
He told reporters he would have ended up on a "funny farm" had he not tried the experiment. He had dreamed of the flight since he was 13 and had watched fascinated as some weather balloons floating against the ceiling of a store.
Walters, "a quiet man", gave many talks about his experience before becoming a forestry worker. He committed suicide in 1993.
The pictures and transcript of his conversations over the CB radio are on http://www.markbarry.com.
US Military Warnings
Some simple instructions from US military manuals:
Rocket launcher manual: Aim towards the Enemy.
And on a box of grenades: When the pin is pulled, Mr Grenade is not our friend.
Infantry Journal: Try not to look important; they may be low on ammo.
If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him.
This is James Clarke's Stoep Talk column, published in The Star newspaper. E-mail him at jcl@onwe.co.za.
I believe I can fly...
James Clarke
November 02 2006 at 03:48AM
James Clarke's Tour de Farce
Some weeks ago I mentioned that I was sceptical about the story of a Californian man who, having strapped himself into a garden chair, soared to 16 000ft - that's almost 5 000m and far higher than South Africa's highest point and in fact higher than the Rockies or the Alps. He had harnessed the chair to 42 weather balloons in his girlfriend's garden in San Pedro near Long Beach, Los Angeles.
I assumed it was an urban legend.
It turns out to be true. A Sandton reader, Colin Pepin, emailed photographs of the event. The man who did it was Larry Walters (33), a truck driver.
On July 2, 1982 he tethered an aluminium garden chair to the ground, filled the weather balloons with helium and attached them to the chair and then strapped himself in.
Also strapped to the chair were several 5l bottles of water for ballast.
In the photograph the 2m-wide balloons appear to be in four bunches floating several storeys high above the garden chair.
Walters is wearing a parachute and is carrying several items including a citizen band radio and an air pistol. The pellet gun was to pop the balloons once he was at a satisfactory altitude so that he could then descend.
The story was apparently widely reported although I have no recollection of seeing it at the time. Walters became something of a folk hero.
Not realising how powerful the pull of the balloons would be he had two friends hold on to the chair while he cut the mooring ropes. The rig took off with such a jolt that it snapped the last rope and tore itself free of the hands of Larry's friends. It went up like a rocket.
Walters' spectacles flew off but this didn't seem to spoil his personal enjoyment.
The flight was over an intensely developed area and near an airport and Walters became somewhat alarmed as the houses, at a terrifying rate, grew smaller and smaller. He became so mesmerised by the scenes below that he forgot to use his camera.
He was aloft, according the New York Times, for only 45 minutes and at 16 000ft became numb with cold. The newspaper said Walters was spotted by various airline pilots and that he put out a May Day call. He was in touch with air traffic control.
He began to pop the balloons but then dropped his pistol.
Nevertheless the 35 balloons that were left were not enough to keep him aloft and he slowly descended until he landed in a residential neighbourhood in Long Beach, but not before snagging some power lines, causing a power blackout.
He dangled a couple of metres above the ground and then dropped down unhurt.
He told reporters he would have ended up on a "funny farm" had he not tried the experiment. He had dreamed of the flight since he was 13 and had watched fascinated as some weather balloons floating against the ceiling of a store.
Walters, "a quiet man", gave many talks about his experience before becoming a forestry worker. He committed suicide in 1993.
The pictures and transcript of his conversations over the CB radio are on http://www.markbarry.com.
US Military Warnings
Some simple instructions from US military manuals:
Rocket launcher manual: Aim towards the Enemy.
And on a box of grenades: When the pin is pulled, Mr Grenade is not our friend.
Infantry Journal: Try not to look important; they may be low on ammo.
If you see a bomb technician running, try to keep up with him.
This is James Clarke's Stoep Talk column, published in The Star newspaper. E-mail him at jcl@onwe.co.za.
Anyone for a balloon ride?
Have you seen the film Danny Deckchair with Rhys Ifans?
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/ ... 45801.html
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/ ... 45801.html