I assume Mary Poppins has been fully consulted?

If you're going to do this it helps to take the fact that most higher level winds in the northern hemisphere blow east.

Thus it's a better bet to start in Oregon. Just ask Cutter John and Opus.

"If I had the time and money and people, I'd do this every weekend"

Fate, meet Tempting; Tempting, Fate.

There's no mention in the article about how he's avoiding violating air traffic regulations. Staying below a certain altitude - or just avoiding metro areas?

UNIMPRESSED...stoopid muggle

colinspooky:I assume Mary Poppins has been fully consulted?

Wrong woman to invoke in a balloon thread. Think younger and hotter:

Wyrdrune: There's no mention in the article about how he's avoiding violating air traffic regulations. Staying below a certain altitude - or just avoiding metro areas?

Relying on my (questionable) memory alone, if you head east from Bend, Oregon the only urban area between you and Chicago is Boise, Idaho. And that's easy to miss.

"If I had the time and money and people, I'd do this every weekend," Couch said before getting into the chair. "Things just look different from up there. You've moving so slowly. The best thing is the peace, the serenity.

This guy's been dipping into his own stash a bit too much.

"I don't know about girls, but I think most guys look up in the sky and wish they could ride on a cloud."

No, they look at the clouds and dream about riding girls.

...he carried a Red Ryder BB gun and a blow gun equipped with steel darts. He also had a pole with a hook for pulling in balloons, a parachute in case anything went wrong, a handheld Global Positioning System device with altimeter, a satellite phone, and two GPS tracking devices. One was one for him, the other for the chair, which got away in the wind as he landed last year.

Bet he tried to get it all in the overhead bin, too.

Nothing But Net:No, they look at the clouds and dream about riding girls.

We have a Winner!

He is my hero. Had he launched last weekend, I would have gone to see him off, as I was in Oregon. I'm glad he was finally able to safely accomplish his goal of reaching Idaho.

MrSteve007:He is my hero. Had he launched last weekend, I would have gone to see him off, as I was in Oregon. I'm glad he was finally able to safely accomplish his goal of reaching Idaho.

That's a goal for somebody?

/to each his/her own

LonMead:MrSteve007:He is my hero. Had he launched last weekend, I would have gone to see him off, as I was in Oregon. I'm glad he was finally able to safely accomplish his goal of reaching Idaho.

That's a goal for somebody?

/to each his/her own

Aim low.
Aim weird.

Sweet, some cool stuff shows up when you GIS "balloon porn".

Danger Avoid Death:Aim low. Aim weird.

And when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

Nothing But Net:"...he carried a Red Ryder BB gun ...

"You'll shoot your eye out, kid!"

/can't believe I'm the first

LonMead:Danger Avoid Death:Aim low. Aim weird.

And when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

Amen!

/HST FTW!

He had a BB rifle, a blow gun, and a tracking device for the balloons since they got away last year.

They're extremely dangerous when you only wound one.

Nothing But Net:He had a BB rifle, a blow gun, and a tracking device for the balloons since they got away last year.

They're extremely dangerous when you only wound one.

They taste terrible if it's not a clean kill.

Danger Avoid Death:colinspooky:I assume Mary Poppins has been fully consulted?

Wrong woman to invoke in a balloon thread. Think younger and hotter:

pics of Karri

I've actually met her. You ever notice how some women are hotter on screen than in real life? Not Ms. Byron - she's just as attractive in person as on screen. And she (and the rest of the Build Team) are scarily smart.

I was pleased. (And, like a pussy, I settled for a handshake, even though I had my damn camera on me at the time. I still want to smack myself over that one.)

Kant Lavar:Danger Avoid Death:colinspooky:I assume Mary Poppins has been fully consulted?

Wrong woman to invoke in a balloon thread. Think younger and hotter:

pics of Karri

I've actually met her. You ever notice how some women are hotter on screen than in real life? Not Ms. Byron - she's just as attractive in person as on screen. And she (and the rest of the Build Team) are scarily smart.

I was pleased. (And, like a pussy, I settled for a handshake, even though I had my damn camera on me at the time. I still want to smack myself over that one.)

After hearing that, I want to smack you too.

No pics? How do you sleep at night?

Wyrdrune:There's no mention in the article about how he's avoiding violating air traffic regulations. Staying below a certain altitude - or just avoiding metro areas?

Between Bend and Cambridge there's nothing worth violating. Well, other than antelope.

Kant Lavar:Danger Avoid Death:colinspooky:I assume Mary Poppins has been fully consulted?

Wrong woman to invoke in a balloon thread. Think younger and hotter:

pics of Karri

I've actually met her. You ever notice how some women are hotter on screen than in real life? Not Ms. Byron - she's just as attractive in person as on screen. And she (and the rest of the Build Team) are scarily smart.

I was pleased. (And, like a pussy, I settled for a handshake, even though I had my damn camera on me at the time. I still want to smack myself over that one.)

betcha heven't washed your hand since

For that job, he carried a Red Ryder BB gun




/Impressed

//And jealous

Don't forget the can opener!

But did the gun have a compass in the stock and a thing which tells time?

subby, thats a lot of priests to laugh at...


/cant believe no one beat me to it.

It looks like this guy, unlike the priest, put a lot of thought into this. Multiple GPSs, a parachute, flying east, etc... Sounds like he has a lot of fun. More power to him.

Yeah... I don't think this guy has a whole lot to worry about it. He's got corporate sponsors, a team of setup assistants, and a seemingly well- thought out machine. Probably has all the necessary paperwork in line with the FAA, too- cluster balloon flights ARE legal if done above board. Lawnchair Larry literally took a lawnchair and tied his balloons to it with no forethought- he hit over 9,000 feet, a sure sign of not even considering amount of lift produced by the individual balloons.

Oregon gas station owner laughs at Darwin

Darwin Keep it up laughing boy. He who laughs last, laughs loudest...

I came to see an Eric the Midget OR Katharine McPhee reference and am VERY disappointed.

/oh wait, stern's on vacation

FTFA:Each balloon gives four pounds of lift. The chair was about 400 pounds, and Couch and his parachute 200 more.

Now I can't see much in the teeny photos on the AP, but this thing described a few grafs up as just "a green lawn chair" must have had some mutha modifications done to it to weigh 400 pounds. I have an ordinary aluminum and webbing lawn chair and it barely weighs 4.

This guy used cherry Kool-Aid as ballast for some reason. Kool-Aid, balloons, BB-gun...Pedo-blimp?