Larry Walters,The Man Who Took Flight in a Lawn Chair

Larry Walters or Lawn chair Larry was an American truck driver who took flight on July 2, 1982 in a homemade aircraft.Larry Walters always dreamed of being an aviation pilot, but was born with poor eyesight.From a young age, he planned on creating a flying machine using weather balloons.As a child, his plan was to attach a few helium-filled weather balloons to his lawn chair, cut the anchor, and then float above his backyard at a height of about 30 feet (9.1 m) for several hours.

He intended on bringing a pellet gun that he would use to burst balloons and gradually float to the ground.In 1982,Walters and his girlfriend, Carol Van Deusen, purchased 45 eight-foot weather balloons and obtained helium tanks.


Larry then attached all 45 of the balloons to his chair, filled them with helium,put on a parachute, and strapped himself into the chair.He took his pellet gun, a CB radio, sandwiches, cold beer, and a camera.Walters tied the contraption to his jeep and ordered his friends to cut the line.

The chair rapidly rose to a height of about 15,000 feet (4,600 m).At first, Larry did not dare shoot any balloons, fearing that he might unbalance the load and cause himself to fall.  Larry slowly drifted over Long Beach, California and crossed the approach corridor of the Long Beach Airport.During the voyage, Walters was in contact with a CB monitoring organization and when they asked him what his plan was he replied:

“Ah, the difficulty is, ah, this was an unauthorized balloon launch, and, uh, I know I'm in a federal airspace, and, uh, I'm sure my ground crew has alerted the proper authority. But, uh, just call them and tell them I'm okay.” 

After 45 minutes in the sky, he shot several balloons, and then accidentally dropped his pellet gun overboard.Larry descended slowly, until the balloons' got caught in a power line, causing a blackout in a Long Beach neighborhood. However, Walters was able to safely reach the ground, where he was immediately arrested by waiting members of the Long Beach Police Department.The story was widely reported in national newspapers and when Larry was asked by a reporter why he had done it, Walters replied, "A man can't just sit around."

Larry Walters became a national celebrity and did not receive any jail time for his adventure, but was fined a couple thousand dollars.  The lawn chair used in the flight was given to an admiring boy named Jerry, although Walters later regretted doing so, since the Smithsonian Institution had asked him to donate it.  After his flight, Larry was in brief demand as a motivational speaker and quit his job as a truck driver.  Sadly, Larry Walters committed suicide in 1993 at the age of 44 by shooting himself in the heart in Angeles National Forest.