'Lawn chair balloon' flight forced to land early in Oregon
29 replies, posted
[QUOTE](CNN) -- [B]Variable wind, thunderstorms and the loss of 35 helium-filled balloons within a few hours of liftoff put an end to the flight of two lawn-chair-seated adventurers who never got out of Oregon.[/B]
Kent Couch and Fareed Lafta, who had hoped to reach northwest Montana by Sunday, landed late Saturday afternoon southeast of Prineville, Oregon, team officials said.
The men were disappointed but not injured, flight spokesman Mark Knowles told CNN.
"They're a little rattled," said Knowles. "We are glad that they are safe. Kent is very disappointed they did not get what he set out for."
Couch and Lafta, seated side-by-side in a specially built rig, went aloft at Couch's service station in Bend, Oregon.
[B]But within a few hours, about 35 of the large 350 helium-filled balloons had burst, said Knowles. That compared to the loss of six balloons lost in a previous Couch flight to Idaho.[/B]
Couch and Lafta, an Iraqi, released water stored in four containers as ballast so they could adjust their altitude, said Lance Schliep, a member of the chase crew.
[B]At about 11,000 feet, the craft struggled to reach higher elevations, where it could catch air currents that would push it toward its destination, said Schliep.[/B]
That never happened.
The pair circled for three hours near Prineville, about 35 miles northeast of Bend.
"Unless the wind starts taking them somewhere at this point they won't break distance records," Schliep told CNN before the decision to land.
The weather then became a larger factor as thunderstorms moved in.
[B]"Fareed said it was hailing and snowing on them," said Schliep. "They got real concerned about that. They wanted to get down."
After attempting a first landing, the balloonists brought their craft down in a farmer's field.[/B]
Schliep, who operates an appliance service in Bend, helped Couch construct the rig.
"We would put it together, keep making changes and take it apart," he said. "It was very exciting and fun to do. It's just disappointing at this stage."
The flyers used balloons and the release of water to control their flight. "The only way you can steer it is to get up or down to get in different air currents," according to Schliep.
After the rough landing Saturday, the rig took off again, sans adventurers. Knowles described the surreal sight while talking with CNN.
"It's sitting at about 4,000 (feet) and not going anywhere," he said.
According to the team's website, Lafta and Couch plan to launch a cluster balloon craft to raise awareness of the plight of Iraqi orphans later this year. Knowles said he did not know the status of the Baghdad flight.
[img]http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120715032714-lawn-chair-balloon-flight-story-top.jpg[/img][/quote]
Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/14/us/oregon-lawn-chair-balloon/index.html?hpt=us_c2[/url]
It would be scary as fuck to be 11000ft high in a lawn chair. ._.
Correction: 4000ft. Still scary though.
North Pacific Coast weather called. It's wants its fun back.
Kinda reminds me of a Brazilian Priest that made something similar some years ago.
[img]http://www.esbde.com.br/pagina/Noticias/N07%20Adelir%20de%20Carli/Padre%202.jpg[/img]
Anyone remember that episode of Malcolm in the Middle?
[img]http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Reese-malcolm-in-the-middle-657990_698_470.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=mogofevilis;36783184]Kinda reminds me of a Brazilian Priest that made something similar some years ago.
[img]http://www.esbde.com.br/pagina/Noticias/N07%20Adelir%20de%20Carli/Padre%202.jpg[/img][/QUOTE]
Didn't he die?
He did. :(
It would be a cool way to do some DIY skydiving
[QUOTE=Richy19;36783386]It would be a cool way to do some DIY skydiving[/QUOTE]
I definitely would trust a DIY parachute.
And then it flies over the ocean
Nice to see my state's still only newsworthy for things like this.
[QUOTE=TheLolrus;36784552]Nice to see my state's still only newsworthy for things like this.[/QUOTE]
About 30 minutes ago an Oregon number called my house but I didn't answer because I knew it wouldn't be interesting
[QUOTE=mogofevilis;36783295]He did. :([/QUOTE]
Did he die from the chair?
[QUOTE=TheLolrus;36784552]Nice to see my state's still only newsworthy for things like this.[/QUOTE]
Just wait until November when we vote on the cannabis legalization bill...
Only in my state would someone decide to do this idea. I've been going to Portland a lot more recently since my friends are all finally turning 21. Portland is fucking weird as shit.
[QUOTE=Mr. Smartass;36784764]Did he die from the chair?[/QUOTE]
No, It was probably from the Balloons... or lack of Balloons.
"On July 4, 2008, the lower part of his body (waist and legs) was found by an offshore oilrig support vessel. It was floating on the sea, about 100 km from Macaé, and it was initially identified by the clothing. On July 29, 2008, DNA tests confirmed that it belonged to Adelir de Carli. The comparison was made with DNA samples from the priest's brother."
yikes.
Mythbusters did this in one of their earlier episodes, with weather balloons.
[QUOTE=Higginz511;36785135]No, It was probably from the Balloons... or lack of Balloons.
"On July 4, 2008, the lower part of his body (waist and legs) was found by an offshore oilrig support vessel. It was floating on the sea, about 100 km from Macaé, and it was initially identified by the clothing. On July 29, 2008, DNA tests confirmed that it belonged to Adelir de Carli. The comparison was made with DNA samples from the priest's brother."
yikes.[/QUOTE]
How do you fuck up so bad that you get ripped in half
how
I'm more sad that he landed in oregon.
[QUOTE=Mr. Smartass;36785801]How do you fuck up so bad that you get ripped in half
how[/QUOTE]
looks like he had a harness
I remember a exerpt of newspaper used in an english exam I took was about some guy who crossed the english channel over to france in a DIY armchair balloon, sounds awesome but incredibly scary too.
[QUOTE=Mr. Smartass;36785801]How do you fuck up so bad that you get ripped in half
how[/QUOTE]
He got blown off course straight into a storm.
I figure it has something to do with strong gusts of wind.
[QUOTE=Mr. Smartass;36785801]How do you fuck up so bad that you get ripped in half
how[/QUOTE]
Maybe he used one of those shitty foldable lawn chairs that snap back instantly as soon as you apply more than 1N of force to them.
[b]God I hate those fucking chairs so much[/b]
[QUOTE=Edthefirst;36786480]He got blown off course straight into a storm.
I figure it has something to do with strong gusts of wind.[/QUOTE]
That must be a hell of a sight.
Should've gone with the inflatable pants instead, as long as they didn't stir up an angry mob they'd be set
What a waste of helium. It's a scarce resource already and we need it for industrial and medical applications.
[QUOTE=demoguy08;36794677]What a waste of helium. It's a scarce resource already and we need it for industrial and medical applications.[/QUOTE]
We have nuclear power, the savior of everything! :downs:
I thought someone bumped a Balloon Boy thread from 2-3 years ago. lol.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
