As preposterous as this story sounds, every word of it is true.
Lawrence Richard “Larry” Walters had always dreamt of becoming a pilot. He tried to enter flight training with the U.S. Air Force but was thwarted by crappy eyesight.
Larry eventually ended up serving as a cook during the Vietnam War. After his discharge, he took a job as a truck driver. Throughout it all, however, Larry Walters still really wanted to fly.
A Dream Fulfilled
At age 33, Larry purchased 45 weather balloons from a local military surplus store. With the able assistance of his girlfriend, Carol Van Deusen, he lashed 42 of these to a lawn chair and filled them with helium. They assembled this improvised flying machine in Carol’s mother’s backyard. Carol’s mom was obviously away on business or some such.
They had thoroughly schemed out the details. Larry packed a CB radio, two liters of Coca-Cola, a camera, sandwiches, a pellet rifle, and a six-pack of beer. His plan, such as it was, involved using the pellet gun to deflate balloons as needed when it was time to descend. On July 2, 1982, Larry donned a parachute and climbed aboard.
They had secured the rig to the bumper of Larry’s Jeep. However, the lashing unexpectedly broke, and the machine rocketed upward like prunes through a toddler. For good or for ill, Larry Walters was now flying.
Breaker, Breaker…
Realizing things were going pear-shaped fast, Larry fired up his CB radio and contacted REACT (Radio Emergency Associated Communication Teams). This was the monitored CB emergency channel 9 set up to assist motorists in extremis. REACT exchanges were recorded.
REACT: What information do you wish me to tell [the airport] at this time as to your location and your difficulty?
Larry: 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.
In a shockingly brief period of time, Larry found himself clinging to a lawn chair 16,000 feet above the ground.
16,000 feet is a heck of a long way up. It’s actually tough to breathe at that altitude. Anything above 10,000 feet is also positively-controlled airspace. Larry eventually drifted past LAX and was spotted by two passing airliners. I can only imagine how that Air Traffic Control conversation went.
It’s Time to Do Some of That Pilot Stuff, Mav…
After 45 minutes of this, Larry wisely felt it was time to call it a day. He burst several of the balloons with his pellet gun, taking care not to unbalance things unduly. However, in all the excitement, he also accidentally dropped his pellet rifle. There was just so much he could do to influence his situation with a couple of sandwiches and some beer. Tragically, Larry forgot all about his camera.
Larry’s contraption did eventually descend. He settled across a set of power lines in Long Beach after traversing about 14 miles. His ignominious landing knocked out power to the entire neighborhood for about 20 minutes. Larry, for his part, was miraculously unscathed.
Decisions Have Consequences
The Long Beach Police Department arrested poor Larry as soon as he climbed out of his lawn chair. FAA inspector Neal Savoy stated, “We know he broke some part of the Federal Aviation Act, and as soon as we decide which part it is, some type of charge will be filed. If he had a pilot’s license, we’d suspend that, but he doesn’t.”
Larry was fined $4,000 but appealed. His fine was subsequently reduced to $1,500. I wasn’t there, but I strongly suspect that the judge quietly thought Larry was awesome.
Ten days later, Larry Walters appeared on “Late Night with David Letterman.” He quit his job as a truck driver and began touring as a motivational speaker. However, there wasn’t a great deal of money in that.
The Rest of the Story
I wish our tale ended there, but it doesn’t. Larry eventually broke up with Carol and occupied himself doing volunteer work for the U.S. Forest Service.
He made ends meet as a part-time security guard. On October 6, 1993, Larry Walters tragically took his own life. He was 44 years old. I suppose that, after riding a lawn chair suspended underneath a bunch of weather balloons to an altitude of 16,000 feet, the world had very little left to offer him.
Larry Walters was a stud of the highest order. What stones that must have taken. His battered, electrocuted lawn chair now resides in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. I hate to admit it, but that guy is my hero.