How to Fly a Lawn Chair
Flying a lawn chair sounds comedic at first, almost a laughable action; however, it has been accomplished. Not only has it been done before, two people have flown lawn chairs and lived to tell the tale. It was done in 1982 by "Lawn Chair Larry" and more recently by Kent Couch. If you would like to give this a go, follow the guide below.
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Things You'll Need
- Warm Clothes
- Sturdy lawn chair that can support your body weight
- 100-200 large helium-filled weather balloons
- 120-220 pieces of varied lengths of rope
- 20 one-gallon jugs filled with water
- Parachute
- Radio
- BB Gun
Instructions
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1
If you plan to fly a lawn chair, be sure to dress warmly and prepare yourself. Depending on how high you plan to go, it gets colder and colder and you will be more and more vulnerable to wind. Make sure you have a radio with which to communicate with people on the ground if anything goes wrong. Keep a parachute with you in case you have to abandon your chair should an emergency arise.
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2
Purchase a lawn chair that can easily support at least 300 pounds. The chair needs to be comfortable, assuming you will be sitting in it for a long time. Make sure you have tested out the chair and are comfortable with it before you take off, as adjusting the chair or your position could be dangerous in midair.
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3
One by one, securely fasten the varied lengths of rope to the balloons. Rope that is used to tie the balloons needs to be in varied lengths, starting at eight feet and going up to 20 feet. The lengths need to be different so there is enough room for all the balloons. The balloons you have purchased should be weather balloons, and once filled with helium should weigh approximately five pounds. A good place to find these balloons would be at a military supply store. Make sure the ropes are nice and tight so they don't release helium from the balloons unexpectedly.
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4
Anchor the chair so that it will not float away with any amount of balloons you possess. A good anchor would be a vehicle of some kind. Secure it to your car or truck, attaching it to the underside of the car, before securing all 100 to 200 balloons to the chair, making sure each piece of rope is secured tightly to the chair and won't come untied.
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5
Distribute all the water jugs evenly across the bottom of the chair by attaching them with rope. These 20 water jugs must be secured before launch! They will act as ballasts (or weights) to keep the chair from floating too high.
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6
Take your seat and release the anchor for takeoff.
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7
When you are ready to descend and land, use your BB gun to shoot enough balloons that you start to descend slowly.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure you have people monitoring you in case something goes wrong, and of course get proper flight permission to be in the air over the space in which you plan on traveling.
Make sure you don't do this project alone. Have a buddy, preferably a scientist or professor of aviation, examine your craft and flight plan.
Don't rush anything, its better to be safe than sorry. Take special caution to ensure Steps 3 and 4 are done correctly.
Don't fly over any areas that will be dangerous to land in, such as a canyon.
Get proper permissions and don't go near heavily populated areas as you might cause panic and face charges.
