lemaire@coevax.DEC (Jim the Slaabsnaab DTN 264-5838) (08/12/84)
> Last week I was flying from BWI to Cumberland, MD on a local commuter. >This being a twin-prop 9-seater with the pilot and I aboard, I asked if I >could watch the flight from the right front seat. (your pardon if I use >the wrong terms here, I don't have a license). > > Anywho, we're flying along when the pilot tells me this story about >some guy that tied a whole bunch of helium baloons to a lawn chair and took >along a BB gun to pop the baloons. He tells me the guy got over 10,000 feet. > > This story is either true or the biggest whopper I've ever heard. >Anyone know which? > >Mark Becker >...sbcs!bnl!mbeck Sure, I remember when that was in the news. Some guy wanted to go x-country on his lawn chair. His plan was to get up into the jet stream and then just go along like a conventional balloon. I heard he reached 17,000 feet. He made the news because commercial air liner pilots sighted him and the USAF sent some aircraft to check him out. He eventually used the BB gun to pop the balloons because he got bored and thought he wasn't getting anywhere. I think he's pretty lucky he didn't do something when he was at 17,000 feet and bound to be suffering from anoxia. He wasn't nuts, though- he wore a parachute. Jim Lemaire decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-coevax!lemaire