New Heights: Lawn Chair Larry

Everyone has dreams and aspirations, but not many people can say they truly chased after them. Our friend and hero, Larry Walters, chased his dreams. Or rather flew to them.

Born in 1949 in Los Angeles, California, Larry had always dreamed of flying. When it was time to enlist for the US Air Force, Larry learned that his eyesight was just poor enough that he was unable to become a pilot. Bummer. Instead, he served as a cook and a truck driver during the Vietnam War.

By 1982, Larry knew it was time to make his lifelong dream a reality. When he was younger, Walters recalled seeing weather balloons for sale at a local surplus army store. So it started there, with Larry purchasing over 40 weather balloons, helium tanks, water jugs and a lawn chair. Having the support of his good friends and fiancée Carol, Larry got started on building his aircraft. $15,000 later, his helium drawn flight apparatus, aptly named Inspiration One, was ready to soar.

“A man can’t just sit around.”

— Larry Walters

The plan was to take off in Carol’s mother’s backyard in San Pedro. His goal was not to travel too far, as the chair was tethered to his Jeep. He packed his camera, radio, pellet gun, some sandwiches, and a case of beer. Before he could call the FAA to report his flight, a gust of wind disconnected the tether from the Jeep.

Larry soared higher and higher, ultimately reaching 16,000 feet in the sky. The air was thin, the temperature dropped to two degrees Fahrenheit, and two commercial aircrafts already spotted his chair in the sky. The sandwiches were going to have to wait. Larry began losing feeling in his body and the wind was pushing him towards the Pacific Ocean.

“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.”

— Larry Walters on his CB radio

He knew it was time to come down, so Larry grabbed his pellet gun and started shooting the balloons one at a time. Bad luck was on his side once again, as the pellet gun dropped from his hands. Larry, however, did manage to shoot enough balloons to descend rapidly and straight towards an area filled with high voltage power lines. So, to lighten the load and slow down his descent, Larry started pouring the water out of the jugs that balanced his aircraft. Larry ended up running into the power lines, but he survived the crash while knocking out the electricity in Long Beach. It’s unclear if this was pure luck or if the power station had enough notice to turn it off.

When the police arrived to charge him, they had a tough time arresting Larry, since he technically didn’t break any laws. Larry was finally charged $4,000 for operating an aircraft within an airport traffic area without establishing communications with the control tower. Larry ended up appealing to the court and had the it dropped to $1,500 since the original charge did not apply to the type of aircraft he had. Such is the price of fulfilling your dreams.

From the team at Basement, be like Larry and keep on dreaming and soaring to new heights.