A Man Flew in a Chair Tied to 42 Balloons.
In 1982,American truck driver Larry Walters realized his childhood dream of flying!
He strapped 42 helium-filled balloons to a lawn chair and soared to an altitude of 4,880 meters.
This caused chaos at Los Angeles Airport and led to the cancellation of several flights; furthermore, during his descent, he became entangled in power lines, severing them and causing a blackout across most of the northern suburbs of Los Angeles.
He was fined after landing, and when police asked him why he had committed such a reckless act,Walters replied with his famous line:
"A man can't just sit around."
Sources :
1\. Larry Walters; Soared to Fame on Lawn Chair — Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-24-mn-60236-story.html
2\. How the Balloon-Borne “Flying Lawn Chair” Got Into the Smithsonian — Smithsonian Magazine https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/flying-lawn-chair-180972974/
3\. Chair, Lawn, Larry Walters — Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/chair-lawn-larry-walters/nasm_A20181388000
4\. Lawnchair Larry: The Man Who Ascended 16,000 ft in a Chair Tied to Helium Balloons — Guinness World Records https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/5/lawnchair-larry-the-man-who-ascended-16000-ft-in-a-chair-tied-to-helium-balloons
5\. FAA Historical Chronology: Civil Aviation and the Federal Government, 1926–1996 — U.S. Department of Transportation https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/37596/dot_37596_DS1.pdf