Can a Bunch of Balloons Tied to a Lawn Chair Really Lift Me Into the Sky?

How high up can I get with a lawn chair and balloons?

You refer, of course, to the endeavor known formally as cluster ballooning, in which some yahoo (or, these days, maybe actually a trained pilot) slips the surly bonds of earth in a manner pioneered by the storied aviator Curious George. As that good little monkey and his followers have discovered, grab hold of enough helium balloons and it's up, up, and away. How far up? A couple of folks have topped 20,000 feet, a full-on airliner altitude requiring both Federal Aviation Administration permission and the use of supplemental oxygen.

Some argue that the modern practice of cluster ballooning traces its roots not to Curious George but to "Lawn Chair Larry" Walters, a California truck driver who, one day in 1982, outfitted a standard-issue patio chair with a few dozen helium-filled weather balloons. What happened was he zoomed up to 16,000 feet, drifted into controlled airspace, and, after taking out a few balloons with a pellet gun, ultimately crashed into some power lines, causing a blackout in Long Beach. So, in other words, big success.

The "sport" has come a long way since. The two marquee names in cluster ballooning these days are John Ninomiya and Jonathan Trappe. Ninomiya has more than twenty years' experience flying conventional hot-air balloons, and the license and certification to back it up. Trappe, too, is an FAA-certified pilot with a specific rating for ballooning. Typically they operate with full ground crews, who help inflate between fifty and 150 beefy, oversize helium balloons, spot for the pilot while he's airborne, and position themselves to assist in a safe landing. These legit pilots know the rules and how to control their improvised aircraft—and they do not take flight in or on patio loungers, La-Z-Boys, futons, ottomans, gout stools, chaise longues, fainting couches, davenports, Eames chairs, or other household furnishings.

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