Lawn Chair Balloonist Rides Again

Buck Wolf emailed this morning to alert me that wacky Oregonian Kent Couch is set to blast off again in his balloon-powered lawn chair to float 300 miles (as the furniture flies) from Bend to Boise this holiday weekend.

Mr. Couch accomplished a similar feat one year ago, drifting at an average altitude of 11,000 feet and a speed of about 22 miles per hour to a soft landing near the city of La Grande, Oregon, 193 miles to the east of the launch site in Bend. That trip was inspired, he said, by the story of California truck driver Larry Walters, whose 1982 flight in a chair tethered to 45 helium-filled weather balloons became so notorious it spawned an urban legend.

If you live nearby and want to catch the take-off, show up July 5 at 6 a.m. PST at the Stop & Go Mini-Mart in Bend. Alternatively, you can track the flight from start to finish on Couch's website, www.couchballoons.com.