Lawnchair Larry: The Man Who Soared with Balloons

0:00 Hey everyone, and welcome back to the podcast, where we dive into the most outrageous, bizarre, and downright hilarious stories from the world of real life adventures and history. Today, I've got a story for you that will make you look at your backyard lawn chair in a whole new way. That's right. Today, we're talking about lawn chair Larry, a man who decided that the best way to get some altitude wasn't in an airplane, but from the comfort of his own lawn chair. Nineteen eighty two was a year full of iconic pop culture moments, technological advancements, and trends that shape the early eighties.

0:38 Michael Jackson's Thriller album was released in November nineteen eighty two. Thriller became an instant classic with songs like Billy Jean, Beat It and Thriller Itself. John Cougar Mellencamp had a huge hit with a little ditty called Jack and Diane, helping Mellencamp rise to stardom. Survivors I of the Tiger, this anthem, known for being featured in Rocky three, was everywhere and to this day. Conjure's visions of how someone can overcome anything and win. Duran Duran, the British band was gaining major traction with their new wave hits like Hungry Like the Wolf.

1:17 But let's get back to lawn Chair Larry, which when I heard this story, it reminded me of the horrible video game from nineteen eighty seven, leisure Suit Larry, but it has nothing to do with it. Lawnchair Larry legally is Larry Walters, and he is living in San Pedro, California, in nineteen eighty two, and like many people, he had dreams of flight. The only problem he had horrible vision problems, so he wasn't able to be a pilot. He wasn't a scientist, and he didn't have an engineering degree. But Larry had something else, a lot of ambition and a healthy disregard for conventional safety practices.

1:56 Larry found himself in the career of a truck driver, but for years, despite his vision issues, he had a burning desire to fly. So instead of giving up on his dream, Larry thought, why not just build my own way into the sky. He first thought of using weather balloons to fly at age thirteen, after seeing them hanging from the ceiling of a military surplus store. And that's exactly what he did. He went to a local surplus store, bought forty five weather balloons and some helium tanks from California toy time balloons.

2:32 He filled forty two balloons, although Larry himself sometimes quoted forty three in interviews. He attached them to none other than wait for it, a lawn chair he bought at Sears. If anyone remembers the lawn chairs of the eighties, it was one of the ones that had strips of plastic vinyl woven together with a metal frame. And I believe he paid one hundred nine dollars for it. Yep. Larry's plan was simple, tie the balloons to the chair, sit in it, and float up into the air. The idea was, once he reached about one thousand feet, he'd pop a few balloons to descend back down safely.

3:08 How was he going to do this? A BB gun? You must imagine it was probably a red Rider BB gun. Do you think it would be a nice controlled little flight? What could go wrong? Right? So, on July second, nineteen eighty two, Larry gets everything ready. He sets up his flight station in his backyard. He's got his parachute, his supplies, even a six pack of beer for the ride, because you know, why not. And then the moment arrives, he releases the helium into the balloons and up he goes. But this is where things went horribly wrong, Like we can't imagine they would have gone right.

3:44 Larry didn't just float to a casual one thousand feet, Oh no, he shot up like a rocket, way higher than he anticipated, to the point where he ended up at a mind blowing sixteen thousand feet in the air, three miles up, higher than most commercial airliners. At that point, Larry quickly realized he wasn't quite in control of his situation. He was strapped to a lawn chair with a bunch of balloons tied to it. He couldn't steer it, couldn't slow it down. But because Larry was a man of action, he didn't panic right away.

4:19 He just floated serenely high above Los Angeles until well, things started getting a little complicated. He drifted straight into the flight path of Los Angeles International Airport. Yeah, that was a problem. Air traffic controllers understandably freaked out. They thought it was some kind of rogue aircraft, and it took a moment for them to realize it was just a man in a lawn chair floating casually across the sky. You can imagine how that conversation went right. So Larry's up there, totally unaware of the chaos he's causing on the ground as he floats over lax and he's just minding his own business, and he realizes he needs to decide how to get down safely.

5:05 His only choice he has to shoot a few balloons. He had a great fear of causing things to become unbalanced, but he successfully shoots several of the balloons. They start deflating, and that's when he begins his descent. Except now Larry's not just going to land softly. Oh no, no, He ends up tangled in a power line, and I mean tangled. Luckily, Larry wasn't seriously hurt, but let's be clear, this was one way to make an entrance. Eventually, ground crews were able to help him out. Walters was immediately arrested by waiting members of the Long Beach Police Department.

5:43 Regional Safety Inspector Neil Savoy was reported to have said, we know he broke some part of the federal Aviation Act, and as soon as we decide which part it is, some type of charge will be filed. If he had a pilot's license, we'd suspend that, but he doesn't. Walt initially was fined four thousand dollars for violations under US federal aviation regulations, including operating an aircraft within an airport traffic area without establishing and maintaining two way communications with the control tower.

6:15 Walters appealed and the fine was reduced to one thousand, five hundred dollars a charge of operating a civil aircraft for which there is not currently in effect. An airworthiness certificate was dropped as it was not applicable to his class of aircraft. Just after landing, Walters spoke to the press, saying it was something I had to do. I had this dream for twenty years and if I had not done it, I think I would have ended up in the funny farm. He also said, since I was thirteen years old, I've dreamed of going up into the clear blue sky in a weather balloon.

6:51 By the grace of God, I fulfilled my dream, but I would not do this again for anything. The aircraft was dubbed Inspiration on lawn Chair Larry was awarded the title of at Risk Survivor in the nineteen ninety three Darwin Awards. Regardless of the risk and peril, Lawnchair Larry survived and Larry Walters became a legend. He got a taste of the sky and for him it was worth the chaos and the risk. He did not get the fame or recognition he expected, but he became a symbol, a symbol of doing whatever it takes to chase your dream, even if that dream involves sitting in a lawn chair and flying up into the heavens.

7:30 The moral of the story, well, maybe it's something like dream big, but maybe have a backup plan or never underestimate the power of helium balloons and a clever idea. No matter how reckless it seems. Either way, I think we can all agree lawn Chair Larry's story will live on as one of the most hilarious and wildly ambitious attempts to reach the sky in history. That is it for today's episode of Strange History. I hope you enjoyed the wild of lawn Chair Larry's high flying escapade. If you have got your own crazy stories or know of any others we should cover, hit me up on social media, or drop me an email.

8:09 Who knows, maybe one day we will be telling your adventure. Thanks for listening, and remember, whatever your dream is, you never know when a lawn chair and a couple of weather balloons could take you places you never imagined. Until next time, keep adventuring.