On July 2, 1982, a truck driver named Larry Walters took off from a backyard in San Pedro, California. He did not pilot an airplane or a helicopter. Instead, he sat in an aluminum patio chair attached to 45 helium-filled weather balloons. His plan was a low-altitude hover, but physics had other ideas. Within seconds, Walters shot upward at a speed of 1,000 feet (305 meters) per minute. This specific event marks one of the most bizarre unauthorized entries into controlled airspace in aviation history.
Preparation of the Homemade Airship
Walters and his girlfriend, Carol Van Deusen, purchased 45 eight-foot (2.4-meter) surplus weather balloons and helium tanks. They attached the balloons to a Sears lawn chair named “Inspiration I.” Walters packed supplies for the trip. His inventory included sandwiches, cold beer, a CB radio, a camera, and a pellet gun.
He intended to use the gun to shoot balloons and control his altitude. He strapped himself in with 35-gallon (132-liter) water jugs attached to the chair sides as ballast. At approximately 11:00 a.m., his friends cut the anchor tether.
Into the Freezing Stratosphere
The original flight plan called for a leisurely float at 30 feet (9 meters) while eating sandwiches. However, the lift from the helium clusters proved far stronger than calculated. “Inspiration I” did not hover. It rocketed into the sky. Walters quickly ascended to an altitude of 16,000 feet (4,900 meters). At this height, the oxygen levels dropped, and the temperature plummeted.
He drifted over Long Beach and crossed directly into the primary approach corridor for Long Beach Airport. Two commercial airline pilots from TWA and Delta Airlines spotted the floating lawn chair and radioed the tower. They reported a man sitting in a garden chair at cruising altitude. He used his CB radio to contact REACT, a citizens band emergency monitoring organization. He stated, “This is Inspiration I. I have an emergency situation.” The operator struggled to understand the nature of the aircraft.
The Dangerous Descent and Landing
Walters feared he might drift out to sea. He finally gathered the nerve to shoot several balloons with his pellet gun to initiate a descent. After shooting a few, he accidentally dropped the gun overboard. The chair slowly lost altitude. As he approached the ground in a residential neighborhood of Long Beach, the dangling cables of his balloon cluster entangled with high-voltage power lines.
The copper tether wires short-circuited the grid. This caused a 20-minute blackout for the surrounding area. Emergency crews had to cut the power to safely retrieve him. Walters climbed down from the suspended chair uninjured.
Federal Consequences and Famous Words
The Long Beach Police Department arrested Walters immediately upon landing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) charged him with violating Federal Aviation Regulations. These charges included operating an aircraft without an airworthiness certificate and establishing a hazard in an airport traffic area.
The FAA initially fined him $4,000 (approximately $13,000 today), though this was later reduced to $1,500. When a reporter asked why he did it, Walters simply replied, “A man can’t just sit around.”