Larry Walters

About Larry Walters

Lawrence Richard Walters, nicknamed "Lawnchair Larry" or the "Lawn Chair Pilot", (April 19, 1949 – October 6, 1993) was an American former truckdriver who took flight on July 2, 1982 in a homemade aircraft. The device, dubbed Inspiration I, was fashioned out of a Sears patio chair and 45 helium-filled weather balloons. He rose to an altitude of 16,000 feet (3 miles or 4900 meters) and floated from his point of origin in San Pedro, California into controlled airspace near Long Beach airport. The account of his flight was widely reported in newspapers.

The story goes that Walters had always dreamed of flying but was unable to become a pilot in the United States Air Force due to bad eyesight. He first came up with the idea of using weather balloons to fly at age 13, when seeing them hanging from the ceiling of an Army Navy surplus store. His original plan was to attach a couple of helium-filled weather balloons to his lawnchair, then cut the anchor and float above his backyard at a height of about 30 feet (9.1 m) for a few hours, finally using a pellet gun to pop the balloons one after another to float gently to the ground again.

It was in the early 80s that he finally realized his dream. Walters and his girlfriend, Carol Van Deusen, purchased 45 eight-foot weather balloons and helium tanks at California Toy Time Balloons. To avoid suspicion, they used a forged requisition from his employer, FilmFair Studios, saying the balloons were for a television commercial shoot. Walters then attached the balloons to his lawn chair, filled them with helium, donned a parachute, and strapped himself to the chair. He took with him a pellet gun (with which he intended to shoot the balloons to lower himself), a CB radio, sandwiches, beverages, and a camera. After that, things did not work out as he had planned. When his friends cut the cord that had tied his lawn chair to his Jeep, Walters' lawn chair, which was planned to rise 100 feet (30 m) above the ground, quickly rose to a height of about 3 miles (4.8 km); he did not dare shoot any balloons, fearing that he might unbalance the load. He drifted over Long Beach and crossed the primary approach corridor of Long Beach Airport.