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July 15, 2012 7:18 AM
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Lawn-chair balloonists' flight cut short
top photo from below website:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57472535/lawn-chair-balloonists-flight-cut-short/
Thunderstorms halt lawn chair balloon flight
Iraqi adventurer Fareed Lafta, right, and
Bend, Ore., gas station owner Kent Couch lift off Saturday from Couch's
gas station in Bend, Ore., as they attempt to fly some 360 miles to
Montana.
By JEFF BARNARD
- Font:
BEND, Ore. — An
Oregon gas station owner and an Iraqi adventurer trying to fly from
Central Oregon to Montana were forced to abort their flight to Montana
on Saturday due to thunderstorms.
About six hours into their flight, Kent Couch and Fareed Lafta
started to descend from an altitude of 10,000 feet because of the
weather, flight organizer Mark Knowles told The Associated Press. The website tracker showed them about five miles south of the town of Prineville, about 30 miles northeast of their starting point. The pair initially floated about 40 miles north before winds sent them back south, then east, the direction they wanted to go.
"Thunderstorms are around them," Knowles said by cellphone. "We've got visual contact. I can't see their faces."
About 90 volunteers and several hundred onlookers counted down and then cheered as the pair lifted off from Couch's Shell gas station. The duo safely cleared a two-story motel, a coffee stand and a light post. They floated about 30 miles north, then winds pushed them back to the south, before sending them to the east, the direction they wanted to go.
"The interesting thing is, anybody can do this," Couch, the veteran of several lawn chair balloon flights, said before the flight. "They don't have to sit on the couch thinking, 'I should have done it.' They can do it."
Lafta, a mountain climber and sky diver, said he had shared Couch's childhood dream of floating like a cloud. He sent Couch an email two winters ago after reading accounts of Couch's earlier flights.
"I want to inspire Iraqis and say we need to defeat terrorists," Lafta said. "We don't need just an Army. We need ideology and to just have fun."
Track the couch balloon flight here
Volunteers filled 350 5-foot diameter red, white, blue and black balloons with helium and tied them to Couch's homemade tandem lawn chair rig. The balloons were arranged in bunches to represent the colors of the U.S. and Iraqi flags. An American flag flew from the bottom of the framework supporting the chairs.
Just before liftoff, they had to ask children in the crowd to return four balloons to provide extra lift.
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"The landings are very tough," Couch said. "I don't think about the landings until I have to land. That's how I do it."
Expecting to float at 15,000-18,000 feet, where temperatures drop to near zero, they packed sleeping bags to stay warm.
Electronic gear was powered by a solar panel. A flare gun was tied onto the framework for emergencies. They also carried the ashes of a family friend to spread over the high desert.
Lance Schliep, an appliance repairman, helped Couch with the latest design, made entirely from items bought at local hardware stores and junk from Couch's garage.
"It's about as redneck as you can get," Couch said.
Couch said their biggest challenge was finding enough helium to fill all the balloons. They sent as far as the Midwest for bottles. Each balloon that popped on inflation represented a $50 loss, but Couch would not divulge the total cost.
The two men hoped to fly through the night across the mountains of Idaho and touch down Sunday morning somewhere in southwestern Montana.
The flight was a warm-up for plans to fly a tandem lawn chair balloon rig in Baghdad sometime in the future.
"My target is to inspire young people, especially in the Mideast," Lafta said. "I want to tell them, 'I didn't give up. Keep standing. Smile. This is the way to defeat terrorists.'"
Couch said receiving Lafta's email in the dead of winter, at a time he was bored, inspired him to go aloft again.
"I never really thought I would do it again," Couch said. "I thought I had had enough excitement.
"I started thinking, it sounds fun. It takes six months after you land for your brain to get over the fear and just the emotions."
Fareed Lafta and Kent Couch (L) lift off from Couch's Stop & Go
Mini Mart in Bend, Oregon, July 14, 2012. The two men, sitting in lawn
chairs tied to a cluster of 350 helium-filled balloons lift-off in a bid
to break the Guinness World Record for the longest two-man cluster
balloon flight. REUTERS/Dan Cook (UNITED STATES - Tags: SOCIETY)
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