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Balloon Man's Amazing Journey
He flew halfway across Oregon using only helium balloons
Last July, Kent Couch, a gas station owner from Bend, Oregon tied 105 helium-filled balloons to a lawn chair and took off.
It was beautiful; it was a dream.
For 9 hours and 193 miles, it was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. But with dangerous conditions ahead, he had to cut short his goal of reaching Idaho and landed his homemade aircraft. As he told us last year, “I just grabbed my knees and tat in rolls.”
Couch was safe on the ground, but a gust of wind took his chair and with it, thousands of dollars of equipment, including the video camera that had documented the flight.
“It was a successful landing, but not a successful day truly, because I lost my gear.” Then earlier this month, what was lost was found, the chair, the cellphone, GPS and most importantly, the camera. All rediscovered by ranchers on their property just 13 miles from where he landed, and that video is simply stunning.
“..no airplane, I was just sitting on a lawn chair and balloon.”
Floating above airplanes.
Gorgeous views of all the bottom, “I’m at 10,000 feet, 25 m/h,” Couch had a tour guide to the skies.
"It's hurtling, Jefferson." And you even get to see how he flew. He cut off or popped the balloons when he got too high, let the helium out and others, accidentally inhaling some of the helium at one point.
A ride out of a childhood fantasy, and now, the video to prove it, “enjoy a view there?” “Yes, beautiful!”
And here he is with us in the steel and concrete mountains of New York City. Kent Couch, it’s so great to see you again. It must have been stunning when you got the call, when they had the video, they found your chair.
Oh, I was excited; I thought I would never find it again. I was sure it was gone.
Yeah, It seemed to be after all that time.
Alright, I wanna take a look again for everybody who missed the first time at this little vehicle that you put together? Show us again how you did it. You sat, you sat in and strapped yourself in?
You see, but I just, no, you don’t have to strap yourself in, it’s a pretty comfortable lawn (chair) it is, you’re not really gonna go anywhere.
Right.
Yeah.
And this was your camera?
That was the footage I'd lost. (Right) I kind of set it up, panoramic.
And how many balloons did you have to have lift you off the ground?
Well, I had 105, I wanted a few extras and that gave me the lift I needed.
Okay, now, show us how the helium worked and you would released a little of the helium.
Well, you can grab a balloon, ah, grab a balloon, say, just let it out, (Right) and you can float it through the .
Can I hold it for you? All right!
I have got fingernailes here!
Can I say that everybody at home do not try this, this is serious.
So, if you want to let out a little bit, you do that. You can just let it out, take it in, if you want to do it.
Kind of I fetch your voice a little bit.
..........
I can let it out and come down a little ways if the weather permit it.
And how far do you want to go?
Well, I definitely gonna make it to Idaho this time, hopefully, two, three or four hundred miles.
Can you do anything differently?
Well, I got a few plans. I’ve got GPS tracking on the chair and myself, and more balloons, more water for a ballast.
Yep. And more food?
Yeah, I’ll take a few more snacks along.
Alright, well, take us with you.
Cut short: =reduce
