On July 2, 1982, Lawrence Richard Walters did what poor eyesight had stopped him from doing through normal ways. The southern California truck driver attached 42 helium-filled weather balloons to an aluminum lawn chair and took off into the sky above San Pedro. What should have been a gentle rise to about 30 feet turned into a wild flight that reached 16,000 feet.
Walters had been planning this flight for years. After his dreams of becoming an Air Force pilot were crushed because of poor vision, he never gave up his wish to fly. He bought the weather balloons and helium tanks with his girlfriend, then built his aircraft using a Sears lawn chair, water jugs for weight, a pellet gun to control his way down, a parachute, and a CB radio. He also packed beer and sandwiches for what he hoped would be a relaxing trip across the desert.
According to Guinness World Records, the flight went wrong right away. Instead of floating at 30 feet, Walters shot upward at about 1,000 feet per minute. He quickly found himself drifting into the path of planes coming into Los Angeles International Airport. While the situation would become every insurance company’s worst nightmare, Walters stayed surprisingly calm. He used his CB radio to call for help, and people on the ground kept talking to him throughout the flight. A TWA pilot reported seeing a man in a lawn chair at 16,000 feet holding a gun.
What happened during the descent
Walters managed to shoot out several balloons to start coming down, but then dropped his pellet gun before he could shoot out more. Without his main way of controlling his height, he was stuck in the air. The helium slowly began leaking on its own, and he came down over 90 minutes. While actors often have professionals perform dangerous stunts for them, Walters had no backup plan.
In 1982, a man tied 42 helium balloons to a lawn chair and soared to 16,000 feet. He packed sandwiches, a pellet gun, and a dream. pic.twitter.com/qojcjolC3r
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) August 4, 2025
His landing was rough. The ropes from his balloons got caught in power lines in Long Beach, cutting off electricity in the area. The chair was hanging about five feet off the ground when Walters finally stepped down to waiting police officers.
When a reporter asked why he made such a risky flight, Walters answered simply, “A man can’t just sit around.” The Federal Aviation Administration was not happy. They arrested Walters and later charged him with flying an aircraft near an airport without talking to the control tower. The original fine of $4,000 was cut down to $1,500.
His stunt got him on the Tonight Show and Late Night With David Letterman, and an honorable mention from the Darwin Awards. But his later years were hard. His try at being a motivational speaker did not work out, and after giving away his famous lawn chair, he mostly stayed out of public view. Much like other dangerous social media stunts that have ended badly, Walters’ story had a sad ending. In 1993, at age 44, Walters died by suicide in Angeles National Forest.
