1982
Falklands War | Mark Thatcher Disappears | Delorean Car factory | John Belushi | Rubik's Cube | Flying Man | Palace intruder | CDs | Thriller | Mary RoseMan flies 16,000 feet sitting on a lawn chair propelled by helium balloons
Larry Walters had always wanted to fly, but bad eyesight had prevented him from fulfilling his dream of becoming a pilot.
Even so, on July 2 1982 he managed to realise his ambition by tying 45 helium filled weather balloons to a garden chair and taking off from the garden of his girlfriend's house in Long Beach California.
He climbed to 16,000 feet and alarmed several passing planes before shooting a few balloons away and drifting down to ground level again.
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