Want To Fly Like A Bird? Here's One Man's Solution

Have you ever wanted to fly like a bird? I remember wishing that many times when I was a kid. In later years, my husband purchased a 2-place Alon-Aircoupe and we spent a few years flying around Oregon, but it still didn't satisfy the feeling that I thought a bird might have, flitting here and there, facing the wind for a while and then turning so the wind was at my back, being tossed by gentle winds, and most of all, just enjoying perfect solitude.

Well, a guy in Bend, Oregon has come close. He is the man who made news last year and the year before by taking off in a lawn chair supported by balloons. Talk about having guts. Both previous trips fell short of his goal to fly out of the state.

Kent Couch, the lawn chair pilot was well prepared when he left this morning. A skilled sky-diver, he made sure he packed a parachute, along with instruments to make sure he could lower himself at will. He carried his trusty Red Ryder BB gun for popping balloons, a blowgun with darts, and a hook for pulling in the 5-foot diameter balloons.

Communication devices included a satellite phone and a GPS System so he wasn't taking any chances of sailing off into the blue forever.

His flight destination is McCall, Idaho, a trip of about 230 miles so, at 20 miles per hour, he figures to make it in
a little over 10 hours.

Hey, folks, maybe this is our solution to high gas prices.

For a picture of Kent Couch taking off in his new-fangled contraption and more details about his flight see the following link.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/man-takes-off-in-balloon-lawn-chair/20080705122409990001

UPDATE: A reporter tracking Kent Couch for the Oregonian newspaper says he landed safely near Cambridge, Idaho, on Saturday afternoon.