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.
