Man 'flies' in his deckchair

[Jon H]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid ... w=bb&mp=wm

"Anybody would want to do it..."!

[spitfire boy]

I've always loved a cool summer's evening, with wispy cumulus clouds scattered over your head, set against a beautiful cobalt blue sky, and you just lie there on the grass, eating, drinking, chatting, as the last glowing rays of the sun bathe you in a warm contentfulness, and you just wonder how there could be anything wrong with the world.

However, this seems like rather an extreme way of enjoying said summer's evening...

[RitterKreuz]

there was a guy out in California that did this some years ago. -illegally

if you do it in controlled settings - great

if you dont; air traffic controllers have to vector arrivals and departures around the airspace intruder, if a plane doesn't collide with the guy first killing the ballooner and potentially killing a plane load of passengers/crew.

technically anything you build that has the intent to carry a person into the air would be a homebuilt aircraft and would be regulated by the FAA (in the US) the "pilot" would probably face prison time or heavy fines for violating dozens of regulations... engaging in flight without a pilot's license, entering controlled airspace without a clearance, failure to observe air navigation right of way rules and probably a dozen more busted regs... in this circumstance - i would not recommend it  ;D

[Xyn_Air]

That video said he reached an altitude of 12,000 feet (I watched twice to make certain I heard them correctly)!  :o  If you look at him taking off, it does not seem he is wearing much in the way of warm clothing, let alone protective gear.  Could that possibly be correct?  I would have thought 12,000 feet to be a bit, ahem, uncomfortable if you are just riding around in a lawn chair wearing nothing but a long-sleeve T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and some hiking boots, especially for the nine hours his flight was to have lasted.