While the global supply & demand dilemma for helium continues to cause concern and the effects of which are felt in the helium ballooning adventure sports, a gas-fuelled flying frenzy took place over the weekend as Kent Couch flew across a US state by helium balloon.
Covering around 235 miles, 48-year-old gas station owner Kent Couch flew a lawn chair rigged with helium-filled balloons across the Oregon desert on Saturday, safely landing in a field in Idaho.
Couch created a sensation in a tiny local farming community, where he touched down safely in a pasture after lifting off from Bend, Oregon and was soon greeted by dozens of people.
Couch covered about 235 miles in about nine hours after lifting off at dawn from his gas station riding in a green lawn chair rigged with an array of more than 150 giant party balloons. Having offloaded his unconventional ballast, Couch got a push from the ground crew so he could clear light poles and soared over a coffee cart and across US Highway 20 into a bright blue sky.
... to continue reading you must be subscribed
