What could possibly go wrong?

[n2doc]

Oregon man prepares to pilot lawn chair over Baghdad
November 4, 2011 | 2:51 pm


Some men see lawn chairs in the sky and ask, "Why?" Some, though, imagine attaching the chairs to hundreds of balloons, strapping themselves in the seat, donning oxygen masks and flying straight over Baghdad.

Kent Couch, who runs a gas station in Bend, Ore., is such a man. Couch boarded a flight to the Middle East on Thursday, setting out on an adventure that involves becoming the first lawn chair balloonist to traverse the now-more-or-less peaceful skies over Iraq -- and raise money for Iraqi children.

"Americans and Iraqi civilians working together to accomplish a goal, to do a dream," Couch told the Associated Pressbefore his rather traditional passenger jet liftoff from Medford, Ore.

Couch plans to join Iraqi extreme sport enthusiast Fareed Lafta, who has said he hopes (later) to become Iraq's first man in space. The two men are scheduled to lift off in tandem Nov. 15 from Baghdad's Green Zone on lawn chairs fitted with some 300 balloons and soar over Iraq at 25,000 feet for 24 hours -- enough to set a new world record in the arcane field of cluster ballooning.

more
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/11/lawn-chair-balloon-baghdad-iraq.html

[lonestarnot]

1. ROFLMAO

:rofl:

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. Crazy doesn't even begin to describe it! nt

[sarge43]

3. What could go wrong?

Don't think anyone can count that high.

[mistertrickster]

4. Why are they going so high? 5,000 feet would be plenty high.

It's going to be freezing cold up there.

[Horse with no Name]

5. Will you be so kind to post the follow-up thread

for two reasons.

#1. Nominate for the Darwin Awards.

#2. Send condolences to the family.

[roguevalley]

7. I think someone in Oregon has already done this. By the way,

I was raised nearby to Medford and that town is full of NEVER SAY DIE!-ers. GO, MAN, GO!

[hunter]

6. I hope he's got his tourist visas lined up.

It would be a bummer to be held hostage as a spy somewhere.

But even a valid visa won't stop people from shooting at UFO's.

[Electric Monk]

8. Funny, that's the exact same thing I said when I posted this in LBN on Friday

Verbatim.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5049273

[Drew Richards]

9. What could go wrong? well lets see they stray into Iran and get shot down maybe?