One day, Larry had a bright idea. He decided to fly. He went to the local Army-Navy surplus store and purchased 45 weather balloons and several tanks of helium. When filled, the balloons would measure more than four feet across. Back home, Larry securely strapped the balloons to his sturdy lawn chair. He anchored the chair to the bumper of his jeep and inflated the balloons with the helium. He climbed on for a test. Satisfied it would work, Larry packed several sandwiches, some drinks and his gun. Larry figured he could pop a couple of balloons when it was time to descend. Larry's plan was to lazily float up to a height of about 30 feet above his backyard after severing the anchor and in a few hours come back down. Things didn't quite work out that
way.

When he cut down the chord anchoring his lawn chair to his car, Larry didn't float up to 30 feet. Instead he streaked into the Los Angeles sky as if shot from a cannon. He didn't level off at 30 feet, nor did he level off at 100 feet. After climbing and climbing, he levelled off at a height of 16,000 feet. At this height, Larry didn't risk shooting any of the balloons, lest he unbalance the load and really find himself in trouble.So he stayed there drifting, cold and frightened, for
more than 14 hours.

Than he really came into trouble. Larry found himself drifting into the primary approach corridor of the Los Angeles International Airport. A pilot first spotted Larry. He radioed the tower and told them he had seen a guy in a lawn chair with a gun. Radar confirmed the existence of an object floating 16,000 feet above the airport. Emergency procedures swung into full alert and a helicopter
was dispatched to investigate. At this time, Larry was already floating over the ocean. Several miles out, the helicopter caught up with Larry. Once the crew determined Larry was not dangerous, they lowered a rescueline to save him.

As soon as Larry was hauled to earth, he was arrested by the police for violating the airspace. As he was led away in handcuffs, a reporter asked Larry why he had done it. "A man can't just sit around," Larry Walters replied.