# I attaching weather balloons to body harness a viable means of air travel? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-attaching-weather-balloons-to-body-harness-a-viable-means-of-air-travel/324342 "2005-10-01T15:43:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-attaching-weather-balloons-to-body-harness-a-viable-means-of-air-travel/324342/1 "2005-10-01T15:43:44Z")
[Get a nice automobile seat like this with seat belts.](http://www.racing-seats-usa.com/20001.html)[Get weather balloons](http://www.herbach.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=HAR&Product_Code=TM91MIS1939&Category_Code=BW), fill them up, attach them and away you go into the wild blue yonder! Strap a parachute to the back of the seat “just in case” and take along an accurate pistol to pop them to come down, and an [Altimeter GPS radio](http://www.gpscity.com/item-garmin-rino-530-radio-gps/rino530.htm). Is this a viable means of air travel? Assuming you don’t do this in heavily traveled or restricted air spaces, short of power lines what’s to disturb your fun? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-attaching-weather-balloons-to-body-harness-a-viable-means-of-air-travel/324342/2 "2005-10-01T15:47:53Z")
[Lawn chair man.](http://www.snopes.com/travel/airline/walters.asp) > [@](#): > > A man soared three miles above Los Angeles in an “aircraft” consisting of an aluminum lawn chair tethered to helium weather balloons. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-attaching-weather-balloons-to-body-harness-a-viable-means-of-air-travel/324342/3 "2005-10-01T16:42:42Z")
“Viable means of air travel” makes it sound like using it for transportation (ie going to a particular destination), which of course wouldn’t work very well. However, people do fly exactly as you’re suggesting for fun. It’s called [cluster ballooning](http://www.clusterballoon.org/). There’s also [solo ballooning](http://www.myairship.com/soloball/solomod.html), which is sorta the same idea but uses a smaller than normal hot air balloon instead of helium balloons. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-attaching-weather-balloons-to-body-harness-a-viable-means-of-air-travel/324342/4 "2005-10-01T16:53:13Z")
As mentioned in post#2, Larry Walters did this exactly as you described including using a gun to descend. However, he both flew in the congested Los Angeles air space and got tangled in power lines on the way down. He got a fine from the FAA and ended up killing himself later. Let the Weather Balloon Flyer beware. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-attaching-weather-balloons-to-body-harness-a-viable-means-of-air-travel/324342/5 "2005-10-01T16:59:34Z")
How would you handle directional control? You might want to go west (young man), but the winds wanna go north. ---
**Author:** ![John\_F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/43a26b/32.png) [@John\_F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_F)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-attaching-weather-balloons-to-body-harness-a-viable-means-of-air-travel/324342/6 "2005-10-01T17:12:59Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > How would you handle directional control? You might want to go west (young man), but the winds wanna go north. I was reading the cluster balloon link (it’s fascinating me and making me queasy at the same time) :eek: It seems like the wind is going in different directions at various altitudes you will note on the way up. Then you descend into the elevation that will take you in you in the direction you want to go. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2005, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-attaching-weather-balloons-to-body-harness-a-viable-means-of-air-travel/324342/7 "2005-10-01T18:39:38Z")
> [@John F](#): > > It seems like the wind is going in different directions at various altitudes you will note on the way up. Then you descend into the elevation that will take you in you in the direction you want to go. Sometimes it works this way. More often, the amount of directional control is limited - the wind will be, say, generally westerly, with perhaps 30 degrees of difference from low to high altitudes.