Kent Couch
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Kent Couch
Kent Couch is an American cluster balloonist who drew international interest for his flights across the state of Oregon. Cluster balloon flights Couch, a 47-year-old gas station owner, first flew in July 2007 riding a lawnchair elevated by 105 large helium balloons. Using amateur instruments to measure altitude and speed, a GPS device to track his location, and 5 gallons (19 litres) of water for ballast, he controlled his descent by releasing water. The flight began in Bend, Oregon and ended in Union, short of Couch's goal of reaching Idaho. Couch began another flight at dawn on Saturday, July 5, 2008. That afternoon he successfully crossed the desert border, landing near Cambridge, Idaho. See also * Cluster ballooning Cluster ballooning is a form of ballooning where a harness attaches a balloonist to a cluster of helium-inflated rubber balloons. Unlike traditional hot-air balloons, where a single large balloon is equipped with vents enabling altitude control, ... * Larry ...
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Cluster Ballooning
Cluster ballooning is a form of ballooning where a harness attaches a balloonist to a cluster of helium-inflated rubber balloons. Unlike traditional hot-air balloons, where a single large balloon is equipped with vents enabling altitude control, cluster balloons are multiple, small, readily available and individually sealed balloons. To control flight, arrest a climb or initiate a descent, the pilot incrementally jettisons or deflates balloons. Ballast, e.g., bottled water, can also be jettisoned to facilitate ascent. Notable flights and balloonists The Swiss adventurer Auguste Piccard experimented with cluster balloon flight in Rochester, Minnesota in July 1937. In September of the same year, inspired by Piccard, an American photographer for Paramount News used 32 weather balloons for a feature photography assignment near Old Orchard Beach in Maine. Suspended from the balloons by a parachute harness in order to take aerial film footage, his mooring rope broke and he was lifted ...
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Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. The 42nd parallel north, 42° north parallel delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. Oregon has been home to many Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous nations for thousands of years. The first European traders, explorers, and settlers began exploring what is now Oregon's Pacific coast in the early-mid 16th century. As early as 1564, the Spanish expeditions to the Pacific Northwest, Spanish began sending vessels northeast from the Philippines, riding the Kuroshio Current in a sweeping circular route across the northern part of the Pacific. In 1592, Juan de Fuca undertook detailed mapping and studies of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest, including the Oregon coast as well as ...
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Lawnchair
The following is a partial list of chairs with descriptions, with internal or external cross-references about most of the chairs. For other chair-like types (like bench, stool), see 0-9 * 10 Downing Street Guard Chairs, two antique chairs used by guards in the early 19th century * 40/4 Chair, 40/4 (forty-in-four) stacking Chair designed by David Rowland (industrial designer), David Rowland, 1964 * 406 Aalto armchair, designed by Alvar Aalto in 1938; IKEA sells a similar design as the Poäng #L, lounge chair * 601 Chair by Dieter Rams * 620 Chair by Dieter Rams for Vitsœ * 654W Lounge Chair (Model 654W), designed by Jens Risom for Knoll, Inc., Knoll A * "A" Chair (Chaise A), designed by :fr:Xavier Pauchard, Xavier Pauchard for Tolix in 1927. Later variants including the "A56" were designed by Pauchard's sons. * Alta chair and ottoman by Oscar Niemeyer * Adirondack chair, a non-adjustable wooden outdoor lounge chair * Aeron chair, an ergonomic trademarked chair * Air chair, a ...
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Helium Balloon
A gas balloon is a balloon that rises and floats in the air because it is filled with a gas lighter than air (such as helium or hydrogen). When not in flight, it is tethered to prevent it from flying away and is sealed at the bottom to prevent the escape of gas. A gas balloon may also be called a '' Charlière'' for its inventor, the Frenchman Jacques Charles. Today, familiar gas balloons include large blimps and small latex party balloons. For nearly 200 years, well into the 20th century, manned balloon flight utilized gas balloons before hot-air balloons became dominant. Without power, heat or fuel, untethered flights of gas balloons depended on the skill of the pilot. Gas balloons have greater lift for a given volume, so they do not need to be so large, and they can stay up for much longer than hot air balloons. History The first gas balloon made its flight in August 1783. Designed by professor Jacques Charles and Les Frères Robert, it carried no passengers or cargo. On ...
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Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provides geolocation and time information to a GPS receiver anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. It does not require the user to transmit any data, and operates independently of any telephonic or Internet reception, though these technologies can enhance the usefulness of the GPS positioning information. It provides critical positioning capabilities to military, civil, and commercial users around the world. Although the United States government created, controls and maintains the GPS system, it is freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver. The GPS project was started by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1973. The first prototype spacecraft was lau ...
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Bend, Oregon
Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, up from 76,693 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census, and 52,029 at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. The Bend, OR MSA, Bend metro population was 198,253 as of the 2020 census. It is the fifth largest metropolitan area in Oregon. Bend is located on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range along the Deschutes River (Oregon), Deschutes River. There the Pinus ponderosa, Ponderosa pine forest transitions into the High Desert (Oregon), high desert, characterized by arid land, junipers, sagebrush, and Purshia, bitterbrush. Originally a crossing point on the river, settlement began in the early 1900s. Bend was incorporated as a city in 1905. Economically, it started as a logging town but is now identified as a gateway for many outd ...
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Union, Oregon
Union is a city in Union County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,121 at the 2010 census. Union is the namesake of Union County. History Union was platted on November 11, 1864 along the Oregon Trail. The name references the Union states, or Northern States, of the American Civil War. La Grande was named the county seat when Union County was created in 1865. Due to the Thomas and Ruckle Road going through Union, it elected the county seat in 1872, but when the railroad was built it was put through La Grande instead of Union. La Grande became the bigger town within the county and regained the county seat in 1902. J. W. Shelton, a local attorney, chartered the Union Electric Power and Light Company in March 1890 to bring the railroad from Union Junction (2.5 miles away) to Union itself. The company was renamed the Union Railway Company in July 1890, and the rail spur was built into Union by August 1892. Shelton planned to build more lines, had a fight with his compan ...
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Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. The state's capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of , Idaho is the 14th largest state by land area, but with a population of approximately 1.8 million, it ranks as the 13th least populous and the 7th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. For thousands of years, and prior to European colonization, Idaho has been inhabited by native peoples. In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country, an area of dispute between the U.S. and the British Empire. It officially became U.S. territory with the signing of the Oregon Treaty of 1846, but a separate Idaho Territory was not organized until 1863, instead ...
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Cambridge, Idaho
Cambridge is a city in Washington County, Idaho, United States. The population was 328 at the 2010 census, down from 360 in 2000. It is the second largest city in the county, behind the significantly larger Weiser, the county seat. Geography Cambridge is located at (44.571535, −116.678013), at an elevation of above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Climate Cambridge has a hot-summer mediterranean continental climate (Köppen climate classification ''Dsa''), with cold, moist winters, gradual springs, hot and dry summers, and brief autumns. July is the hottest month, with a daily average of ; highs reach on 10.7 days in a typical year and on 57 days. Yet because of the aridity, summer nights typically cool to below . January is the coldest month, with a daily average of , and lows falling to or below on 9.6 nights per year. Snowfall averages per season. Precipitation is usually infreq ...
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Cluster Ballooning
Cluster ballooning is a form of ballooning where a harness attaches a balloonist to a cluster of helium-inflated rubber balloons. Unlike traditional hot-air balloons, where a single large balloon is equipped with vents enabling altitude control, cluster balloons are multiple, small, readily available and individually sealed balloons. To control flight, arrest a climb or initiate a descent, the pilot incrementally jettisons or deflates balloons. Ballast, e.g., bottled water, can also be jettisoned to facilitate ascent. Notable flights and balloonists The Swiss adventurer Auguste Piccard experimented with cluster balloon flight in Rochester, Minnesota in July 1937. In September of the same year, inspired by Piccard, an American photographer for Paramount News used 32 weather balloons for a feature photography assignment near Old Orchard Beach in Maine. Suspended from the balloons by a parachute harness in order to take aerial film footage, his mooring rope broke and he was lifted ...
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Larry Walters
On July 2, 1982, Larry Walters (April 19, 1949 – October 6, 1993) made a 45-minute flight in a homemade airship made of an ordinary patio chair and 45 helium-filled weather balloons. The aircraft rose to an altitude of about , drifted from the point of liftoff in San Pedro, California, and entered controlled airspace near Long Beach Airport. During the landing, the aircraft became entangled in power lines, but Walters was able to climb down safely. The flight attracted worldwide media attention and inspired a movie and imitators. Background Al Mingalone, an American photographer for Paramount News had in 1937 previously used 32 weather balloons for a feature photography assignment at Old Orchard Beach in Maine. While he hung suspended from the balloons by a parachute harness in order to take aerial film footage, Mingalone's mooring rope broke and he was lifted approximately into the air. A clergyman, Father James J. Mullen, spotted the incident, and after a chase of some , use ...
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American Balloonists
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * Ba ...
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