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60-465: On July 2, 1982, Larry Walters (April 19, 1949 – October 6, 1993) made a 45-minute flight in a homemade aerostat made of an ordinary lawn chair and 42 helium -filled weather balloons . The aircraft rose to an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4,900 m), drifted from the point of liftoff in San Pedro, California , and entered controlled airspace near Long Beach Airport . During the final descent,

120-399: A basket , a gondola , a cabin or various hardpoints . With airships, which need to be able to fly against wind, the lifting gas capsules are often protected by a more rigid outer envelope or an airframe , with other gasbags such as ballonets to help modulate buoyancy. Aerostats are so named because they use aerostatic buoyant force that does not require any forward movement through

180-486: A motivational speaker , and quit his job as a truck driver. He was featured in a Timex print ad in the early 1990s, but never made much money from his fame. The lawn chair used in the flight was reportedly given to an admiring boy named Jerry, though Walters regretted doing so when the Smithsonian Institution asked him to donate it to its museum. Twenty years later, Jerry sent an email to Mark Barry,

240-548: A 14-year-old girl in Brazil who was killed while leaning out of a school bus window, but she was "disqualified" for the award itself because of the likely public objection owing to the girl's age, which Northcutt asserts is based on " magical thinking ". The Darwin Awards have received varying levels of scrutiny from the scientific community. In his book Encyclopedia of Evolution , biology professor Stanley A. Rice comments: "Despite

300-419: A balance where the lift force generated by the gas equals the weight of the aerostat. This equilibrium is achieved through small adjustments in ballast or the gas volume. Sophisticated systems might use automatic valves and sensors to monitor atmospheric pressure, gas volume, and temperature, ensuring that the aerostat remains stable without manual intervention. This constant regulation allows aerostats to hover at

360-543: A balloon as it loses gas. The Goodyear blimps are still a common sight in the USA. A semi-rigid airship has a deflatable gas bag like a non-rigid but with a supporting structure to help it hold its shape while aloft. The first practical airship, the Santos-Dumont No. 6 was a semi-rigid. Some airships obtain additional lift aerodynamically as they travel through the air, using the shape of their envelope or through

420-408: A book containing only 10% of the material gathered for the website. The first book turned out to be a success, and was listed on The New York Times best-seller list for 6 months. Not all of the feedback from the stories Northcutt published was positive, and she occasionally received email from people who knew the deceased. One such person advised: "This is horrible. It has shocked our community to

480-572: A camera, he did not take any photos. He descended slowly, until the balloons' dangling cables became caught in a power line at 423 E 44th Way in Long Beach. The power line broke, causing a 20-minute electricity blackout . He landed unharmed. Walters was immediately arrested by waiting members of the Long Beach Police Department . Regional safety inspector Neal Savoy was reported to have said, "We know he broke some part of

540-489: A capability to lift heavier loads than a single helicopter could provide. The aircraft suffered a fatal accident during a test flight. In 2008, Boeing and SkyHook International resurrected the concept and announced a proposed design of the SkyHook JHL-40 . In order to provide buoyancy, any lifting gas must be less dense than the surrounding air. A hot air balloon is open at the bottom to allow hot air to enter, while

600-443: A car but they can also be made large if heavy payloads are required to be flown to high altitudes. Helikites are one of the most popular aerostat designs and are widely used by the scientific community, military, photographers, geographers, police, first responders. Helikites are used by telecoms companies to lift 4G and 5G base stations for areas without cellphone coverage. Helikites range in size from 1 metre (gas volume 0.13 m ) with

660-457: A combination of a helium balloon and a kite to form a single, aerodynamically sound tethered aircraft, that exploits both wind and helium for its lift. Helikites are semi-rigid. Helikites are considered the most stable, energy and cost-efficient aerostats available. This gives Helikites various advantages over traditional aerostats. Traditional aerostats need to utilize relatively low-lift helium gas to combat high winds, which means they need to have

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720-610: A fixed altitude for extended periods, making them useful for applications such as surveillance, communication relays, or scientific observations, where maintaining a consistent position in the atmosphere is crucial. Darwin Awards The Darwin Awards are a rhetorical tongue-in-cheek honor that originated in Usenet newsgroup discussions around 1985. They recognize individuals who have supposedly contributed to human evolution by selecting themselves out of

780-399: A forged requisition from his employer, FilmFair Studios , saying the balloons were for a television commercial. He purchased the lawn chair from Sears for $ 109. On July 2, 1982, Walters attached 42 of the balloons (although Larry himself sometimes quoted 43 in interviews) to his lawn chair, filled them with helium, put on a parachute , and strapped himself into the chair in the backyard of

840-407: A home at 1633 West 7th Street in San Pedro owned by his girlfriend Carol's mother. He took his pellet gun, a CB radio , sandwiches, 2 litres of Coca-Cola, a pack of beer and a camera. When the cord that tied his lawn chair to his Jeep broke prematurely, before the end of a planned delay to notifying the authorities, Walters's lawn chair rose rapidly to a height of about 16,000 feet (4,900 m) and

900-413: A long cable or allowed to drift freely with the wind. Although a free balloon travels at the speed of the wind, it is travelling with the wind so to a passenger the air feels calm and windless. To change its altitude above ground it must either adjust the amount of lift or discard ballast weight. Notable uses of free-flying balloons include meteorological balloons and sport balloons. A tethered balloon

960-957: A lot of gas to cope and so are very large, unwieldy and expensive. Helikites exploit wind lift so they only need to be a fraction of the size of traditional aerostats in order to operate in high winds. Helikites fly many times higher altitude than traditional aerostats of the same size. Being smaller, with fewer construction seams, means Helikites have minimal problems with gas leakage compared to traditional aerostats, so Helikites use far less helium. Helikites do not need ballonets and so are simpler in construction than traditional aerostats and Helikites do not need constant electrical power to keep them airborne. Helikites are also extremely stable and so are good aerial platforms for cameras or scientific instruments. Tiny Helikites will fly in all weathers, so these sizes are popular as they are very reliable but still easy to handle and do not require large expensive winches. Helikites can be small enough to fit fully inflated in

1020-615: A person has children; the Darwin Award rules state that the presence of offspring does not disqualify a nominee. The origin of the Darwin Awards can be traced back to posts on Usenet group discussions as early as 1985. A post on August 7, 1985, describes the awards as being "given posthumously to people who have made the supreme sacrifice to keep their genes out of our pool. Style counts, not everyone who dies from their own stupidity can win." This early post cites an example of

1080-565: A person who tried to break into a vending machine and was crushed to death when he pulled it over himself. Another widely distributed early story mentioning the Darwin Awards is the JATO Rocket Car , which describes a man who strapped a jet-assisted take-off unit to his Chevrolet Impala in the Arizona desert and who died on the side of a cliff as his car achieved speeds of 250 to 300 miles per hour (400 to 480 km/h). This story

1140-661: A pilot who had documented Walters's story and dedicated a website to it, and identified himself. The chair was still sitting in his garage, attached to some of the original tethers and water jugs used as ballast . The chair was placed on loan to the San Diego Air and Space Museum , where it was exhibited in 2014. It was later donated to the Smithsonian. After being displayed at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia,

1200-493: A pure helium lift of 30g, up to 14 metres (gas volume 250m ) able to lift 117 kg. Small Helikites can fly up to altitudes of 1,000 ft, and medium-sized Helikites up to altitudes of 3,000 ft, while large Helikites can achieve 7,000 ft. Piasecki Helicopter developed the Piasecki PA-97 Helistat using the rotor systems from four obsolete helicopters and a surplus Navy blimp, in order to provide

1260-468: A rigid, lighter-than-air structure which, rather than being inflated with air, is at a vacuum relative to the surrounding air. This would allow the object to float above the ground without any heat or special lifting gas, but the structural challenges of building a rigid vacuum chamber lighter than air are quite significant. Even so, it may be possible to improve the performance of more conventional aerostats by trading gas weight for structural weight, combining

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1320-612: A special mix for ballooning events, incorporating a higher proportion of hydrogen and less carbon monoxide, to improve its lifting power. Helium is the only lifting gas which is both non-flammable and non-toxic, and it has almost as much (about 92%) lifting power as hydrogen. It was not discovered in quantity until early in the twentieth century, and for many years only the United States had enough to use in airships. Almost all gas balloons and airships now use helium. Although not currently practical, it may be possible to construct

1380-519: A wall) is noted to be in this category, despite being intentional and self-inflicted (i.e. attempted suicide), which would normally disqualify the inductee. In 2011, however, the awards targeted a 16-year-old boy in Leeds who died stealing copper wiring (he was underage at the time of his death; the standard minimum driving age in Great Britain being 17). In 2012, Northcutt made similar light of

1440-470: A whole is lower than that of the surrounding atmospheric air (hence the name "lighter-than-air"). Its main component is one or more gas capsules made of lightweight skins , containing a lifting gas (hot air, or any gas with lower density than air, typically hydrogen or helium ) that displaces a large volume of air to generate enough buoyancy to overcome its own weight . Payload (passengers and cargo) can then be carried on attached components such as

1500-463: Is Larry Walters , who attached helium -filled weather balloons to a lawn chair and floated far above Long Beach, California , in July 1982. He reached an altitude of 16,000 ft (4,900 m), but survived, to be later fined for crossing controlled airspace . (Walters later fell into depression and died by suicide.) Another notable honorable mention was given to the two men who attempted to burgle

1560-412: Is a limited resource and cannot be replenished easily during flight. Alternatively, an aerostat might use a reversible system where it can compress the gas into smaller compartments within the envelope, reducing lift without permanently losing the gas. By managing these compartments or adjusting the flow of gas, the aerostat’s buoyancy can be precisely controlled. To maintain altitude, an aerostat achieves

1620-440: Is a powered, free-flying aerostat that can be steered. Airships divide into rigid , semi-rigid and non-rigid types, with these last often known as blimps . A rigid airship has an outer framework or skin surrounding the lifting gas bags inside it, The outer envelope keeps its shape even if the gasbags are deflated. The great zeppelin airships of the twentieth century were rigid types. A non-rigid airship or blimp deflates like

1680-473: Is flammable and, following several major disasters in the 1930s, including the Hindenburg Disaster , it fell out of use. Coal gas comprises a mix of methane and other gases, and typically has about half the lifting power of hydrogen. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries municipal gas works became common and provided a cheap source of lifting gas. Some works were able to produce

1740-624: Is held down by one or more mooring lines or tethers. It has sufficient lift to hold the line taut and its altitude is controlled by winching the line in or out. A tethered balloon does feel the wind. A round balloon is unstable and bobs about in strong winds, so the kite balloon was developed with an aerodynamic shape similar to a non-rigid airship . Both kite balloons and non-rigid airships are sometimes called "blimps". Notable uses of tethered balloons include observation balloons and barrage balloons and notable uses of untethered balloons include espionage balloons and fire balloons . An airship

1800-566: Is in production by filmmaker Nirvan Mullick , using lost footage from Larry’s flight. Later in his life, Walters hiked the San Gabriel Mountains and did volunteer work for the United States Forest Service . He later broke up with his girlfriend of 15 years and could only find work sporadically as a security guard. On October 6, 1993, at the age of 44, Walters died by suicide after shooting himself in

1860-434: Is intended to be funny. A number of foolish but common activities, such as smoking in bed, are excluded from consideration. In contrast, self-immolation caused by smoking after being administered a flammable ointment in a hospital and specifically told not to smoke is grounds for nomination. One "Honorable Mention" (a man who attempted suicide by swallowing nitroglycerin pills , and then tried to detonate them by running into

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1920-657: The gene pool by dying or becoming sterilized by their own actions. The project became more formalized with the creation of a website in 1993, followed by a series of books starting in 2000 by Wendy Northcutt. The criterion for the awards states: "In the spirit of Charles Darwin , the Darwin Awards commemorate individuals who protect our gene pool by making the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives. Darwin Award winners eliminate themselves in an extraordinarily idiotic manner, thereby improving our species' chances of long-term survival." Accidental self-sterilization also qualifies, but

1980-506: The Federal Aviation Act, and as soon as we decide which part it is, some type of charge will be filed. If he had a pilot's license, we'd suspend that, but he doesn't." Walters initially was fined $ 4,000 for violations under U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations , including operating an aircraft within an airport traffic area "without establishing and maintaining two-way communications with the control tower." Walters appealed, and

2040-399: The addition of fins or even small wings. Types designed to exploit this lifting effect in normal cruise are called hybrid airships . A hybrid type uses both static buoyancy and dynamic airflow to provide lift. The dynamic movement may be created either using propulsive power as a hybrid airship or by tethering in the wind like a kite, as a Helikite or kytoon . The Allsopp Helikite is

2100-466: The air it displaces. Alternatively, it may adjust the temperature of the gas (if using hot air) or expand the volume of gas within its envelope. As the gas volume increases, the aerostat becomes less dense and rises. This is controlled either through heating (in the case of hot air balloons) or by adjusting the valves that manage the flow of gas between different compartments or the outside atmosphere. Helium-based aerostats, such as blimps, rely on maintaining

2160-521: The air. A clergyman, Father James J. Mullen, spotted the incident, and after a chase of some 13 miles (21 km), used a .22-caliber rifle to shoot out two of the balloons, thus allowing the photographer to return safely to the ground. Walters's flight spawned imitators, and allegedly inspired the extreme sport of cluster ballooning . 33°44′17″N 118°18′47″W  /  33.7380°N 118.3130°W  / 33.7380; -118.3130 Aerostat The relative density of an aerostat as

2220-557: 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 , a musical and numerous imitators. Lawrence Richard "Larry" Walters had often dreamed of flying, but was unable to become a pilot in the United States Air Force because of his poor eyesight. Instead, he became a truck driver . He first thought of using weather balloons to fly at age 13, after seeing them hanging from

2280-503: The ceiling of a military surplus store. In 1982, he decided to try his flying idea. His intention was to float over the Mojave Desert and then use a pellet gun to burst some of the balloons in order to descend safely. In mid-1982, Walters and his then girlfriend, Carol Van Deusen, purchased 45 eight-foot (2.4 m) weather balloons from a military surplus store and helium tanks from California Toy Time Balloons. They used

2340-450: The core. You should remove this." Northcutt demurred: "I can't. It's just too stupid." Northcutt kept the stories on the website and in her books, citing them as a "funny-but-true safety guide", and mentioning that children who read the book are going to be much more careful around explosives. The website also awards Honorable Mentions to individuals who survive their misadventures with their reproductive capacity intact. One example of this

2400-438: The fine was reduced to $ 1,500. A charge of operating a "civil aircraft for which there is not currently in effect an airworthiness certificate " was dropped, as it was not applicable to his class of aircraft. Just after landing, Walters spoke to the press, saying: It was something I had to do. I had this dream for twenty years, and if I hadn't done it, I think I would have ended up in the funny farm . He also said: Since I

2460-404: The following "deserted island" test to potential winners: If the person were unable to reproduce when stranded on a deserted island with a fertile member of the opposite sex, he or she would be considered sterile. Winners of the award, in general, either are dead or have become unable to use their sexual organs . The candidate's foolishness must be unique and sensational, likely because the award

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2520-530: The free-flying airship. This article uses the term in its broader sense. In student usage, the term aerostat refers to any thermostat that remains in the air primarily using aerostatic buoyancy . Historically, all aerostats were called balloons. Powered types capable of horizontal flight were referred to as dirigible balloons or simply dirigibles (from the French dirigeable , meaning "steerable"). These powered aerostats later came to be called airships , with

2580-556: The gas balloon is closed to stop the (cold) lifting gas from escaping. Common lifting gases have included hydrogen, coal gas and helium. When heated, air expands. This lowers its density and creates lift. Small hot air balloons or lanterns have been flown in China since ancient times. The first modern man-lifting aerostat, made by the Montgolfier brothers , was a hot air balloon. Most early balloons however were gas balloons. Interest in

2640-536: The heart in Angeles National Forest . In 1937, Al Mingalone, an American photographer for Paramount News 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 700 feet (210 m) into

2700-696: The home of footballer Duncan Ferguson (who had an infamous reputation for physical aggression on and off the pitch, including four convictions for assault and who had served six months in Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison ) in 2001, with one burglar requiring three days' hospitalisation after being confronted by the player. A 2014 study published in the British Medical Journal found that between 1995 and 2014, males represented 88.7% of Darwin Award winners (see figure). The comedy film The Darwin Awards (2006), written and directed by Finn Taylor ,

2760-424: The integrity and volume of the helium within their envelope to achieve a stable lift. When descending, the aerostat must reduce its buoyancy, which can be done by venting some of the gas or by taking on additional ballast. Venting gas allows the envelope to lose volume, making the aerostat denser than the surrounding air and causing it to descend. However, venting must be done cautiously, especially with helium, as it

2820-783: The lawn chair is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. The song "Walters" by the American band Pinback from their 2007 album Autumn of the Seraphs is about the event and his life after it. A comedy musical based on the events debuted at The Lowry in Salford , UK in April 2024. 2003 Australian comedy film Danny Deckchair was inspired by Larry’s story. A documentary called Larry’s Lawnchair

2880-403: The lifting properties of the gas with vacuum and possibly heat for enhanced lift. The buoyancy control of an aerostat relies on the principles of buoyant force and the manipulation of the gas inside its envelope. Aerostats use lighter-than-air gases, such as helium or hydrogen, which provide lift because they are less dense than the surrounding air. The amount of buoyant force generated depends on

2940-402: The site notes: "Of necessity, the award is usually bestowed posthumously." The candidate is disqualified, though, if "innocent bystanders" are killed in the process, as they might have contributed positively to the gene pool. The logical problem presented by award winners who may have already reproduced is not addressed in the selection process owing to the difficulty of ascertaining whether or not

3000-517: The sport of hot air ballooning reawoke in the second half of the twentieth century and even some hot-air airships have been flown. Hydrogen is the lightest of all gases and a manned hydrogen balloon was flown soon after the Montgolfier brothers. There is no need to burn fuel, so a gas balloon can stay aloft far longer than a hot-air balloon. Hydrogen soon became the most common lifting gas for both balloons and, later, airships. But hydrogen itself

3060-410: The surrounding air mass, resulting in the inherent ability to levitate and perform vertical takeoff and landing . This contrasts with the heavier-than-air aerodynes that primarily use aerodynamic lift , which must have consistent airflow over an aerofoil ( wing ) surface to stay airborne. The term has also been used in a narrower sense, to refer to the statically tethered balloon in contrast to

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3120-503: The term " balloon " reserved for unpowered types, whether tethered (which means attached to the ground) or free-floating. More recently, the US Government Accountability Office has used the term "aerostat" in a different sense, to distinguish the statically tethered balloon from the free-flying airship. A balloon is an unpowered aerostat which has no means of propulsion and must be either tethered on

3180-595: The time was a graduate in molecular biology from the University of California, Berkeley . She went on to study neurobiology at Stanford University , doing research on cancer and telomerase . In her spare time, she organised chain letters from family members into the original Darwin Awards website hosted in her personal account space at Stanford. She eventually left the bench in 1998 and devoted herself full-time to her website and books in September 1999. By 2002,

3240-485: The tremendous value of these stories as entertainment, it is unlikely that they represent evolution in action", citing the nonexistence of "judgment impairment genes". On an essay in the book The Evolution of Evil , professor Nathan Hallanger acknowledges that the Darwin Awards are meant as black humor , but associates them with the eugenics movement of the early 20th century. University of Oxford biophysicist Sylvia McLain, writing for The Guardian , says that while

3300-494: The volume of the gas, its density, and the density of the outside atmosphere. By controlling these variables, an aerostat can be made to rise, descend, or maintain a stable altitude. The basic mechanism involves adjusting the volume and pressure of the gas within the aerostat’s envelope, often through a system of valves and compartments. To ascend, the aerostat releases ballast, which typically consists of sandbags or other weights, reducing its overall weight and making it lighter than

3360-464: The website received 7 million page hits per month. Northcutt encountered some difficulty in publishing the first book, since most publishers would only offer her a deal if she agreed to remove the stories from the Internet, but she refused: "It was a community! I could not do that. Even though it might have cost me a lot of money, I kept saying no." She eventually found a publisher who agreed to print

3420-423: Was 13 years old, I've dreamed of going up into the clear blue sky in a weather balloon […] By the grace of God, I fulfilled my dream. But I wouldn't do this again for anything. The aircraft was dubbed Inspiration I . Lawn Chair Larry was awarded the title of "At-Risk Survivor" in the 1993 Darwin Awards . Ten days after his flight, Walters appeared on Late Night with David Letterman . He was briefly in demand as

3480-487: Was based on the website and many of the Darwin Awards stories. Northcutt has stated five requirements for a Darwin Award: This may be subject to dispute. Potential awardees may be out of the gene pool because of age; others have already reproduced before their deaths. To avoid debates about the possibility of in vitro fertilization , artificial insemination , or cloning , the original Darwin Awards book applied

3540-505: Was later determined to be an urban legend by the Arizona Department of Public Safety . Wendy Northcutt says the official Darwin Awards website run by Northcutt does its best to confirm all stories submitted, listing them as, "confirmed true by Darwin". Many of the viral emails circulating the Internet, however, are hoaxes and urban legends. The website and collection of books were started in 1993 by Wendy Northcutt, who at

3600-452: Was spotted from two commercial airliners. He slowly drifted over Long Beach and crossed the primary approach corridor of Long Beach Airport. He was in contact with REACT , a citizens band radio monitoring organization, who recorded their conversation: After 45 minutes in the sky, Walters shot several balloons with a pellet gun, taking care not to unbalance the load. He then accidentally dropped his pellet gun overboard. Despite having taken

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