Calgary resident Dan Boria reached new heights on Sunday when he flew for nearly half an hour in a garden chair suspended by 120 helium balloons – only to end up in jail later that day.
"It was the funniest aircraft we could make," Boria told The Guardian. His aim with the stunt was reportedly to advertise his cleaning company, All Clean Natural, which makes chemical-free products. Boria initially wanted to float out of an airplane, but was confined to a ground launch for want of willing pilots.
To construct the contraption, Boria calculated the amount of helium needed to lift his own 88kg (195lb) weight, his parachute and the chair – it takes one litre of helium to life one gram of weight. He also conducted his own experiments using a single balloon and "a bunch of little weights", and "added a couple hundred pounds" to his calculations to be safe. He ended up using 120 balloons, each six feet in circumference, requiring CA$12,000 (£6,100) worth of helium gas.
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"I can't specify the altitude I went to… I was looking down at a 747, it was a surreal experience," Boria told the Calgary Sun.
However, Boria cut his journey short when he began to hear "popping sounds" and used his parachute to descend to solid ground. He sprained his ankle on landing. His garden chair, however, remained floating about for some time before landing 30 miles south in High River Alberta.
The escapade earned Boria a night in jail, with Calgary police bringing charges of "mischief" and "causing danger to life". He recorded the entire journey on Go Pro cameras, but the footage is currently in police custody. Boria is due before a judge on 13 July.
This is not the first time such a balloon flight has been attempted, according to the Guardian. In 2008, Oregon resident Kent Couch travelled 200 miles in his desk-chair using balloons. Fiction enthusiasts will also remember Roald Dahl's 1979 book The Twits, in which Mr Twit ties balloons to his wife's arms.
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