july 5, 2008. kent couch attempts to fly from bend, oregon, to boise, idaho, and break his record of 193 miles traveled in a cluster balloon. on launch day, we got to be up at 3:30 in the morning. it s usually between 50 to 70 volunteers that make this thing work. we d normally have four or six helium stations. each station has four people on it with a different role. it takes a minute or two to blow up one balloon. we don t want to blow them up all the way because we want room for them to expand. after all the balloons are staged, we put them in clusters of five. then you start assembling the groups of five into larger assemblies of 15, 20. once everything checks out, couch kisses his wife and, with cameras rolling, begins the ascent. for the most part, i can t steer myself. that s what i like about this little cluster ballooning thing. you just go where the winds take you. the thing you wouldn t realize is how peaceful it is up
out his childhood fantasy, floating nearly 18,000 feet above the earth tethered to dozens of brightly colored balloons. some of my best memories are as a child. you look up and you see a little cloud and you said, i wish i could get on that cloud and float. it s a peaceful experience. this is not just a flight of fancy for kent couch. in 2008, he tries to break his own record for number of miles traveled in what s called a cluster balloon. i call cluster ballooning simply a way to get up in the air with a group of balloons. some people would use weather balloons. i ve never done that. party balloons seem real dependable. the funny thing is usually i use a lawn chair because it s comfortable, and i can recline it and i can sit up and i can lean back. it s kind of redneck, and i m kind of redneck. there are some federal aviation rules to follow. but remarkably, as long as
back up. then when he gets too high, he pops a couple balloons to come back down. running out of ballast is the end of the ride in terms of his ability to control his altitude. each time it made things a little better just learning from the previous flight. i started using a pilot s parachute, which is nice and comfortable. we had more balloons, more ballast, we got more security and safety. better communication between the ground crew. july 5, 2008. kent couch attempts to fly from bend, oregon, to boise, idaho, and break his record of 193 miles traveled in a cluster balloon. on launch day, we had to be up at 3:30 in the morning. it s usually about 50 to 70 volunteers that make this thing work. we d normally have four or six helium stations. each station has four people on it with a different role. it takes a minute or two to
later after i cook, i ll put my dishes in the tub. would you pay $2,000 a month for 300 square feet? that s what new york city is hoping. we ll explain. it is sunday, july 15. good morning, everyone. i m randi kaye. glad you re with us. we start this morning in egypt and the developments in the kidnapping of two americans. one is reverend michelle lewis, the reverend of the free pentecostal church of god in dorchester. his family says he was on a missionary trip when his tour bus was stopped in the sinai peninsula. his family as well as a member of his congregation spoke about the incident and their wishes for his safe return. we don t hear any more information than what we hear in the news and what you guys are hearing. we re in good spirits because we know the god that we serve is in control of the matter. the only concern that we have at the moment is that he is diabetic. the longer they hold him, i want to assume that it s not going to work in his favor. there
each time it kind of made things a little better just learning from the previous flight. i started using a pilot s parachute, which is nice and comfortable. we had more balloons, more ballast, we got more security and safety. better communication between the ground crew. july 5, 2008. kent couch attempts to fly from bend, oregon, to boise, idaho, and break his record of 193 miles traveled in a cluster balloon. on launch day, we had to be up at like 3:30 in the morning. it s usually between 50 to 70 volunteers that make this thing work. we d normally have four or six helium stations. each station has four people on it with a different role. it takes a minute or two to blow up one balloon, and we don t want to blow them up all the way because we want room for them to expand. after all the balloons are staged, we put them in clusters of five. and then you start assembling the groups of five into larger assemblies of 15 or 20. once everything checks out,