<p>In this July 7, 2007 file photo, cluster balloonist Kent Couch, sitting in a lawn chair, ascends past Mount Bachelor to his cruising altitude at the start of his attempt of a flight to Idaho, near Bend, Ore. In 2008, Kent Couch made headlines by floating from Oregon to Idaho on a lawn chair hoisted into the clouds by party balloons. (AP Photo/The Bulletin, Pete Erickson, File)</p>
July 18, 2012
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July 18, 2012 9:39 a.m.
Chair balloonists recount wild, short ride
Two men flying matching lawn chairs suspended by helium-filled party balloons over Central Oregon last weekend said Tuesday they were floating along peacefully at 14,000 feet when thunderstorms grabbed control of their homemade craft like a giant hand.