Claim: Famous practitioners of cluster ballooning included Larry Walters who attached 42 helium-filled weather balloons to a lawn chair and lifted off in 1982 then rose quickly to nearly 3 miles which resulted in charges being filed against him by the FAA.
Evidence: In the Lawnchair Larry flight, Larry Walters, without any prior ballooning experience, attached 42 helium-filled weather balloons to a lawn chair and lifted off in 1982. In defending against charges later filed against him by the FAA, he stated that he intended to rise just a few hundred feet (about 100 metres), but underestimated helium's lifting power, causing his tethering strap to break prematurely. Walters quickly rose to nearly 3 miles (5 km), over 50 times his intended maximum altitude.