In a week mired with the bodies of fellow lawn chair-riding balloon men, Oregon resident Kent Couch finished what a fallen high-flying Brazilian priest could not: he got into a lawn chair rigged with huge balloons, and floated his way to Idaho—all without dying. This is unlike Father de Carli, the flying priest who got lost last April, and recently turned up dead in ocean waters 683 miles from his starting point. So how was Couch able to do it? He armed himself to the teeth with gadgets, backup plans, and a parachute (duh!), and brought his trusty Red Ryder BB gun (and a blow gun!) with him to pop his 5-foot balloons as necessary UPDATE: Now with video!

Gadget one was a GPS tracking device, which Father de Carli had, but didn't know how to use. Couch did, but just in case GPS failed him, he also brought along a satellite phone, altimeter, and a second GPS device attached to his chair for redundancy. Then there was his pole with a hook, for bringing wind-whipped helium balloons into firing range, and containers of Kool-Aid, which served as ballast. His in-flight meal consisted of a boiled eggs, jerky and chocolate.

For his efforts and meticulous preparation, Couch, a 54-year-old gas station owner, was able to keep the balloon rig at 200 feet for most of the 200 mile journey.

"If I had the time and money and people, I'd do this every weekend," Couch said before getting into the chair. It was his third balloon flight in three years. "Things just look different from up there. You've moving so slowly. The best thing is the peace, the serenity." And landing, Couch, landing. Right? [CNN]