By Carl Laron on January 25, 2010 in
"Up in the air junior birdman, up in the air upside down" are the first words of a 1930s jingle that's survived to this day as a children's camp song. Modern birdmen (and birdwomen) interested in experiencing flight upside down -- and in any other imaginable direction -- might want to look into one of the zero-gravity flights offered by a handful of services. However, the experiences don't come cheap, and they are not for the faint of heart; after all, there's a reason why NASA's zero-G training plane has been nicknamed "The Vomit Comet."
Zero-gravity flights are performed using a flight maneuver called a parabola. Basically, the plane is placed into a steep climb, then tipped over into a steep decent. Depending on the plane used and other factors, the period of weightlessness can last from a few seconds to up to 30 seconds. Most zero-gravity flights include multiple parabolas, giving participants several minutes of weightlessness in total.
In the U.S., the biggest and best known provider of zero-gravity flights for the public is Zero-G, which uses a specially-modified Boeing 727 jet. Zero-G provides flights from a number of locations across the country, including Cape Canaveral, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago and Washington, DC. Packages start at $4,950, plus tax. Upgraded experiences, charters and even weightless weddings are also offered.
Several tour companies also offer flights aboard the Russian Space Agency's Ilyushin 76 MDK "Flying Laboratory" zero-gravity training plane. One advantage of the Russian zero-gravity flights is that the area used for the weightless experience is more spacious, allowing for more "interesting" maneuvers (for example, a weightless scene in a pornographic movie was shot aboard the plane). Costs vary greatly depending on the number of fliers in your party, tour extras, etc., but single fliers should figure on paying upwards of $7,000 plus airfare to Moscow. Large groups (up to 15) could pay as little as half that much per person. FlyMiG.com, Country of Tourism, and Incredible Adventures are just some of the tour operators offering Russian zero-gravity packages.
For those on more of a "budget" and willing to settle for a slightly tamer weightless experience, Florida's Aurora Aerospace offers zero-G flights aboard a smaller, twin-engine Rockwell Commander 700 plane. Periods of weightlessness are shorter than those provided by the big jets (no more than 10 seconds each, though as many as 12 parabola maneuvers are done on a typical flight) and the space for weightless flying is relatively cramped -- so much so that there's only room for one flier at a time. Aurora's Zero-G flights are available a la carte for just $2,500. If you want, you can instead spring for a full "Astronaut Qualification Package",for $8,000 that also includes time on a spacecraft simulator, hypoxia (low-oxygen) training, a spin on a Multi-Axis Disorientation (MAD) machine and the opportunity to pilot a Czech Aero L39 Albatros military jet that's "fully equipped with ejection seats for your safety."