How does zero gravity flight work

The maneuver is then repeated. The weightlessness experienced by everyone inside the airplane is actually equivalent to the type of free fall you experience when sky diving.

In this case however, the body of the aircraft surrounds you and protects you from the on-rushing wind. I was a bit nervous that the flight might make me nauseated and we all had "barf bags" secured in our flight suit pockets just in case , but since most people who take this flight don't get sick, I wasn't too worried.

After a short flight into the slice of sky where we would begin the parabolas, we all left our seats and walked forward into the main part of the cabin while wearing masks Zero-G has changed its operations to include a number of COVID safety precautions. The walls, floor and ceiling all were heavily padded for safe floating, and we all went to find our own space on the floor to lie down as we would soon feel the "heavy" 1. Fun in zero-g: Weightless photos from Earth and space.

The increased gravity wasn't uncomfortable; in fact, it felt kind of comforting being pushed against the bottom of the plane — like a gravitational weighted blanket. But before I knew it, we were flying over the crest, and I felt the ground give way.

What I expected to feel was the sensation of floating. From watching Zero-G flyers float on the plane to seeing videos of countless astronauts floating in space, it seemed reasonable to assume that what looked like floating might, well, feel a bit like floating.

But instead, it was a sensation entirely its own. What I realized pretty much immediately is that, as a human, my brain has been hard-wired to function with Earth's gravity, and I've gotten pretty used to Earth's gravity in my years on this planet. So, when it was taken away and I got my first taste of lunar gravity, my brain didn't know what to make of it. It was so amazingly, incredibly bizarre I might even liken it to a psychedelic experience. In fact, I was so disoriented that it took me a minute to adjust my eyes to try and see straight as I stood up and my arms flew instantly above my head.

I knew that with less gravity, every tiny action would merit a much bigger physical response, but actually experiencing it is completely wild! I barely moved and yet I was catapulting to the padded ceiling in absolute disbelief of the myriad of sensations rushing through me. Changing the speed, such as a sudden stop, feels like forwards gravity to you. Elevators starting and stopping feel for a moment like there is more or less gravity. These changes in velocity are called accelerations.

Acceleration has an amount and direction, just like velocity does, and both are examples of vectors. You have experienced that acceleration feels the same as gravity does. Is this possible? The shape of the vomit-comet flight path is called a parabola. Pilots achieve this by flying upwards at an angle of about 45 degrees and then they level out and dive at about 45 degrees, which creates the acceleration needed to cancel out gravity. The maximum speed for the airplane and how rapidly the airplane can pull up before and after a parabola determine how long this acceleration can last, about 25 seconds.

Gravity pulls down on us, and by accelerating down in just the right way in an aircraft or spacecraft, we can feel like we are in zero gravity. The shape of the parabola is elongated and not as steep as the free-fall path. The resulting centrifugal force is weaker and only partially offsets the force of gravity. The aircraft also needed to be less expensive to purchase and maintain than the KCA. They focused their attention on the Boeing Photo courtesy of Zero Gravity Corporation Passengers can eat candy in a weightless environment and not gain weight The company flies over uninhabited areas that are out of the way of most commercial flight routes.

Each flight takes place within an FAA-designated corridor about miles long and 10 miles wide. Engineers also designed a special accelerometer for the cockpit. The accelerometer measures the plane's speed and path through a parabolic arc.

Because of ZERO-G's focus on providing entertainment to customers, the company felt that comfort of customers was an important concern NASA relies on its pilots to follow the parabolic path on their own and is less concerned about the smoothness of the flight. Pilots can receive data on their flight path, making minor adjustments when necessary to make ensure each arc is smooth as possible.

Boeing designed the to withstand forces from ZERO-G regularly inspects the aircraft for signs of equipment fatigue and maintenance needs. Thank You Thanks to Dr.

Peter Diamandis of the Zero Gravity Corporation for his input on this article. The company's headquarters is in Las Vegas, Nev. Most flights originate from Las Vegas or the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but because many airports can accommodate a , the company invites customers to charter flights based out of their nearest major airport, making it that much easier to achieve a lifelong dream of defying gravity.

Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. How Zero-gravity Flights Work. Photo courtesy of Zero Gravity Corporation Playing catch with a fellow passenger in a low-gravity environment Few of these simulators appeal to the general public more than the zero-gravity flight.

Simulating Weightlessness So exactly how can we simulate weightlessness without escaping the gravitational pull of the Earth? Photo courtesy of Zero Gravity Corporation Zero Gravity Corporation Parabolic flight path In order for passengers in a plane to experience a free fall safely, the aircraft must climb at a steep angle, level off, and then dive, creating a path called a parabolic arc , also called a Keplerian Trajectory or free-fall path.

At this point, passengers experience microgravity -- it feels as if you are weightless because only negligible gravitational forces are present.

The sense of weightlessness lasts for about 30 seconds. Because the plane shields the passengers from the rush of air, they can experience a free fall without the interference of air resistance. The ring supports a smaller refracting lens that helps focus the image, as well as the detector.