Theresa
Trawick of Melbourne remembers "bouncing around like a pinball" in a
plane during a flight last month. In this case, she couldn't have been happier
about it.
"It
was unbelievably fun," she said.
What might
be cause for panic during a regular flight is a marketable experience for Fort
Lauderdale-based Zero Gravity Corp.
The
company, which is planning flights out of the Titusville area and Orlando in
November, sells spots on what's known as "parabolic flights" for
$3,750 per person. The trips offer passengers the thrill of weightlessness.
The
company's planes -- modified Boeing 727 cargo jets -- perform a series of
up-and-down maneuvers that provide short periods of varying degrees of
weightlessness inside the plane's cabin, mimicking what astronauts experience
in space.
Noah
McMahon, Zero Gravity's chief marketing officer, said it's nothing too drastic.
"It's
like a bell-shaped curve," he said about the plane's
flight pattern.
Nevertheless,
it was something that the Federal Aviation Administration had to check out and
authorize.
In
addition, Zero Gravity requires passengers to sign waivers to absolve the
company from liabilities if anyone is injured, which McMahon said has not
happened in the company's brief history. The flights started in September, and
about 1,500 passengers have taken the flights, which have a capacity for 27
passengers and three crew members.
Trawick, a
schoolteacher who works in Rockledge, took a Zero Gravity flight out of Fort
Lauderdale in July. She didn't have to pay for it. She was sponsored by
educational organizations.
She said
her trip had educational purposes -- such as getting her students excited about
the science behind flight and space travel.
At first,
she was worried whether it would be safe.
But those
concerns quickly faded. She was supposed to conduct some experiments onboard
during the weightless periods, but she got caught up in the moment and was
having so much fun that she didn't get everything done.
"I
was able to float," she said. "That was the most incredible
part."
Trawick
said she and other passengers were not used to weightlessness, so they would
push off the cabin wall or bump into each other and go flying the other way.
"I'm
50 years old, and I don't do a lot of flips, so I was sore the next day,"
she said.
Zero
Gravity is planning 10 to 15 flights in Brevard County, Fort Lauderdale and
Orlando in November.
The
company may operate flights out of North Brevard on a regular basis because the
"space tourism" connection at Kennedy Space Center would be a good
fit for the company, McMahon said.
For now,
Zero Gravity plans to have flights Nov. 5 out of Space Coast Regional Airport
near Titusville. The company also may have flights out of Kennedy Space Center,
depending on whether NASA permits it, McMahon said.
In
Orlando, the company plans to have flights Nov. 6 to capitalize on a science
teachers' conference in Orlando that weekend.
In
addition, Zero Gravity has planned more flights out of the Titusville area on
Nov. 20 geared toward visiting passengers from The World cruise ship. McMahon
expects about 50 passengers from The World will take the flights during a
port-of-call stop at Port Canaveral.
Children
under age 12 are not allowed on the flights. Those between 12 and 14 are
permitted to fly with parents or guardians. And those 15 and older can fly on
their own.
Zero
Gravity charters two planes for the flights from Miami-based Amerijet
International.
Amerijet
provides the crew and maintains the planes, while Zero Gravity markets and
books the flights.
The
flights last about two hours. During that time, the plane performs about 15
parabolas or arcs that provide varying degrees of weightlessness that last
about 30 seconds each.
Before the
flights, passengers receive some training and get flight suits, among other
activities.
The whole
experience lasts about five hours, McMahon said.
For the
local flights, the plane will fly west over the Gulf of Mexico to perform the
maneuvers at heights from 24,000 to 32,000 feet.
There are
no windows in the cabin, which has a padded floor to soften the landing for
passengers.
McMahon
said they "slowly drift down" to the floor once gravity returns to
the cabin.
"It's
extremely smooth," he said.
FAA
spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the FAA has inspected Amerijet International's
operation and has had no problems with it.
Scott
Carr, executive director of the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority, which
operates Space Coast Regional Airport, said the Zero Gravity flights should
provide a lift for local space tourism.
"I
think it will be a good thing for the community," Carr said. "It will
help bring space tourism to the local economy -- coupling it with NASA and the
space program."
Published
under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright © 2005 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of
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