What Exactly is a Parabolic Flight?
A Parabolic flight uses a specially equipped, FAA certified Boeing 727 aircraft that simulates weightlessness. The aircraft's interior has been converted into a zero-gravity playroom complete with padded flooring, and video cameras to record all the fun. This NASA-approved aircraft is similar to that which is routinely used to train astronauts and cosmonauts for their space missions.

Specially trained pilots fly parabolic maneuvers which are somewhat like a like a roller coaster ride. Once the plane reaches the zero-gravity segment of the parabolas, everything in the plane is weightless for the next 25 - 30 seconds. The maneuver is then repeated. The weightlessness experienced by everyone inside the airplane is similar to the type of "free fall" you experience when sky diving. At the end of the free fall period, the aircraft also scoops you up and carries you back up to the top of the arc to begin the free fall process again.

A typical parabolic flight lasts about 90 minutes, with 15 up-and-down parabolas at an altitude of 24,000 to 34,000 feet. Two "Martian" arcs simulate one-third Earth gravity, three "lunar" arcs feel like one-sixth Earth gravity, and the final 10 provide the full zero-gravity experience.