Can Geeks Fly in Zero Gravity?

Chris Pirillo — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:06:50 +0000

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This past weekend, I attended the Symantec Vision 08 conference in Las Vegas. While there, I got to do the coolest thing… ever. Ponzi and I took a ride on the G-Force One, which is a specially modified aircraft where you can experience zero gravity.

The idea behind this during the Symantec conference is simple. Symantec is touting it’s new Norton Security Suite 2009 as the fastest and lightest in the industry. Equate it being light with a human having no weight… and we get to ride the Vomit Comet!

ZERO-G conducts its weightless flights aboard G-Force One – a specially modified Boeing 727-200 aircraft. Able to accommodate up to 35 Flyers and six crew members, G-Force One is licensed at the highest levels of safety with the FAA following extensive testing and evaluations in coordination with the FAA. G-Force One flies a parabolic flight maneuvers – a controlled ascent and descent of that creates temporary weightlessness or reduced gravity. This is the identical weightless flight experience used by NASA to train its astronauts and used by Ron Howard and Tom Hanks to film Apollo-13.

G-Force-One features a large cargo door and a 90-foot-long padded Floating Zone, which provides ample room for passengers to float and fly during Martian (1/3-gravity), Lunar (1/6-gravity), and zero gravity conditions created during the experience. A built-in pallet system supports the rapid change-out of interiors that would allow the aircraft to go from a passenger-experience configuration, to a government research configuration and even to a television or filming configuration.

Despite the funny suits and ugly yellow socks, we had an absolutely amazing experience. It was totally fun flying and floating around. You fall to the ground, and then do it all over again. Ponzi said it best when she termed it “radical” afterwards. She says it was like being on top of a roller coaster for thirty seconds at a time. Both of us would love to do it again… and again… and ok. You see where I’m headed with that.

Thank you, Symantec, for providing such an amazing experience.

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Can Geeks Fly in Zero Gravity?

Chris Pirillo » z-force-one

Can Geeks Fly in Zero Gravity?