$3,750 to ride "weightless" in a 737

[bdewoody]

If I had that kind of money to burn I think I would try it. But I wonder why they don't use a plane with a larger fuselage cross section like a Lockheed L-1011, a DC-10 or even a C-130. Does anyone know of a reason why this couldn't be done? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[spacefire]

i thought the similar rides offered in a 727 were only a few thousand dollars.<br />same with the flights from Russia.<br />35000 is way too much.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>http://asteroid-invasion.blogspot.com</p><p>http://www.solvengineer.com/asteroid-invasion.html </p><p> </p> </div>

 

[j05h]

I think you added a zero. Last time I checked, a ride on Zero-G's plane was around $3,500.<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[5stone10]

How much 'airtime' does that buy one?

 

[yevaud]

That's a lot of cash to ride the "Vomit Comet." <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[j05h]

> How much 'airtime' does that buy one?<br /><br />I believe it is about a half-dozen parabolas of roughly 30 seconds duration each. It might be a dozen split between lunar, martian and freefall G, probably depends on who they are flying.<br /><br />Josh <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <div align="center"><em>We need a first generation of pioneers.</em><br /></div> </div>

 

[qso1]

A 737 is less expensive than an L-1011 or DC-10. The C-130 may not be able to fly a very lengthy parabola as its an older prop driven craft that probably has less thrust to weight ratio than the jet aircraft. The C-130 prop engines are measured in horsepower rather than thrust so I cannot be certain as to TW ratio because I don't have the formula for converting HP to thrust.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-130_Hercules<br /><br />http://trijets.net/tristar/page/specs.html<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolls-Royce_RB211<br /><br />The DC-10 would be similar to the L-1011 in performance and weight. If enough people sign up and bring the ticket price down, there would be justification for the larger aircraft and except for the C-130 which probably has less or roughly equivalent internal volume than the 737, the L-1011 and DC-10 should be able to do the vomit comet thing. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><strong>My borrowed quote for the time being:</strong></p><p><em>There are three kinds of people in life. Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen...and those who do not know what happened.</em></p> </div>

 

[bdewoody]

My bad, the ticket price quoted on Space.com was $3,750 for a startup business that is offering these rides. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>