FLOAT OF FANCY
For space travel hopefuls in NYC, the weight is over.
New Yorkers will be able to experience otherworldly weightlessness like an astronaut — or like billionaires Richard Branson, 71, and Jeff Bezos, 57 — thanks to Zero Gravity Corp., or Zero-G.
“We’re giving you the same incomparable feeling that Bezos and Branson just felt,” Zero-G CEO Matt Gohd, 65, told The Post.
Starting next month, for $7,500, wannabe astronauts can get a 90minute flight in a specially modified Boeing 727 aircraft, dubbed G-Force One.
The plane, devoid of seats or furniture, flies in 15 parabolic arcs — aerobatic maneuvers similar to roller coaster loops — between the altitude of 24,000 and 32,000 feet. The parabolas create a weightless environment for flyers inside the
aircraft’s padded 30-foot cabin. Trained flight coaches will be aboard to supervise.
“Overall, passengers will experience about eight minutes of weightlessness,” Gohd said. “That’s twice the amount of time Branson and Bezos experienced it.”
Both tycoons spent millions on their respective extraterrestrial joyrides. But Branson, who took flight on July 11, enjoyed five minutes of weightlessness. And Bezos’ July 20 trip afforded him only four minutes of complete freedom from gravity.
Zero-G has been conducting FAA-approved, commercial zerogravity flights since 2004. Stephen Hawking, Martha Stewart and Kate Upton — who did a sexy Sports Illustrated Swimsuit photo shoot in a Zero-G chamber — are among the famous faces who have gone on weightless expeditions.
“You’re flying, floating, doing somersaults and back flips in midair with minimal effort,” Gohd said. “It’s like magic.”
G-Force One is set to take off from Westhampton Aug. 21. Then, city dwellers from Sept. 12-18 can get their taste of outer space with Big Apple adventurers being transported by Blade helicopter from Manhattan to Newark Airport. The experi- ence then heads to Rochester on Sept. 19.
After taking a rapid COVID-19 test and going through a TSA screening, passengers will receive FAA-approved flight suits, to be worn atop their regular clothes. Guests will also be fed a breakfast of bagels and other light fare, because it’s “important to have something neutral in your stomach before experiencing zero gravity,” Gohd said, adding that flyers typically don’t get nauseous during the flight. Then, all travelers sit through a safety orientation explaining the do’s and don’ts of going weightless. “People get very excited about being unrestrained by gravity. And we love that,” Gohd said. “But it’s important not to jump or make major movements during the flight, because it takes very little effort to move around the cabin.”
He added that people can float from one end of the aircraft to the other by pushing off a wall using only a forefinger.
Before takeoff, Newark Airport air traffic control will give the G-Force One pilot coordinates to a secluded 100-mile airspace, where the plane can fly without interrupting any commercial flights.
Once at altitude, guests will experience varying levels of reduced gravity, including the different sensations felt on Mars, on the moon and in the cosmos.
“When we reach the altitude that mimics the gravity level of Mars, you feel about one-third your bodyweight,” Gohd said. “On the moon, you’ll feel about onesixth your bodyweight.”
Then, you’ll experience total weightlessness.
“Once you’re absolutely untethered by gravity, you can’t tell the difference between the floor and the ceiling. It’s incredible,” Gohd said. “You don’t even feel dizzy or lightheaded, because blood isn’t rushing to your head like it would if you were hanging upside down on Earth.”
While levitating in the sky like NASA’s finest, passengers will have the chance to eat Skittles and drink water droplets that are suspended in midair, show off their acrobatic skills by doing floating flips and gain bragging rights that’ll last a lifetime.
“It’s a bucket list experience that everyone absolutely loves,” Gohd said, adding that Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, 91, has flown with Zero-G.
“Anybody can do it,” Gohd said. “All you need is the dream of being an astronaut.”