Russian Space Trip Day #4

Day #4 Zero Gravity Flight
The day began early with a bus ride to Star City. Once there, we transferred to a military shuttle bus that took us to a nearby Russian air force base. We were loaded aboard an IL-76 jet and harnessed into a parachute. Through an interpreter, we learned how to get to an exit door, hook on to the escape wire, jump out of the aircraft, and deploy our parachute. Then it was time for the flight! They took our parachutes and stowed them in a cabinet and told us to prepare for takeoff. Each of us five tourists was assigned to a Russian soldier who would take care of us during the flight. Although the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the ISS make moving in zero-g look effortless, it actually takes a lot of skill. The soldiers were there to make sure we didn't hurt ourselves. Although they did not speak English, those guys were very enthusiastic and clearly wanted us to enjoy ourselves. The inside of the jet was basically empty-just a long tunnel with thick mats on the floor. There was a handrail at about 4 feet off the floor which ran the entire length of the plane, and another about 8 feet above the floor. The soldier in charge explained through our interpreter that we would make ten parabolas, or "hills" as he called them. On the way up the "hill" we would experience 1.5 Gs (meaning we would weigh one and a half times our body weight), then 1 G which is our normal body weight, then .5 Gs which is half our weight, and finally we would be weightless. He suggested we spend the first period of weightlessness sitting down and holding on the lower rail just to get used to the feeling. After 20 seconds of weightlessness, the plane would go into a steep dive and we would experience 2Gs (twice our weight). The best way to deal with the feeling is to lie flat on the mat parallel to the airplane and close your eyes. When the first period of weightlessness hit us, we just floated right off the floor! The soldiers who were helping us began to toss us from one guy to another like we were basketballs. We experimented with motions, and found that even a little push off the floor sent us careening up to the ceiling. In the group photos that follows, although it seems that the soldiers are holding us up, they are actually just holding us in place because otherwise, we would float away. The rest of the flight just sped by. Our handlers tossed and twirled us and we just relaxed and enjoyed every minute. When the flight was over we all wished we could do it again!
Check this site often for a video of this unique experience, coming soon!