{"id":21633,"date":"2024-09-26T18:56:19","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T22:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/freeform\/me274\/?page_id=21633"},"modified":"2026-02-22T21:42:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T02:42:03","slug":"vomit-comet-video","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/freeform\/me274\/vomit-comet-video\/","title":{"rendered":"Riding on the Vomit Comet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consider Example 4.A.9 from the course lecture book. This problem deals with the NASA near-weightless training aircraft exercises for simulating the weightless environment for astronauts. (Due to the experiences of those in training, these training aircraft are nicknamed “Vomit Comets”.)<\/p>\n

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Shown below is the dynamic analysis of a passenger on this aircraft for predicting the apparent “weight” of the passenger of mass “m<\/em>” as the aircraft passes the \u00a0maximum point of its path during this maneuver. At this point, the mg<\/em> of the passenger is cancelled out by the influence of the mass times the centripetal component of acceleration when the radius of curvature of the path is less than v2<\/sup>\/g<\/em>. When this occurs, both the passenger is in a state of “free fall”, reducing the normal force on the passenger by the aircraft to zero. This state of weightlessness by the passenger can exist over a range of positions if the path taken by the aircraft is the parabolic-shaped trajectory of freefall.<\/p>\n

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The following video is provided by Zero Gravity Corporation of passengers riding on the Vomit Comet aircraft when the aircraft is near the maximum point of its path.<\/p>\n