Got $8,000, Miami? You can play space billionaire and fly in this zero gravity plane

The most important thing you need to know about Zero-G’s weightless commercial flights is this: Not everybody throws up.

The experience is more gentle than you might expect, says Matt Gohd, CEO of the space tourism company, which flies out of Miami-Opa-Locka Executive Airport for the first time on Jan. 29.

“It’s not a roller coaster,” he explained, adding that he estimates maybe 1 in 28 people have an unpleasant experience (usually because instructions have not been followed). “It’s the opposite. It’s like you’re floating. People have a misconception that it’s this raucous, crazy thing.”

That’s not to say that you can’t do somersaults, poorly executed cartwheels or whip and nae nae on the Zero-G flight, providing you can afford the $8,200 cost of admission, a hefty price tag that is probably still more emotionally affordable than entering a close personal relationship with Jeff Bezos.

Interest in high-flying tourism has — I’m sorry — skyrocketed after last year’s billionaire space race, when Bezos and Blue Origin beat Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic to the edge of space (or at least to 250,000 feet). But Zero-G, which also flies out of Fort Lauderdale in May, isn’t new to the zero gravity game: The company has been selling weightless experiences since 2004.

“We were doing all right before, but then people started Googling zero gravity and saw Al Roker doing it,” Gohd said, adding that one planned flight out of New York turned into five due to overwhelming demand. “It has for sure had an impact.”

Still, consumer travel is less than half of Zero-G’s business. The rest comes from scientists and companies who want to test research projects and various materials in zero gravity. A ride aboard Zero-G is cheaper than a trip to the International Space Station, after all.

So what can ticket holders expect once they board the modified Boeing 727-200, which has had its hydraulic system adjusted and accelerometers added to the cockpit to improve performance?

First, you put on your flight suit, then board and take a seat at the rear of the plane. The floating area lies ahead of you, padded from floor to ceiling with a rope down each side. The plane flies between 20,000 and 30,000 feet on what is called a parabolic arc.

Gohd likens it to throwing a tennis ball in the air. At the top of its flight, there’s a second where the ball stops before descending. That’s the weightless moment, only on this trip it lasts about 30 seconds. The flight includes 15 parabolas, or trips up and down, which gives clients seven to eight minutes of zero gravity.

“This is the only way to feel what it’s like to be an astronaut,” Gohd said.

To make sure you’re don’t get queasy, he has suggestions. Don’t go raging through Wynwood bars, because you shouldn’t drink the night before the flight. Eat a starchy breakfast. And once you’re floating, don’t try to take video with your iPhone: Gohd said he once shot video of a reporter in the plane and was “wrecked for the rest of the trip — it’s a little destabilizing.”

Besides, the Zero-G crew has six GoPros aboard as well as a photographer to capture what he calls an “unstoppable experience.”

“Most of us grew up looking to the stars and always thinking what it would be like to be up there,” he said. “It has been resonating with us, and now we see normal everyday people in space. You don’t have to be a NASA astronaut anymore.”

Zero-G

Flight out of Miami-Opa-locka Executive Airport: Jan. 29; $8,200 for 15 parabolas

Flight out of Fort Lauderdale: May 13; $10,500 for 30 parabolas

More information: www.gozerog.com