posted 02-08-2012 10:31 AM               

BRC drew its concept from the "Vomit Comet," the plane NASA uses to train astronauts. The KC-135A aircraft flies a looping parabolic path, creating about 25 seconds of microgravity each time it zips up and over the parabola's camelback hump.

BRC's proposed theme-park ride would travel a somewhat simpler trajectory — up and then back down a soaring steel edifice, similar to the existing "Superman: Escape from Krypton" coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in California.

But unlike Superman and other open-car coasters, the vomit-comet ride would be fully enclosed. Rather than the thrill of hurtling forward to one's perceived doom, riders would enjoy the illusion of floating within a stable chamber.

To create that illusion, a linear induction motor system would speed coasters up the track with unprecedented precision. As the coaster approached a top speed of more than 100 mph, it would suddenly and ever so slightly decelerate — just enough to throw the passengers up from their seats, like stones from a catapult — and then quickly adjust its speed to fly in formation with and around the passengers. (The ride's calculations would correspond to the unique heft of any particular group.)

As the coaster reached the top of the track and began to drop back down, the computer system would continue to match its speed to that of the falling passengers, extending the sensation of weightlessness for several additional seconds, and finally rapidly decelerate to a stop back at the base station.