To recreate the weightless experience without going into space, the plane executed parabolic flight maneuvers, climbing sharply and descending several times during the one-hour flight.

MISSOULA, Mont. - the flying abilities of even the most prosaic bird put airplane maneuvers to shame, and experts here at the University of Montana Flight Laboratory are cognizant of that every day.

To recreate outer-space conditions of micro-gravity, the plane performed 6 parabolic flight 7 maneuvers over the Gulf of Mexico after 8 taking off from north Florida.