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If looking at scenery - no matter how gorgeous - is not enough of a buzz for you, there are a surprising number of more extreme options for the avid thrill-seeker. From spectating at incredible competitive flying events like the Red Bull Air Race and the Rocket Racing League series', to passengering in ex-military fighter jets and even the fascinating new frontier of sub-orbital spaceflight, there is something for just about everyone in need of a high-G fix.
The Red Bull Air Race is a timed stunt-course in highly-aerobatic Zivko Edge 540 propeller planes that weigh just over 500 kg and are propelled by 327 horsepower. The circuit is a low-altitude obstacle course, which requires incredible skill and daring on the part of the pilots in order for them to put in a competitive time. The fastest pilot through the thirteen obstacles wins, but ultimately it is the crowd witnessing a barely credible level of piloting skill who benefit the most.
These amazing feats of sheer speed and agility are nothing compared to the proposed, upcoming Rocket Racing League, which aims “to combine the competition of racing with the excitement of rocketry”. Based on existing airframes, the experimental, single-seat X-Racer rocket-powered vehicles will carry 680 kg thrust rocket engines, reaching speeds of over 500 km/h. The League promises to be an extremely exciting new form of aerosport that is touted to be the future of racing.
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Bluefish experiential concierge service organizes - besides letting you spend “A Week As James Bond” - a number of experiences inside the cockpit of a full-on jet fighter. Chief among them is the exciting prospect of flying in a MiG over Moscow, traveling at more than 2½ times the speed of sound at an altitude high enough to be able to see the curvature of the earth.
Incredible Adventures organizes similar experiences to The Bluefish, who can also send you up to the edge of the atmosphere 60,000 feet above beautiful Cape Town, South Africa. See the sights from high above the ground in a BAE Buccaneer, a Mach 2-capable English Electric Lightning, or an acrobatic Hawker Hunter.
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The Zero Gravity Corporation takes you up into the astronautical realm with high-altitude, parabolic flights that allow passengers to experience the extraordinary feeling of weightlessness. Climb aboard a specially-prepared Boeing 727 - dubbed G-Force One - and get ready for a series of climbs and descents, which form a parabolic flight path during the crests of which the occupants of G-Force One experience sustained floating for about half a minute.
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To take it to the next level - space - Space Adventures Ltd. is on the verge of taking space tourists into sub-orbital flight. Having already organized the world's first space tourist holiday in conjunction with the Russian Space Agency some years ago, they are perhaps the world leaders in, as their name states, space adventures.
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They are not alone, however, as Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin outfit has been secretly working hard at developing sustainable, affordable new modes of spaceflight so that more people can launch themselves into orbit and continue to explore the solar system. Only recently, in November 2006, their "Goddard" test-craft was successfully launched and landed in an encouraging step forward for personal space travel. In fact, it has emerged that they are now actively searching for engineers to help them further their quest.
While some people are content with snorkeling, auto-crossing, or hang-gliding to provide them with an exciting escape, real adventure bunnies would do well to look into the thrills and spills of joyflights...
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