6 ways to fly without a craft

1. Weightlessness simulator

In the 1970's NASA developed the weightless wonder, a method for simulating weightlessness in order to train astronauts. THe effect is produced by an airplane climbing to its maximum height and then dropping into free fall. When it gets too close to the ground it steeply climbs again and repeats the process. For those inside they experience a feeling of weightlessness and float around the inside of the plane. This last for around 25 seconds. When the plane pulls out of the dive and starts climbing again those inside then experience the opposite effect of an increase in gravity forces. This whole process can cause nausea hence the planes nickname 'vomit comet'.

If your not put-off by this you can experience this for yourself. The Zero gravity corporation has a fleet of Boeing 727s that it uses to offer adventure tourists the weightlessness experience. You can book your flight at http://www.gozerog.com. It cost $3,500 plus tax.

2. Yogic flying

The practice of yogic flying was first described in traditional Indian vedic texts. The practice involves the Yogi or master meditating in such a way as to induce flying. The ancient writings describe three stages of accomplishment.

Stage 1: 'Hopping like a frog.'
Stage 2: Flying short distances with limited control.
Stage 3: complete mastery of flying.

There is a similar system of meditation in Tibetan Buddhism in which the practitioner is able to use yogic-running to leap huge distances. Ancient kings from the region used these runners to convey messages over long distances.

In the 1970s Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought these techniques to the west. He introduced 'Transcendental meditation sutras' which it is claimed can lead to the development of super human powers such as invisibility and flying.

Although the scientific community has met these claims with skepticism there is a huge international network of people claiming to practice yogic flying everyday. In fact there is a political party -The Natural Law Party - which advocates the practice being taught in schools in order to promote inner contentment and world peace.

3. BASE jumping

Perhaps one of the nearest experiences one can have to flying is through BASE jumping, provided you can summon up the courage to jump off a 1,000 foot high cliff. The disorientating effect of not feeling the force of gravity as you free-fall gives the exhilarating impression that the cliff face is actually the ground below you and that you are not falling but flying horizontally above it at about one hundred miles an hour. But don't get mesmerized by this as there is no time to relax and enjoy the ride. You only have about 5 seconds to release your parachute before it's too late.

If your interested in this most dangerous of dangerous sports then every third Saturday in October the New River Gorge bridge in Fayetteville West virginia is made available for BASE jumpers. At 876 feet it takes an object 9 seconds to reach the river below.

This addictive sport is very dangerous though and claims casualties every year. It is more dangerous than sky diving because you are traveling so close to a cliff face (or building in some cases). Also because the drops are so short you don't reach the speeds that produce aero-dynamic stability and there is a tendency to tumble. This tumbling can then cause the parachute to tangle and fail to open properly. BSE jumpers don't carry a second chute as there would be no time to open it.

4. Lucid dreaming

Some people are able to experience a state during sleep known as 'lucid dreaming'. This is where you become aware within a dream that you are actually dreaming. This awareness means that you can make choices as to what to do in the dream because you know it's a dream and anything is possible. Many choose to fly. Flying dreams are quite common and most people will experience some kind of flying dream at some time but few people are able to fly within a dream at will. People who experience lucid dreams are referred to as 'oneironauts' which comes from the greek for 'dream sailors'.

Lucid dreaming is something that normally occurs spontaneously but it is something the can be learned if you are prepared to work at it. One way of achieving this is to have an external stimulus such as a sound or light, which is not so strong as to wake the sleeper but strong enough to be recognized within the dream. If the person trains themselves to look out for this stimulus then it will eventually remind them that they are asleep within their dream and allow them to start lucid dreaming.

You can find more info on how to lucid dream at-http://www.asdreams.org/journal/articles/laberge5-3.htm

5. Visit Phobos

Phobos is one of the moons of Mars. What's special about Phobos is that it has a very low density and therefore low gravity. This low gravity means that any reasonably fit athlete could by taking a run and jump achieve near escape velocity and put themselves into orbit. Even if you weren't that fit you would still be able to make leaps that spanned many miles. It wouldn't be quite like flying as you wouldn't be able to steer yourself as you floated above the baron rocky landscape. You would just have to wait and see where you landed. Phobos has an environment similar to our own moon so a spacesuit is essential.

NASA is developing The Crew Exploration Vehicle which it is hoped will lead the first manned mission to Mars. The first flight of the CEV is planned for 2014 but it may take many years after that for the actual mission to Mars. It's anybody's guess how long it will be after that before tourist can go to Mars and how long it will take for Phobos to be on the itinerary. Time is running out though because Phobos's orbit is getting lower and lower and in 50 million years it will crash into the surface of Mars.

6. Witchcraft

It was a popular view in Europe around the 1500s that witches were able to fly through the air on a broomstick made of tightly bound twigs strapped to a pole. To many this is just a silly bit of folklore but there is now some belief amongst academics that there is some truth behind the myth.

It is well documented amongst 16th century writers that witches would rub themselves with a special flying ointment before flying off on their broomsticks to a witches sabat. It seems that the broomsticks in many cases were often used to apply the potions to the body. More recent scientific understanding of some of the ingredients of these ointments shows that they contained hallucinogenic substances which can be shown to induce a feeling of flying. Some off the ingredients such as Hemlock and deadly night shade are highly poisonous if consumed. This is where the broomsticks come in. Because they are so toxic the only way to take them is to rub them into the skin particularly in places were the blood vessels are close to the surface. Many accounts talk of witches rubbing the ointment under their arms. It would make sense to use twigs to do this as if you got it on your hands and absent mindedly put your hands to your mouth it could be fatal.

You can find a recipe for this potion at http://www.shanmonster.com/witch/flying.html#ingredients but I wouldn't advise trying it as this stuff is highly dangerous.