How does it compare to zero-G planes (vomit comet)? These planes can provide much more than 10 seconds of weightlessness, do it a dozen of times per flight without exceeding 2g of acceleration. Much bigger volume, much bigger payload, people can use it, it looks better in every aspect. By comparison, the drop tower can do three 10-second experiments per day, and the acceleration/deceleration look quite violent. If yo…
Hi, long-time drop tower experimenter here :-) One very good reason to choose a drop tower over the vomit comet is microgravity quality, i.e. residual acceleration and vibrations. The drop tower provides roughly 10^{-6} g, which is a few orders of magnitude better than zero-g aircraft. Another is easy accessibility. You can work on your apparatus until ~2 hours before doing a drop, and you have electronic and mechanical workshops on premises.
Regarding acceleration and deceleration, it's not as bad as it sounds/looks. Most off the shelf component will easily survive, provided you fastened them well enough. Rule of thumb: If it survives shipping by parcel service, it will survive the tower ;-)