“Real-life Iron Man” to fly at Farnborough

British inventor and entrepreneur Richard Browning and his team from Gravity Industries will be giving an aerial demonstration of the Gravity Jet Suit at this year’s Farnborough International Airshow


Richard Browning
39-year-old founder and chief test pilot of Gravity Industries has been compared to fictional Iron Man character Tony Stark

Browning holds record for fastest speed in body-controlled jet engine-powered suit – 51.5km/h, set in 2017


HOW IT FLIES
Using body as airframe, pilot controls speed, thrust and direction with arms

1 Takeoff
Arms point downwards to push pilot away from ground

2 Forward movement
Arms shift back. To increase speed, pilot pulls arms in and pushes chest outwards

3 Landing
Arms flare outwards to push pilot down

Backpack
Main jet engine and kerosene fuel supply


Miniature jet engines
Two mounted on each arm and one behind back. Suit can produce 144kg of thrust to achieve
vertical takeoff and flight

Helmet visor

Heads up display
Augmented reality glasses monitor fuel levels, engine operation and key safety and performance indicators

Built-in WiFi: Streams live data for ground monitoring

Suit weight: 40kg
Approximate flight duration: 10 mins
Suit cost: $250,000


Sources: FIA, Gravity Industries, Guinness World Records, Wired 
Pictures: Twitter 
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