Becoming Iron Man
In the movies, Tony Stark’s Iron Man suits are fast, agile, flying machines. meets the man who is turning this superhero fantasy into reality… and ends up getting a flying lesson like no other. Becoming
The endeavour of human flight has kept inventors occupied for centuries, especially since the Wright brothers successfully flew the world’s first aeroplane. Planes may now be commonplace, but the challenge of getting humans off the ground without a giant metal tube and some in-flight complimentary peanuts is just getting started.
Richard Browning is at the forefront of this incredible movement with Gravity Industries ( gravity.co), the company he founded to develop the Jet Suit, a $600,000 jet-engine powered machine that enables him to fly. On his own. No need for a plane here, folks.
We recently visited the Gravity HQ and lab in Wiltshire to meet Richard and some of his team, and to get the inside track on how a seemingly unattainable dream, a flight of fantasy, if you will, actually became one of the most insanely cool inventions we’ve covered in these pages. Oh, and that’s before heading out to a secret testing facility, strapping on five jet engines and learning to fly, Iron Man style…
A TURBULENT START
In addition to spending 16 years as an oil trader for BP and six years in the Royal Marines reserve, it was Richard’s family background that became the catalyst for his future career trajectory. “My father was a maverick inventor-designer and aeronautical engineer,” says Richard. “His father was a civil airtime pilot and wartime pilot as well. My other grandfather was Sir Basil Blackwell who used to run Westland, the helicopter company. I grew up building, making, breaking and taking things apart in dad’s workshop.”
Richard’s father set up his own business where, among other things, he pioneered a new mountain bike suspension design, but sadly it ended in tragedy. In Richard’s words: “I grew up watching him go through all the struggles of trying to build this into a business. To cut a long story short, I watched him gradually disappear into a big hole and he killed himself when I was 15.” This heartbreaking experience taught Richard that bringing an idea to life is one part of the puzzle, and that marketing and commercialising it is actually a much bigger part of getting something across the finish line.
It was learning how to break through physical and mental barriers as an ultramarathon runner, triathlete and Marine that led Richard to begin exploring human flight. “A lot of that is trying to push your mind and body to a point where, at the beginning you’re not really sure if it’s going to work. But having had several experiences where I’ve proven I can get to that point, and having that background in speed and horsepower and flight, I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to somehow attach a minimal amount of technology to your brain and body and fly using your natural human balance and coordination?’”
AN ENGINEERING MARVEL
Following many early rounds of prototyping, which began with a single jet engine attached to his arm, Richard eventually reached a tipping point. In a particularly satisfying
moment during his 2017 TED talk, he shares a clip of the moment he achieved a stable hover. “That first six seconds was amazing,” he remembers. “Especially because I had engines on my legs. You’re sort of just balancing and controlling all four limbs and your own momentum in three-dimensional space. Now we’ve learned how to build this [Jet Suit] in a way that’s much more intuitive.”
SUITED AND BOOTED
With the help of some incredibly talented engineers, the Jet Suit has evolved considerably
THE SAFETY TETHER IS THERE TO SAVE US FROM BLASTING THROUGH THE BARN WALL.
over the last two years; upgraded to now include 3D printed parts, enhanced geometry, even more safety features and custom circuitry. In the right hands, it’s a very stable and agile piece of kit. But how exactly does it work? “You’ve got an assemblage of micro jet engines, which are similar to the ones on jet fighters or civil airliners, that create enough thrust to lift you and the equipment off the ground,” Richard explains. “It’s about 1,050 horsepower and produces about 144kg of thrust!
“Essentially you create three vectors, three straight lines of thrust. If you imagine three legs of a camera tripod, that’s really quite stable. If you replace those legs with thrust, you almost create a similar force to a fire hose. Water is much denser but travelling at 128kph, whereas the air here is super light but travelling at 1,600kph. So the resulting force is similar.
“We worked out that if you create the three legs of that tripod, one via a rear engine and one that’s attached to each arm, created by putting a smaller engine either side of your arm, then you create those three legs.” Richard continues: “Then, if you gradually increase the power, you come up and are relatively stable. Manoeuvrability after that is intuitively learned and controlled through your arms.”
The Gravity Jet Suit draws regular comparisons with Tony Stark’s flying suit from Marvel’s movies. That wasn’t Richard’s inspiration, but it’s been a convenient reference for people who have never seen anything like the Jet Suit before. “As much as I like the first film, it wasn’t my ambition to build an Iron Man suit,” he says. “But when you’re presented with something as crazy as a human hovering in front of you, you have no pigeon hole to put that experience into, other than a film.”
COME FLY WITH ME
Enough talk! It’s time to experience this for ourselves. So we ship out of the lab and follow the Gravity truck to an expansive barn in a secret location. Upon entering, we see a central raised platform and a rope with safety tether hanging down from the rafters. It’s there to save us from flying sideways through the barn wall. Gulp.
As we’re talked through the equipment, Richard and Gravity engineer/pilot Alex Wilson fuel up and prepare our Jet Suit. It runs on jet fuel, although Richard normally tells people its diesel because “that sounds less terrifying than ‘jet fuel’”. The Jet Suit can also run on bio jet fuel.
We don a Gravity fireproof Nomex base layer, which is made from the same materials used by astronauts on the ISS, then strap on the harness. We get clipped into the imposing rear Jet Suit engine, before sliding our arms into what looks like a pair of gauntlets with a jet engine sat either side. Inside the right
SHORT-LIVED OR NOT, HOVERING IN MID-AIR LIKE THAT WAS INCREDIBLE. I AM IRON MAN. KINDA...
gauntlet is a throttle, inside the left is a switch to control power. For our first test flight the Jet Suit is set at 65% of the maximum power.
We climb the stairs, feeling nervous yet excited, to the testing platform. Once the safety tether is attached to us, and under Richard’s ever-watchful eye, we begin the startup and engine spooling process. The jet engines whirr into life, and we’re thankful for the ear defenders we’ve been given – the sheer noise of the Jet Suit powered up sounds, unsurprisingly, like multiple jet engines firing at once.
At Richard’s command we bring our arms down to our sides. It’s time to start feeling some thrust now, so we squeeze the throttle lightly. The nudge of power momentarily makes us feel weightless and we break into a grin. The more we throttle it, the lighter we feel – a few small jumps reveal that gravity is only just in control here.
Richard instructs us to boost the power with the switch in our left hand. But with more power, the effects of any sudden arm movements become far more pronounced, shooting us off sideways and instigating a spin. Right now we feel a bit like a piñata.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Our first session is soon over, but Richard quickly refuels the Jet Suit. With max power set at 95% this time, we’re in take-off position once more. The increased thrust is immediate and palpable, and we feel a powerful, hot cushion of energy building beneath us. This time we manage to put a few feet between us and terra firma, hovering for a few seconds before floating casually back to earth. I am Iron Man. Kinda. Short-lived or not, hovering in mid-air like that was truly incredible.
For our third and final flight we’re given a helmet, just in case we shoot upwards and hit the ceiling. Er, what? After some pointers from Richard, our stance is better this time and, as the thrust increases, we achieve our longest hover yet. It’s controlled and feels like we’re in the air for minutes, but in reality it’s no more than a few seconds. Either way, it’s unforgettable and we’re instantly addicted. But we have to call it a day because our jet engine-laden arms have become too fatigued to continue.
Contemplating the future potential of this tech is electrifying, particularly when hearing Gravity’s plans: they’re developing a wing system to enable longer, faster and higher flights. And there’s talk of an English channel flight if it’s successful. They’re exploring an electric model, too, and there’s even a Jet Suit race series on the horizon.
Will the skies be littered with Jet Suit commuters in years to come? Unlikely, but with pioneers like Richard and team breaking new boundaries in human flight, we could start seeing more tech from the Iron Man movies transition from fantasy into reality.