Lift off for the real-life Iron Man!
£40k flying suit City trader built in his spare time
HOVERING in the air to the amazement of onlookers, British inventor Richard Browning proves jet packs are no mere sci-fi flight of fancy.
The City trader and engineer, 38, built the £40,000 ultra-lightweight exoskeleton – inspired by the Marvel comic book superhero Iron Man – in his spare time.
The suit takes off vertically and can be controlled by moving the arms, while a display screen inside the helmet gives updates on fuel consumption. The two turbines on its back are splayed out to provide balance while the two on each arm angle forward.
Pointing down creates what Mr Browning calls a ‘teepee of thrust vectors’. He went airborne on the shores of Vancouver Harbour to demonstrate his flight suit at the Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference which is currently being staged in the Canadian city.
Looking like a cross between Robocop and Iron Man, Mr Browning flew in a circle a few feet off the ground, landing again 30 seconds later.
The Royal Marines reservist, from Wiltshire, said he had long been fascinated by the possibilities of human flight propulsion and had been working on his flight suit for almost three years.
‘I did this entirely for the same reason that you might look at a mountain and decide to climb it – for the journey and the challenge,’ he said.
Mr Browning, who is married and works as an oil trader for BP, said he was inspired by his father, Michael, an aeronautical engineer, who worked at helicopter manufacturer Westlands but wanted to be an inventor.
He said his suit is easily capable of flying at more than 200mph and had a potential altitude of several thousand feet.
He named the personal flight suit Daedalus after the great inventor in ancient Greek mythology. Despite the possibilities his suit offers, Mr Browning added: ‘I don’t think anyone is going to be going to Walmart with it for quite a while.’