Humans are close to creating a device that allows flights to resemble the Marvel character “Iron Man” played in theaters by actor Robert Downey Jr.
That’s at least what British inventor Richard Browning, founder and chief test pilot of Gravity Industries, believes, has created a “jet suit,” a 1050-hp jet-engine “flying suit” for solo fans.
The suit, dubbed the “e-suite”, is the first suit to be powered by electricity and is part of the company’s aim to “exceed the limit of what is considered possible”.
“Our suite is already at the limit of what’s possible because of the energy density and battery. And yet we were able to make it work today,” Browning told Reuters during the Goodwood Festival of Speed, a motorsport event. From South England, where the electric model “E-Suite” was first put into operation.
The batteries in use today are only powerful enough to keep a human flying for a few seconds. A similar model powered by aviation kerosene already has four minutes in flight.
“The electric suit has enough energy to fly over a small residential street. It’s amazing how much energy you need for a human to fly. fuel. Anyway, we’re getting there,” Browning said.
Gravity Industries was launched in March 2017, with its founder demonstrating the first jet suit powered by Aviation Kerosene, which can reach speeds in excess of 128 km/h and up to 3,600 metres.
Tests with Marines and Paramedics
In May, the company presented your jet suit project For the British Royal Navy to demonstrate how the equipment can aid in maritime shipping operations.
The company’s team spent three days with 42 Royal Marines off HMS Tamar off the south coast of the UK.
The suit had already been tested by paramedics in England’s remote Lake District region to allow professionals to put people at risk in a fraction of the time it takes to travel by car or on foot.
“For both military use and emergency rescue; they are new applications, but they are very real,” Browning says. “We did enough exercises with both groups in different countries to prove that the tool is really powerful,” he said.
