Science fiction inspires science and so, when Iron Man appeared on the pages of Marvel Comics all those years ago there was always a chance that someone would want to make that a reality.
In 2017 Richard Browning founded Gravity Industries and turned his dream of being a real life rocket man into a reality. You can hear how his ideas took flight in this Ted Talk.
The Jet Suit
Five gas turbine jet engines generate 1050bhp and 144kg of thrust to allow vertical lift and ultimately human propulsion (VTOL technology). Unprecedented directional flight control is achieved by vectoring the arm engine thrust. The Jet Suit runs on Diesel, Kerosene or Jet Fuel.
Jet Suit Spec
- Launched 1st April 2017
- Started as a Jet Suit with one engine
- Currently there are five built suits
- Turbines: Five
- Fuel: Jet A1 Kerosene, Premium Diesel
- Engine: 1050bhp / 144kg
- Fight Time: Typically 1-3 minutes, up to 4 depending on conditions.
- Speed: Max forward speed is typically in excess of 50mph
- Typical pilot weight not more than 85kg with current Jet Suit
- RPM = 120,000
- Altitude limit = Technically 12,000ft but limited for safety reasons
Record breaking
In November 2017, Founder and Chief Test Pilot, Richard Browning was also able to fly the longest distance of 1.4km - which is further than a Gravity Industries Jet Suit Pilot has ever flown before.
On 14 November 2019, he smashed his original Guinness World Record for the Jet Suit speed reaching 85.6mph.
Have a look at this high speed flight and then learn how to calculate the speed of a moving object below.
The importance of STEM
Physics, biology and almost any other educational aspects can be brought to life by what you see in these videos from Gravity.
They are an almost Marvel-character manifestation of what STEM can deliver. Flying a 1050 BHP Jet Suit in front of a crowd of school children is a brilliant way to power the kids' imaginations and ignite a passion for the science and engineering behind it.
Newton’s Law of action and reaction can be described using the Jet Suit. The remarkable human ability to balance can be illustrated through the vectored method of thrust control, used in the Jet Suit. It means Richard Browning doesn’t just encourage a passion in STEM, he demonstrates it, putting it right in front of curious minds in a way that they can see, hear, touch and smell.
Download this info sheet on Newton's Law
Photo image credit Chris Russell.
