Inventor Flies Real-Life Iron Man Jet Suit Around London

Next year’s San Diego Comic-Con could feature more intricate Iron Man costumes than ever before thanks to a new jetsuit created by British inventor Richard Browning.

On Wednesday, Browning showed off his latest creation, which is now on sale at the London luxury department store Selfridges, reports Reuters. However, you will have to be as rich as Tony Stark to own one. They cost £340,000, or about $443,428.

The jetsuit includes five small jet engines mounted on a backpack and the bottom of the sleeves. It can run on jet fuel or diesel, and gets up to 32 miles per hour. The maximum altitude is 12,000 feet, but Browning only went up a few meters from the ground during his demonstration.

However, do not expect to go on long-term trips in the suit, which is distributed by Gravity Industries.

“This consumes about four liters a minute in the hover (position) so you can fly for three or four minutes quite easily and we have got another version – certainly on a cold day when you get more thrust, it’ll fly for about nine minutes,” Browning explained to Reuters. “That’s something we’re looking to improve but it’s the inevitable consequence of flying without wings.”

Buying the suit comes with a training session. You can also test it out with a virtual reality version at Selfridges.

“If you watch this as an audience member you probably get exposed to more warmth than I do as the pilot,” Browning explained. “It’s actually surprisingly calm and not very violent. It’s very passive and gentle when you’re flying it.”

Browning, a former Royal Marine Reservist and the founder of Gravity Industries, has been developing his jetsuit for years. Last year, he showed off the suit at Comic-Con, wowing Iron Man fans who have long wished to fly like the character. He also showed off the suit at the 2017 TED Conference in Vancouver Harbor.

In April 2017, Browning told The Telegraph he heard from a member of the British military that the Ministry of Defense was interested. However, a ministry spokesman could not confirm if a conversation took place.

“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,” Browning said last year. “My approach to flight was why not augment the human mind and body, because they are amazing machines, so I just bolted on what was missing – thrust.”

Browning also said he did not see it being used as someone’s main form of transportation, but more like a “jet ski” or an expensive toy. It is a long way off from being practical transportation.

Photo credit: Facebook/Gravity Industries