Iron Man-style jetpacks are on the market, if you have about $400,000 to spend.
This jet suit could make you fly like Iron Man — if you are rich
Browning knows it is unlikely that hordes of humans will be buzzing around in the air anytime soon, noting the company’s business model is still largely based on corporate and military demonstrations. It costs about $3,000 to test a suit for a few hours at one of the company’s flight centers.
Still, the start-up has amassed funding from some heavy hitters in the venture capital world and is making inroads partnering with emergency responders and special military units. “Whether you believe in humans traveling like this in the future,” Browning said, “you can take a lot of almost sci-fi type” inspiration “from what we have done.”
While the dream of flying with jetpacks is at least as old as “The Jetsons,” the technology has been developed in fits and starts over the past century. Only a handful of companies, such as Gravity and Jet Pack Aviation, are selling products on the market. Jet Pack Aviation does not disclose pricing on its website, but it said a two-day training program in Southern California costs about $5,000.
It is unclear what regulatory hurdles this type of technology might face if it attracted wide adoption. Some experts say delivery drones, for instance, may never become a big part of the logistics network because of the complicated regulations governing their use as well as the potential dangers of having too many of them buzzing around the skies.
Gravity said it does not fall into any aviation categories, so permissions are not required, but it works closely with regulators. On its website, Jet Pack Aviation says all of its U.S. flights are approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.
In 2017, Browning started Gravity near London and secured $650,000 from Adam and Tim Draper, venture capitalists known for early investments in the Chinese internet company Baidu as well as Tesla and Skype. Since then, Gravity has tinkered with its jetpack design, making about 1,000 iterations of its 3D-printed jet suit.
The suit is powered by five gas turbine jet engines that generate about 1,000 horsepower, according to the company. It weighs about 75 pounds with fuel in it. The suit can run on jet fuel, diesel or kerosene. Users can direct the jetpack by moving their arms as if they are leaning on a table. It has a top speed of 80 miles per hour and is technically capable of reaching an altitude of 12,000 feet. The company, however, noted that the jetpack has been tested at lower heights for safety purposes.
The company has designed an electric version of the jet suit, which it demonstrated for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in March. The batteries needed to power it are too heavy and make that version difficult to fly, Browning said. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
To make money, the company shows the suit at events across the globe, including at the Mars Conference hosted by Bezos and the opening of baseball season in Japan. This year, Browning said, Gravity will have roughly $5 million in revenue, about $500,000 of which will be profit.
The company is partnering with a British air ambulance service to see if paramedics can don the suit to reach critically ill patients and stabilize them before emergency vehicles arrive. Seven special military units are exploring how to use the jetpack to help fighters in battlefield situations, such as outflanking an opponent or boarding a ship.
But the suit is unlikely to make it into the public domain anytime soon, Browning said. It would be like taking a “Formula One car down to Walmart,” he said. “You could, but no one would.”
Source: WP
