Defying Gravity

Richard Browning stands before a crowd of people. Suddenly, the roar of engines fills the air. The crowd erupts in cheers as Browning’s feet lift off the ground and he begins to fly!

Is Browning a superhero? Not quite. But he can zoom through the air thanks to a special suit he invented, called the Gravity Jet Suit.

The invention looks like a high-tech backpack equipped with arm sleeves. Attached to the suit are five small jet engines. These allow Browning to fly up to 90 kilometers (56 miles) per hour. That’s almost as fast as a car on the highway!

For the past two years, Browning has been showing off his suit around the world. It’s a thrill every time. “You feel this huge power at your fingertips,” he says. “It’s like a dream.”

Richard Browning stands before a crowd of people. Suddenly, the roar of engines fills the air. The crowd erupts in cheers. Browning’s feet lift off the ground. He begins to fly!

Is Browning a superhero? Not quite. But he can zoom through the air. That’s thanks to a special suit he invented. It’s called the Gravity Jet Suit.

The invention looks like a high-tech backpack. But it has arm sleeves. The suit has five small jet engines. They allow Browning to fly. He can go up to 90 kilometers (56 miles) per hour. That’s almost as fast as a car on the highway!

Browning has been traveling for the past two years. He’s been showing off his suit around the world. It’s a thrill every time. “You feel this huge power at your fingertips,” he says. “It’s like a dream.”

Browning has loved building things since he was a kid. He would spend hours with his father taking apart old TVs and toasters to learn how they work. “That gave me a fascination for the design process,” he says. 

In 2016, Browning set out to build a sleek suit that would allow a human to fly. He knew his suit would need to produce an upward force stronger than the force of gravity pulling him to Earth (see Forces of Flight). Browning started by collecting several jet engines. These powerful devices blow out air, creating a pushing force called thrust.

Browning has loved building things since he was a kid. He would spend hours with his father. They’d take apart old TVs and toasters. They wanted to learn how they work. “That gave me a fascination for the design process,” he says. 

In 2016, Browning set out to build a suit. It would allow a person to fly. His suit needed to produce an upward force. That force had to be stronger than gravity. This force pulls things toward Earth (see Forces of Flight). Browning started by collecting several jet engines. These powerful devices blow out air. That creates a pushing force called thrust.

Browning tested the engines in a field near his home in England. He put on a helmet and knee pads and strapped an engine to each arm. When he pointed the engines down, the streaming air pushed against the ground. That created an upward force called lift. Browning could bounce about a meter (3 feet) high—but he couldn’t stay in the air. 

Next, Browning attached one jet engine to each leg. This prototype allowed him to hover for six seconds. But the engines were so powerful he couldn’t keep his legs straight. 

Failing again and again was important, Browning says. “I tried so many things to come up with what worked the best.”

Browning tested the engines. He did it in a field near his home in England. He put on a helmet and knee pads. Then he strapped an engine to each arm. He pointed the engines down. The streaming air pushed against the ground. That created an upward force. It’s called lift. Browning could rise about a meter (3 feet) high. But he couldn’t stay in the air. 

Browning made another prototype. It had a jet engine strapped to each leg. This allowed him to hover for six seconds. But the engines were too strong. He couldn’t keep his legs straight. 

Failing again and again was important, Browning says. “I tried so many things to come up with what worked the best.”