The Daedalus Flight Pack is a jet suit capable of flying, hovering and powered jumps. [1] It was created by British inventor Richard Browning, an athlete and Royal Marine Reservist. [2] The Daedalus is different from other manned portable flight packs in that it uses additional jets attached to the hands. These enable it to be directed by moving the arms.
The jet suit which Browning developed was named the Daedalus Suit, a name chosen by Browning's son when he was aged eight, in reference to Daedalus of Greek mythology, [3] although as of 2022 [update] the name is not used on the company's website. [4]
Richard Browning first started work on the project in the year 2016. [5] The suit has been likened to the comic character Iron Man. Browning formed his own company, Gravity Industries, and used his own funding for development work. [6] The first published test flight was revealed at the 2017 TED conference in Vancouver. Browning experimented with different numbers, configurations and arrays of jets, with varying degrees of success, before coming up with his current configuration. [7] While initial funding came from Browning himself, since the success of the project, he has received promotional support from the Red Bull energy drink company. [8]
In September 2020, it was reported that the Great North Air Ambulance service was considering using this jet suit to enable paramedics to reach casualties in the mountainous Lake District. [9] By March 2022 the operational director of the GNAA, Andy Mawson, had been trained to fly and the service hoped to start using jet suits in summer 2022. [10]
The jets and powerpack are affixed to the wearer with metal frames; it uses five micro-gas turbines - two on each arm and one on the back. Their power is 1,050 bhp (780 kW), with the turbines running at 120,000 rpm. The unit weighs 27 kilograms (60 lb) and has a maximum flight time of 10 minutes, with a current speed record of 85 mph (137 km/h; 74 kn). [11] The flight pack can reach altitudes of 2,000 feet (610 m), though it is envisaged that in normal use, it would be flown at only three or four metres above the ground. [12]
Projected initial cost for purchase is US$250,000, although this projection is expected to come down after full production. [13] [14] Browning says of the technology: “Our mission is to build an inspirational technology company by re-imagining the future of human flight and pioneering aeronautical innovation.” [15] The flight pack incorporates a heads up display which displays for the user operating information, including top speed, fuel left, etc.
Gravity Industries have said that they will require the user to be vetted before use. [16] In 2017, the Daedalus flight pack set a speed record for flight packs, at 32.02 miles per hour (51.53 kilometers per hour), awarded by the Guinness Book of Records . [17] In 2020, YouTuber Colin Furze, known for wacky inventions and functional interpretations of movie props, video game gadgets, and other fictional devices, was given the opportunity to learn how to fly the flight pack. He made a video where he showed the process of learning to fly it, then strapped a Back to The Future Part II hoverboard onto his feet so he could "hoverboard". [18]
In Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspected that Icarus and Daedalus had revealed the labyrinth's secrets and imprisoned them—either in a large tower overlooking the ocean or in the labyrinth itself, depending upon the account. Icarus and Daedalus escaped using wings Daedalus constructed from birds’ molted feathers, threads from blankets, the leather straps from their sandals, and beeswax. Before escaping, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too low or the water would soak the feathers and not to fly too close to the sun or the heat would melt the wax. Icarus ignored Daedalus's instructions not to fly too close to the sun, causing the beeswax in his wings to melt. Icarus fell from the sky, plunged into the sea, and drowned. The myth gave rise to the idiom, "fly too close to the sun." In some versions of the tale, Daedalus and Icarus escape by ship.
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by one or more jet engines.
Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale; both wrote the story. It is a sequel to the 1985 film Back to the Future and the second installment in the Back to the Future franchise. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Thomas F. Wilson, with Elisabeth Shue and Jeffrey Weissman in supporting roles. It follows Marty McFly (Fox) and his friend Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd) as they travel from 1985 to 2015 to prevent Marty's son from sabotaging the McFly family's future. When their arch-nemesis Biff Tannen (Wilson) steals Doc's DeLorean time machine and uses it to alter history for his benefit, the duo must return to 1955 to restore the timeline.
Marty McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Back to the Future franchise. He is a high school student living in the fictional town of Hill Valley, California, who accidentally becomes a time traveler and alters history after his scientist friend Emmett Brown invents a DeLorean time machine. He was created by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale. In the film trilogy, he is portrayed by Canadian actor Michael J. Fox. Back to the Future established Fox as a film star, such was the commercial success and popularity of the film upon its release in 1985. Marty returned in two film sequels, Back to the Future Part II in 1989 and Back to the Future Part III in 1990.
A g-suit, or anti-g suit, is a flight suit worn by aviators and astronauts who are subject to high levels of acceleration force (g). It is designed to prevent a black-out and g-LOC caused by the blood pooling in the lower part of the body when under acceleration, thus depriving the brain of blood. Black-out and g-LOC have caused a number of fatal aircraft accidents.
A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research, and making gravity-free movie shots.
A hoverboard is a fictional levitating board used for personal transportation, first described in science-fiction, and made famous by the appearance of a skateboard-like hoverboard in the film Back to the Future Part II. Many attempts have been made to invent a functioning hoverboard.
A jet pack, rocket belt, rocket pack or flight pack is a device worn as a backpack which uses jets to propel the wearer through the air. The concept has been present in science fiction for almost a century and the first working experimental devices were demonstrated in the 1960s.
The Bell Rocket Belt is a low-power rocket propulsion device that allows an individual to safely travel or leap over small distances. It is a type of rocket pack.
A backpack helicopter / helipack is a helicopter motor and rotor and controls assembly that can be strapped to a person's back, so they can walk about on the ground wearing it, and can use it to fly. It uses a harness like a parachute harness and should have a strap between the legs. Some designs may use a ducted fan design to increase upward thrust. Several inventors have tried to make backpack helicopters, with mixed results.
Yves Rossy is a Swiss military-trained pilot and an aviation enthusiast. He is known as the inventor of a series of experimental individual jet packs, the latest using carbon-fiber wings for flight. Often referred to as "Jetman", Rossy has sometimes tested and presented new versions of his jetpacks in high-profile events staged around the world.
A hoverbike is a vehicle that can hover, resembling a flying motorbike, having at least two propulsive portions—one in front of and one behind the driver. It is often used as a staple vehicle in science fiction and near future settings, but since the early 2010s, some attempts have been made at developing a functional, practical hoverbike.
A human-powered aircraft (HPA) is an aircraft belonging to the class of vehicles known as human-powered transport.
A Flyboard is a brand of hydroflighting device which supplies propulsion to drive the Flyboard into the air to perform a sport known as hydroflying.
Hydroflight sports are a category of sport in which water jet propulsion is used to create sustained flight where lift and movement are controlled by a person riding on a propulsion device. Competitions for this sport started around 2012. There are many training centres throughout the world where beginners go to learn and practice skills so they can fly these devices by themselves.
Flyboard Air is a type of jetpack/hoverboard powered by gas turbines. It was invented by French water-craft rider Franky Zapata, founder of Zapata racing.
The JetLev is a water-propelled jet pack powered through a floater derived from jetski technology attached through an umbilical to the backpack which contains two nozzles and two control arms, in a configuration like traditional rocket belts and gas turbine jet belts. The JetLev also functions underwater, allowing users to dive into the water and jet back out. The jetpack can allow users to fly up to 10 m above the water. It was created by Chinese Canadian, Raymond Li. JetLev became the first practical amateur-usable jet pack, and first with practical usable duration. The JetLev technology jetpack became the first commercially released jetpack in 2009. It was initially offered for sale for US$100,000, however with much cheaper competitors coming on the market afterwards, inspired by the original JetLev, such as the Flyboard, prices rapidly dropped, with cheaper models.
Richard Browning is a British inventor and the creator of the Daedalus Flight Pack "jet suit". He is the founder and chief test pilot of Gravity Industries, his company that designs and builds the invention.
Franky Zapata is a French personal watercraft pilot who is the inventor of the Flyboard and Flyboard Air, and founder of Zapata Racing. Since 2012, Zapata's efforts have been focused on the development and manufacture of personal flyers for land and aquatic applications.
Jetpack man, also described as guy in a jetpack or Iron Man, is an unknown person or object that has been observed flying what appears to be an unauthorized jetpack around the Los Angeles area at least five times from 2020 to 2022. Multiple airplane pilots have reported seeing the jetpack man at altitudes around 5,000 feet (1,500 m).