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.

Education

Browning was educated at Queen's College, a boarding and day independent school for boys (now co-educational) in the county town of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by t ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, followed by

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

, where he initially studied engineering and then, after one semester, switched to exploration geology.

Career

Browning set out in 2016 to experiment with the concept “using the human mind to balance and control the body in flight structure”, adding power in the form of micro gas turbines (

jet engines A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet (fluid), jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include Rocket engine, rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and ...

). His development journey, culminating in the first flight in November 2016, was the subject of a 2017 TED talk and the “Taking on Gravity” publication. Browning received initial investment and launched the company Gravity Industries in April 2017 together with

WIRED magazine ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San F ...

and

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inc ...

. Public demonstrations of the invention included over 100 flight events across 33 countries. He was referred to as a "real-life

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

” by several media outlets.

TIME magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on M ...

featured the jet suit as amongst the best inventions of 2018. Gravity Industries was recognized by

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the fastest flight in a body-controlled jet suit in November 2019 at 85 mph (135kmph). Gravity Industries received a $640,000 investment from

Tim Draper Timothy Cook Draper (born June 11, 1958) is an American venture capital investor, and founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ),

and Adam Draper after the first public demonstration outside Draper Associates & Boost VC offices at Hero City in San Mateo. Gravity Industries is now a permanent team of seven based in Salisbury, UK and has a support network around the world. The company business model includes TV & media work, commercial events & displays, brand collaborations, STEM initiatives, and public flight training & flight experiences in the UK and US. Gravity also has a wide range of partnerships with the UK, the US and European militaries, and a range of search & rescue organizations. The company was planning to launch the Gravity Race Series in March 2020 in Bermuda, but this was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Gravity's jet suit was named the Daedalus suit, a name chosen by Browning's son when he was aged eight, in reference to

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, ...

of Greek mythology, although the name is not used on the company's website.

Personal life

Prior to founding Gravity, Browning was a Royal Marines reservist for 6 years and an oil trader with British Petroleum for 16 years. He is married and has 2 children.

Selected publications

*''Taking on Gravity: A Guide to Inventing the Impossible from the Man Who Learned to Fly'' (2021, Bantam: )

References

External links

Gravity Industries Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Browning, Richard 21st-century British inventors Living people 1979 births Alumni of Cardiff University Jet pack People educated at Queen's College, Taunton