Page 27 - Navigator 2021

A utopia? Perhaps. At present, the scenario above is hard to imagine. At the same time, flying people are already a reality though. The English inventor Richard Browning, for example, has made it his
life’s work to develop a jet suit - the Gravity Flight Suit - that actually enables people to fly considerable distances through the air.
FALLING AND FLYING
Watching Browning’s initial attempts in 2016 on YouTube, you probably won’t be immediately impressed. There is more falling than flying. However, the potential is clearly there, as the inventor proves in subsequent years through the rapid increase in performance of his body-controlled, jet engine powered suit. In 2018, Time Magazine calls it one of the best inventions of the year. In 2019, Browning achieves a top speed of more than 135 kilometres per hour in his Gravity Flight Suit for the Guinness Book of Records.
To take to the air in a Gravity Flight Suit, a jet pilot is fitted with two micro jet engines on each arm plus a larger jet engine on the back with fuel tanks for diesel or kerosene on both sides. The suit is controlled with the arms; highly intuitive according to the inventor Browning. “Just like riding a bicycle, your subconscious automatically performs the necessary actions.”
MORE THAN TOYS FOR BOYS
After mainly drawing the attention of adventurers, hobbyists, etc. in the start-up phase, others are now also starting to discover the Gravity
Flight Suit. Emergency services and military organisations are showing serious interest. In the continuous pursuit of making their operations more effective and better, the Dutch Marine Corps actually tested
the jet suit in practice in the spring of 2021. The Special Forces see it as a possible new option to reach previously inaccessible locations. Following a first short flight, Major of the Marines Mark Haasdijk refers to the suit’s operation as being highly intuitive. “By moving your body and arms, you generate buoyancy. It’s a matter of finding balance in the air. It was easier than you might think.”
Whether there will actually be a follow-up remains to be seen. “We are now mainly going to consider the military applications. The great thing is that these kinds of developments make things possible that we would not have thought of ourselves. This opens doors.” And who knows, that may also apply to maritime pilots in the distant future. After all, nothing is impossible!
WATCH THEM FLY!
Talking about flying persons is interesting, watching them is even better. These videos show respectively the British Navy and the Dutch Navy in full action in Gravity Flight Suits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suHOLFhbwsM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHmULYGHdUk
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