A UK Engineer Just Built His Own Iron Man-Like Flying Suit

Whether it’s the 1991 film The Rocketeer or any of the more recent Iron Man movies, Hollywood has been teasing us with the jet pack for years. After all—who wouldn’t want the chance to fly?

As a result, dozens—if not hundreds—of dreamers have built countless prototypes in an attempt to build the most viable solution capable of safely propelling a human body through the air. More recently, UK engineer Richard Browning has been making steady progress towards realizing his own interpretation of a flying suit.

Rather than a traditional backpack-based jet propulsion system, Browning’s ‘Daedalus’ is a jet engine suit with independent thrusters for each limb. And while that may sound like all sorts of insanity, Browning relies heavily on his own athleticism to harness and control the system.

As for what it’s like to feel like a real-life Iron Man? According to Browning, flying the Daedalus is “like riding a bicycle in three dimensions”.

Find out more about Browning and the Daedalus over at Gravity.