It might sound like a kid's wildest dream, but it's already come true---you can now fly like Iron Man.
Well, a select few people, that is. Gravity.co has developed a personal jet suit and will bring a flight event to Atlanta later this year. Applications to fly the Gravity.co jet suit---which has been flown by fewer than 100 people in the world---are now open. Only a handful of innovators will be chosen.
Marshall Mosher, CEO of local Atlanta startup Vestigo, will be training ten influential CEOs and founders who've been selected through an extreme vetting process. The select ten will go through a 10-week physical training period to prepare them to fly the suit, Mosher said, before the flight in Atlanta.
"The first iteration of this idea will be happening now officially on May 4 and 5 here in Atlanta," he said.
Mosher, who has flown the suit himself and is headed to the U.K. for teacher training, said a decent amount of athletisism is required to fly the jet suit. Thus, the founders will go through a 10-week period with a physical trainer to "get jet suit fit" to sustain a constant hover during their flight. Mosher compared the agility needed to holding yourself up on bars at the gym.
"It does take some coordination, but not quite as hard as people think," he said.
During their search, Gravity.co is looking for founders who have a decent amount of fitness, but also have a drive and aspiration to be one of select few in the world to have the first flight in the United States.
"We want to ensure that the people who are part of this group of 10 have the right mindset required to have a successful flight, regardless of how in-shape or not in-shape you are," Mosher said. "This isn't something that’s going to be easy, [you have to] motivate [yourself] to do it. That’s the most important factor."
Those interested in applying can reach out to Mosher at marshall@vestigo.co or his Instagram. Selected individuals will then interview with Richard Browning, the founder of Gravity.co.
"We want to make it a really great balance between diversity of the types of people in the group, the industries of where they work, athletes involved, etc.," Mosher said.
Following their training, the selected 10 will have split flight days with six hours of flight training total in May at the Atlanta Motorsports Parkway, where friends and family can come watch them fly. Each "flight" lasts about four to five minutes, Mosher said.
"I’d be surprised if anyone didn’t feel like they got enough time on it," he said.
Learning to fly the suit is---surprisingly, exactly like the scene in "Iron Man," when Tony Stark tries to fly his suit in his garage, Mosher said. There's a significant amount of trial and error.
"It’s really interesting, it’s kind of like anything where it takes a little bit of a learning curve but then there’s this moment where you start to dial in your reactions," he said.
After the flight experience, Mosher said there's interest in launching a racing league with jet suit pilots in the U.K. and the U.S. He said he's excited to start training others and empowering them to attempt one of the greatest human achievements: flight.
"This is the perfect combination for my passions of technology and sports in a really exciting way," he said. "Ultimately, the goal of what we’re trying to do is augment human mobility through technology and the jet suit is just the beginning."
