If you’ve ever dreamed of taking off and flying like Iron Man but couldn’t bear the thought of burning fossil fuels to do it, you may just be in luck.
Britain’s Gravity Industries unveiled and flew an electric version of its jet suit for the first time on Thursday.
Spectators at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Chichester, England, cheered as one of the company’s test pilots, Sam Rogers, spun the jet pack’s six electric ducted fans and lifted off the ground for a short, tethered flight.
It may not have been the hair-raising aerial display for which the company’s maverick founder Richard Browning is known, but overcoming the limitations of modern battery technology to allow for lift-off was a significant challenge.
“Unfortunately, diesel, gasoline and jet fuel are extremely energy-dense – very hard to compete with,” Mr Browning said.
Generating the amount of power needed to lift a person off the ground required several batteries mounted on the jet pack’s frame. As a result, the electric prototype is significantly heavier than the gas turbine version.
Mr Browning said the electric suit was operating right on the edge of what is possible with modern technology.
“We see this as a sort of beginning that we can improve upon,” he said. “The world and his dog are working on better batteries. So, as they come along we can make the electric jet suit gradually catch up with and eventually outcompete the gas turbine suit.”
One of the company’s jet suit engineers, Archie Sandberg, said: “We did the maths on it and it was so close to being feasible. We just wanted to prove it was possible.
“Even today we were 50-50 as to whether or not it would take off.”
Gravity Industries sells its gas turbine jet suits for more than $400,000 and supervises flights from its UK base.
Mr Sandberg said the company already uses a tethered version of the electric jetpack to help teach its customers to fly before they move on to the jet-powered suits, which run on aviation fuel and generate 1,000 horsepower.
Shortly after the electric jet pack flight, Mr Browning fired up one of the company’s turbine-powered suits for a demonstration, kicking up grass and dust as he took off, making the ride on board three columns of jet exhaust look easy.
Since he unveiled the first version of the jet suit in 2017, Mr Browning has become known as a real-life Tony Stark, performing hundreds of death-defying demonstration flights around the world and breaking two world records.
Often credited with reviving interest in the jetpack as a form of personal transportation after its heyday in the 1960s, Mr Browning has big ambitions for his jet suits.
“The jet suit started as a crazy idea: could you reimagine human flight?”
“I think we've done a pretty good job over the last four years proving that this is about as good as you can get,” he said.
“It's wonderful how it taps into human balance and control like a bicycle – it's a minimalist piece of technology that allows you to do something kind of superhuman.”
But far from being just another plaything for the world’s wealthy, Mr Browning believes there are many uses for his jet suit.
A former Royal Marine, Mr Browning has already demonstrated a possible military application for the technology, as well as a use in search and rescue operations.
“It turns out apart from entertaining people, or giving people the amazing experience of learning to fly one of these – the race series we were due to launch before Covid is still ready to go – military and search and rescue applications have bloomed in a way we never imagined,” he said.
“It just shows what opportunities emerge if you put a capability out there and start experimenting in a very open way.”
TYPES%20OF%20ONLINE%20GIG%20WORK
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Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
UAE’s revised Cricket World Cup League Two schedule
August, 2021: Host - United States; Teams - UAE, United States and Scotland
Between September and November, 2021 (dates TBC): Host - Namibia; Teams - Namibia, Oman, UAE
December, 2021: Host - UAE; Teams - UAE, Namibia, Oman
February, 2022: Hosts - Nepal; Teams - UAE, Nepal, PNG
June, 2022: Hosts - Scotland; Teams - UAE, United States, Scotland
September, 2022: Hosts - PNG; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
February, 2023: Hosts - UAE; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
Results
5pm: Wadi Nagab – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Al Falaq, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Wadi Sidr – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Fakhama, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm: Wadi Shees – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Mutaqadim, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 – Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Wadi Tayyibah – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Poster Paint, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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