Ironman Takes Flight

Tony Stark is hard at work inside his lab. Suddenly FRIDAY, Tony’s newest computer system, interrupts his thoughts. It notifies Tony of an attack downtown. It looks like a new villain wants to make a grand entrance.

Tony leaps to his feet, work forgotten. He taps his chest where there is a soft blue glow under his shirt. Red and gold metal pieces click together and cover Tony’s entire body. Seconds later, he rushes outside and flies through the city to stop the attack. Tony Stark is Iron Man!

Iron Man’s suit has boots that work like very small, miniature jet engines. They help Iron Man zoom across the city! On his hands, special devices called repulsors help Iron Man easily dart around giant buildings.

As Iron Man flies closer, he spots the villain surrounded by debris left from something that was either broken down or destroyed. Iron Man quietly flies toward the villain from above, making sure he is not seen. Then, Iron Man lands right behind the bad guy. Startled, the villain turns around. But before the villain can attack, Iron Man takes him down with a single repulsor blast. Iron Man’s flying helped save the day!

Soaring Superheroes

Many popular superheroes have the power, or the ability, to fly. But they soar through the air in different ways. Superman was the first superhero who could fly. He was created by DC Comics in 1938. Superman is an alien from the planet Krypton.

On Krypton, he did not have any special abilities. But Earth’s yellow Sun gave him the power to fly!

In the 1940s, DC Comics introduced more flying heroes. Hawkman and Hawkgirl have wings made out of Nth metal. This material is found on their home planet of Thanagar. It resists gravity.

As time passed, more heroes began to fly across the pages of comic books. In 1955, DC made Martian Manhunter and gave him the power of telekinesis. He uses this power to move himself and others up in the air!

Marvel Comics also made flying superheroes. In 1962, Marvel introduced Thor. He is a god who carries a magic hammer called Mjolnir. He can swing Mjolnir around to take flight! A few years later, Captain Marvel made her first appearance. She can zoom through space because she is part alien, part human!

Marvel continued to make flying heroes. In 1968, Vision was introduced. He has the power of intangibility. This allows him to become weightless and fly! Later, Falcon took to the skies with his EX0-7 suit. It has mechanical wings and a jetpack! In the 1970s, Storm started using her ability to control weather to fly. She uses the wind to propel herself through the air!

In recent decades, DC Comics created Miss Martian. She first appeared with her power of telekinesis in 2006. Like her mentor, Martian Manhunter, Miss Martian uses telekinesis to fly!

Everyday Flight

Technology has helped people fly for centuries! In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers created an early hot-air balloon. Hot air inside a silk bag was lighter than the air outside. This helped the bag fly! The first powered flight occurred in 1903. Orville and Wilbur Wright attached a small engine to a glider. Their flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet (37 meters)!

Technology improved as time passed. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly to space! By 1969, the first humans flew to the Moon. Today, people can travel anywhere on passenger planes.

To take flight, all planes need lift. To produce lift, the wings on a plane are made so heavier air moves under the wings during flight. The heavy air below the wings lifts the plane into the air. To stay in the air, the lift has to be greater than the weight of the plane.

The Science Behind Flight

​​Planes also need thrust to fly. Thrust is created by powerful engines on a plane. To move forward, the amount of thrust needs to be greater than the amount of drag. Drag slows down planes as they fly.

Is Human Flight Possible?

Humans can pay for a plane ticket to fly across the world. But many people have wondered if humans can fly on their own like a bird.

Sadly, people cannot fly like a bird. Unlike people, birds have hollow bones. Their bodies are much lighter, which makes it easier for them to fly. Birds also have wide wingspans to support themselves while flying. For people to fly, they would need incredibly long wings to support their weight during flight.

Lacking the ability to fly has not stopped people from making technology to help them soar on their own. In 1919, Aleksandr Fyodorovich Andreyev patented the jetpack. He became the only person to make and sell the invention for years! A jetpack is a device that someone wears on their back. It has powerful jet engines so someone wearing it can fly.

Since 1919, many people have tried to create their own working jetpacks. But jetpacks are not likely to be a common way to fly anytime soon. They use very expensive fuel. They can only provide short flights. They are also dangerous and difficult to control.

Today, people use wingsuits to try to glide through the air. Wingsuits have pieces of fabric stretched from a person’s hips or feet to their arms to form wings. Another piece covers the area between their legs. To speed through the air, people jump from a high height and spread their arms and legs.

The Negative Effects of Flight on Humans

But wingsuits can be deadly. People move at more than 100 miles (161 kilometers) per hour. They fly at high altitudes where air is colder and thinner. This can cause hypothermia and breathing problems.

The Future of Flying

Humans are not likely to develop superpowers and be able to fly like Superman. But people continue to seek new advancements in human flight. For example, British inventor Richard Browning designs jet engine-powered bodysuits.

Browning’s invention turns the human body into an airplane. Jet engines are attached to each arm, and each leg has a wing. A person controls their flight with their body movements. In 2019, Browning flew at a record speed of 85 miles (137 kilometers) per hour in one of his suits.

Flying vehicles are another way people may take flight. In 2019, the company ALI built the XTURISMO. It is a hoverbike. It hovers right above the ground with propellers. This will allow users to zoom around at high speeds!

Drones could make human flight more common, too. People are working on making drones large enough to carry humans. These remotely, from a distance, flown aircraft could serve as flying taxis and avoid traffic on the ground!

People could also take to the skies with the Flyboard Air. Flyboards have a longer flight time than jetpacks. Aboard them, people may be able to fly thousands of feet in the air. Flyboards might even reach speeds of 124 miles (200 kilometers) per hour.

People may not be able to fly on their own. But there continue to be new technologies that allow people to soar through the air. The sky's the limit!