I often think of this one as well.

It parses fine really, there is a (possibly empty) set of things that float in the air, and the spaceship is one of them, but bricks are not. It’s not nonsensical, it’s just a creative twist on a common idiom (“in much the same way a brick does”) that’s so unexpected it seems silly.

I also think of the later books where Arthur perfects the art of falling and missing the ground sometimes.