The Dubai “Jet Suit” Championship, the first of its kind in the world

Dubai hosted the first ever "jetsuit" race yesterday, Wednesday.

The pilots lined up on a runway in Dubai and launched their seven “jet suits” with a deafening sound. They were not preparing to fly a plane, but rather they were the planes themselves.

Competitors zipped along the route with the skyscrapers of Dubai Marina looming behind them, controlling jet engines on their hands and backs.

It looks like Iron Man, one of the Marvel Comics cartoon stories made famous worldwide by actor Robert Downey Jr.

“The closest analogy is that dream of flying and then go wherever your mind takes you,” said Richard Browning, founder and lead test pilot of Gravity Industries, which co-organized the race with the Dubai Sports Council. “I think we have the closest anyone will ever get to it.” To make that dream a reality.”

Gravity previously attracted global attention when it fitted one of its jet suits onto a UK Royal Marines helicopter, which landed on a ship at sea years ago. Since then, handling of the jet suits has increased and the company has fulfilled other military orders before coming up with the idea for the race, which is being organized with the Dubai Sports Council.

The races held on Wednesday witnessed the pilots wearing jet suits with a power of 1,500 horsepower, which is more powerful than most luxury sports cars and uses the same type of fuel used by the Airbus (A380) and Boeing 777 aircraft of the long-haul Emirates Airlines, based in Dubai.

Pilots lined up on the runway used by Skydive Dubai, the thrill-seeking institution linked to the Emirate's Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, in Dubai Marina, with some paratroopers descending while preparing their jet bags.

Gravity says the jet suit can currently reach speeds of up to 80 miles per hour (128 kilometers per hour).