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Pilots turn ‘Iron-Man’ as they compete in world’s first jet suit race in Dubai. See pics
Eight people took part in the world's first jet suit race in Dubai. The race lasted for 90 seconds.
People competing to win a race while wearing jetpacks may sound like a scene right out of the Marvel World. However, it happened in real life in Dubai. A first of its kind jet suit race was organised by the Dubai Sports Council and the Gravity company.
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Dubai Sports Council took to X to share about this unique event. Written in Arabic, the caption of the post when translated into English reads, “His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai witnesses part of the competitions of the ‘Dubai Jet Suit Championship’, the first tournament of its kind in the world, which was held in Dubai Harbour”. The tweet is complete with a few images from the competition.
Take a look at the entire post here:
According to a blog link shared along with the tweet, eight contestants took part in the competition that was witnessed by thousands of people. They reportedly raced around a one-kilometre course. During the race, the participants had to manoeuvre around inflatable obstacles that were placed in the water.
Who won the race?
In this 90-second race, Issa Kalfon grabbed first place. Kalfon is a former professional gymnast and Gravity’s deputy head of flight training. British pilots Paul Jones and Freddie Hay bagged the second and the third place, respectively.
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"We had people getting disqualified, we had people losing it, we had somebody go in the water — we had just utter chaos, in a great way,” Richard Browning, chief test pilot for UK-based Gravity Industries, told CNN. “Most technology is ludicrous and impossible until it isn’t,” Browning added.
What’s next?
Browning told CNN that the company plans to hold the competition next year too in Dubai. However, they want to bring in more competitors from around the world.
“To a lot of our audience, this is science fiction coming to life. Whether it’s ‘The Rocketeer’, or ‘Ironman’, or the ‘Jetsons,’ there are lots of people that come up to us and say, I was waiting through my childhood for this and you finally delivered on what that vision was, what that ambition was,’ which is pretty cool,” added Browning.
