Gravity Industries has announced that the world's first jet suit competition will be held in less than a month. Some say the first motorcycle race took place on the day the second motorcycle was built. Jet suits will obviously take longer - we first reported on Gravity founder Richard Browning's early attempts at an Iron Man-style jet suit nearly seven years ago.

However, Gravity has done a solid job of making turbine-powered personal flight unique. Mayman Aerospace specializes in traditional-looking jet packs and flying motorcycles, Zapata specializes in jet skateboards and high-speed flying karts, and Jetmanteam makes lightning-fast jet wings.

Putting the turbines on the arms makes this a very physically demanding aircraft - that's not the case with other aircraft, but here you're supporting most of your body's weight on your shoulders and arms, and using them to steer. So if you can hold an iron cross on an old-school gymnastic ring, you might find that a gravity flight suit is incredibly flexible and a lot of fun to fly.

You can buy the 1,050-horsepower, 27-kilogram (60-pound) unit yourself for about $483,000 (including tax), or spend $3,500 to spend a day flying in a tethered training device.

After years of demonstration flights, emergency response test flights, military exercises, and even live-fire exercises using a shoulder-mounted head-tracking weapon system, now Gravity is getting ready to compete.

Under an agreement signed with the Government of Dubai, the world's first jetsuit competition will be held on February 28 in the area between Dubai Harbor and Dubai Skydiving Ground as part of the Dubai Boat Show. Emirati pilot Ahmed Al Shehhi has undergone gravity training in the UK and plans to join seven other pilots in the competition.

This will be a tournament, so the FPV drone video above should give you an idea of ​​what the action will be like from a competitor's perspective. Gravity has been developing the concept for several years, and while it's unclear whether this will be a time trial or a head-to-head competition, the company certainly has experience with multiple pilots flying in close quarters, so it's not out of the question that two or more jet suits can fly around the track at the same time. The jet suit will be modified to increase buoyancy and provide drowning protection if someone falls overboard.

"Our Gravity Race Series will deliver more excitement and drama than Formula 1 can offer," Browning said in a press release. "We won't be content with just putting together a fly and race show; we also seek to increase the competitive intensity and excitement of the event through flight paths that will include challenges to maneuverability, accuracy and flight speed to determine the four best finishers and then compete for the top three spots on the podium."

Come on, team! We look forward to this unique event unfolding.