GRAVITY Industries' Jet Suit Display Team is one of Bournemouth Air Festival's more unusual attractions this year.

Described as the 'next frontier in human flight' the team, founded by Richard Browning, will be flying across the seafront wearing jet packs after taking off from Bournemouth Pier.

The Daily Echo caught up with number two pilot Dr Angelo Grubisic at yesterday's official festival launch event.

Dr Grubisic said: "We get a lot of attention, it is a very visceral experience with lots of noise - it is an amazing sight to see.

"We are literally strapping gas turbine engines onto us, very similar to the gas turbines you would use on a fighter jet. They are just scaled down."

The jet pack pilots have five turbine engines, two on each arm and a larger engine on their backs.

"We are utilising the brute power of jet engines here and amalgamating that with the human mind," he said. "There are no electronics behind this in terms of how you control the suit, it is just mind and machine.

"Our own nervous system is what is at the controls, we are changing all our thrust vectors to control suit flight."

The jet packs produce 1,000bhp, and Dr Grubisic told the Echo that you really feel it when the engines start.

"When you squeal up those engines and you feel the engine revs lift, they are doing 117,000rpm at full thrust.

"You are taking about 45kg of load through your arms, on each arm, the equivalent of lifting 90kg.

"But you have to maintain that nice posture and add the control element as well.

"It us the ultimate amalgamation of mind and machine, it really is almost flight in its purest form."

Last year the team attained the 'fastest speed in a body-controlled jet engine powered suit ' and have since continued to advance their pioneering technology.

Gravity Industries' Jet Suit Display Team are set to demonstrate at Bournemouth Pier today.