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Early experiments with using rockets to boost sailplanes into the air were conducted in Germany in the 1920s, but practical JATO systems were first introduced by the RAF early in World War II. These used fairly large solid fuel rockets to shoot planes (typically the Hawker Hurricane) off a small ramp fitted to the fronts of merchant ships in order to provide some cover against German spotter planes. After firing, the rocket was released from the back of the plane to fall into the water (and sink). The pilot would later parachute from the plane, hopefully to be picked up by one of the escort vessels.
The Luftwaffe also used the technique in order to help their small bombers into the air with loads that would have made the takeoff run too long otherwise. This became especially important late in the war when the lengths of usable runways were severely curtailed due to the results of Allied bombing. Their system typically used Walter HWK 500 Starthilfe ("start-help") rocket engines driven by breaking down hydrogen peroxide. A parachute at the front of the motor was used to slow its fall after being released from the plane, so the system could be re-used. Other German experiments with JATO were aimed at assisting the launch of interceptor aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Me 262 so that they could reach enemy bomber formations sooner.
After World War II JATO became particularly common owing to the low slow-speed thrust of then-current jet engines. As the quality and power of the engines has grown, JATO has fallen from favour. It is still used, however, when heavily-laden aircraft need to take off from short runways.
In all of these cases the term "jet" is inaccurate and the system is more accurately called RATO. However JATO remains the most popular version, apparently due to its US origin.
The JATO Rocket Car is a famous urban legend that relates the story of a car equipped with JATO units for a lark, that is later found smashed into a mountainside. This story is often given as an example of a Darwin AwardNamed in honor of Charles Darwin, a Darwin Award is a manifestation of Internet humor, a dubious/ sarcastic/ cynical honor awarded to those members of the species Homo sapiens who have improved the human gene pool by "removing themselves from it in a spec; however it appears to be apocryphal, with no basis in fact. A particularly elaborate form of this legend has been promulgated by hacker group Cult of the Dead CowCult of the Dead Cow is a high-profile computer hacker organization founded in 1984 in Lubbock, Texas. The Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc) is most famous for its release of Back Orifice in 1998, Back Orifice 2000 in 1999, and being named "Sassiest Underground in the ostensibly autobiographical story "Rocket Car". This legend was convincingly debunked in 2003 on the Discovery Channel show MythBustersMythBusters is a television program on the Discovery Channel starring Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, two special effect specialists who set out to prove or disprove myths and urban legends of popular culture. Some of the questions the show has tried to an. They replicated the scene and the thrust of the JATO with some commercially-available amateur rocket motors. The car did go very fast, maybe 150 MPH, but did not go anywhere near 300 MPH, and did not become airborne. However, a nearly verbatim copy of the cDc version is detailed here, involving a car frame attached to an old mine railcar and a JATO rocket as described in the Cult of the Dead Cow version. The reader must determine whether the presence of two such accounts amounts to verification or copying.
| Types of take-off and landing |
| CTOL - Conventional Take-Off and Landing STOL - Short Take-Off and Landing STOVL - Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing VTOL - Vertical Take-Off and Landing (or VTOVL) VTOHL - Vertical Take-Off, Horizontal Landing V/STOL - Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing STOBAR - Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery
RATO - Rocket-Assisted Take-Off |
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