Check out this rare 1941 color film of the army testing Ercoupes hooked up with six jet packs. Towards the end of the film watch how much the poor little coupe drops after takeoff when those jets cut out. Don't think the shorter takeoff run was any kind of gain for the pilot, unless of course all he had was 300 feet of runway to begin with. And that's not to mention the stress on the poor little thing's airframe. One part shows how a jet pack tore a hole in the tail section. Anyway, it's an interesting piece of film for those who have not seen it.
http://vimeo.com/875011 Steve
