Adm. Gayler
Dear Noel,     STOL Landing on carriers.
Crazy New Year's fantasy
(In fact a rediscovery of some old notes)
Would it help to provide lift as well as drag by pulsing air jets up from the runway in synhrony [sic] with the progress of the aircraft?
This is an adaptation of JATO but keeps the JATO unit(s) on the ground/deck, to avoid the obvious weight penalties.
The air cushion is intended to allow for steeper landings, less vulnerable to wind shear etc. And the "jets" might be solid fuel rocket engines. If we can get air tankers on and off ships we mitigate a lot of strategic problems.
Has this been looked [?] out?
Yours,
Joshua.
[stamped, JAN 5 1981]