Our story in Monday's edition of AVweb about the planned flight of XCOR's rocket-powered Long-EZ reminded one of our readers of an obscure historical event -- the first American manned flight of an aircraft propelled by rocket thrust alone -- which was flown in California on Aug. 23, 1941, in a humble Ercoupe. The propeller of the Ercoupe was removed and 12 rockets installed. The Ercoupe was pulled by a truck to a speed of about 25 mph. Capt. Homer Boushey released the tether, fired the rockets, and climbed to about 10 or 20 feet, then landed straight ahead on the runway.
http://www.avweb.com/newswire/11_47b/brief...tml?CMP=OTC-RSS
http://www.avweb.com/newswire/11_47b/brief...tml?CMP=OTC-RSS
