This isn’t JATO or RATO - it’s POHWARO, which stands for “Pulsated Overheated Hot WAter ROcket” - and thanks to the good people over at pc-6.com, these photos demonstrate how it was used.
Presented as an environmentally-friendly alternative to jet/rocket-assisted takeoffs. Rather than burning a propellant, plain old water is heated to around 572ºF (300ºC).
When a valve is activated, the superheated water instantly vaporizes and expands, providing supplemental thrust to shorten the already short #stol takeoff roll of the #pilatuspc6 Turbo Porter.
One source indicates that the POHWARO rocket shown here produced some 5,510 pounds (2,500 kg) of force, which amounts to nearly as much thrust as an engine from a Citation Latitude.
Benefits? Water is a lot cheaper than propellant, it can be refilled in 5 minutes, it’s safer, less expensive, and more environmentally friendly.
But clearly, the absence of POHWARO-equipped aircraft today indicates there were more downsides than upsides to the concept - and despite being flown aboard the PC-6, a Navion, and a Dassault Mirage, the concept never became widely utilized.
I think I wrote it before somewhere in the forum, but still I believe this might have been a nice device for flying boats They often have to fight a lot to get airborne and have plenty of water supply...
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This isn’t JATO or RATO - it’s POHWARO, which stands for “Pulsated Overheated Hot WAter ROcket” - and thanks to the good people over at pc-6.com, these photos demonstrate how it was used.
