Edwards AFB. A long climb to the cockpit. Loading Lockheed test pilot Ed Brown in the cockpit of the ZELL F-104G before a rocket launch take-off. -- 148 F-100s were modified for ZELL. In 1963, the German Luftwaffe sponsored similar launch experiments with a single F-104G strike fighter, with Lockheed test pilot Ed Brown performing the flights. Brown was impressed with the scheme, saying: "All I did was push the rocket booster button and sit back. The plane was on its own for the first few seconds and then I took over. I was surprised at the smoothness, even smoother than a steam catapult launch from an aircraft carrier."
Nothing came of any of it. Nobody wanted to field ZELL. The idea was sexy, it worked well, but it was expensive and had nasty logistical and security concerns associated with it. In the end, the capability offered by the system was provided by battlefield missiles and the Harrier VTOL "jump-jet" that didn't need a booster rocket. Nobody but test pilots ever blasted a jet fighter into the sky on a rocket booster. It wasn't a practical idea, but it had certainly been a ride that Disney could never have built in a thousand years.
