Civil passenger aircraft with JATO
 

Thinking of a civil passenger flight out of Washington, DC in 1969 that had what appeared to be a JATO take off, something that surprised me for a rather small passenger plane that had a capacity of maybe forty passengers. I was telling someone about this flight experience and remarked that I had only flown once before on a JATO equipped plane and that was on a C-123 in South Vietnam.
Has anyone ever heard of a civil passenger plane equipped with JATO?

I'm sure more knowledgeable people will respond but I know for fact it was considered for the 727

Comet 1 was tested with Sprite rockets to assist with hot and high ops - not used in service though.

Trident 3. :O

Was any of this used in passenger service?

Metro liner turboprop

JATO
 

After flying the Tomahawk PA38 again after many years, It could certainly benefit from these.

It's wasn't just considered - it was certified and in-service with Mexicana for several years. Basically needed so they could get out of Mexico City with a decent load on a hot day. I don't think anyone besides Mexicana ever got it, and it was eventually made obsolete by higher thrust variations of the JT8D engines.
They were only there for engine-out during takeoff, and I don't believe it was ever used in anger. But way back when I talked to someone who'd flight tested the 727 JATO option. He said it was pretty much a non-event, he couldn't even tell when they lit the JATO bottles - he rather doubted it would have been that much help in a real engine out scenario but it made the regulators happy.

When we were flight testing the 747-8, we needed to do some cold weather testing in the early autumn and went to Kangerlussuaq Airport in Greenland to get the required temps. First day we were there it wasn't cold enough for the testing so we basically got the day off to explore. Everywhere you looked there were used JATO bottles about - they used them for fences, table legs, even ashtrays. They use a lot of JATO bottles flying C130's off of the Greenland Icecap, and apparently it wasn't worth the trouble to reuse or recycle the used bottles so they just repurposed them for other uses.

http://www.taamuseum.org.au/Images/P.../NGLoadDC3.jpg http://www.taamuseum.org.au/Images/P...%20Jato_to.JPG
Trans Australia Airlines TAA trialled JATO on DC3 aircraft in the hot and high operating conditions of Papua New Guinea in the 1960's.
Not entirely sure as to the accuracy of this but rumour has it that gathered dignitaries were present to witness the inaugural JATO takeoff of a fully loaded PNG DC3.
However the system failed to ignite and the lumbering aircraft disappeared off the end of the runway and down a valley only to emerge miles away at runway height, to much official clearing of throats and embarrassment.
Don't think it was ever used operationally much after that.

Photos courtesy TAA museum

I recall seeing a shot of an Ethiopian Airlines Convair Liner taking off with JATO in the 60's.
P,S, Ethiopian was apparently the first civil airline to use JATO on its 240s as a precaution on "Hot and High" operations in Africa ( Putnam GD Book)

Would they drop the empty bottles next to the takeoff airport?
JATO /ATO is super dangerous. C-130s get parked on the "hot" ramp whenever rigged for it. Can't imagine to take those risks in the civilian world anymore. And hot bottles get rare and valuable as they are not made anymore. Where would airlines store them?
Does anybody anywhere teach commercial pilots how to do it?

About 40 years ago when I was in reservations, the local rep for Varig was telling us that their 707s could operate out of Easter Island because they had, in his words, "boosters". I never figured out what he was talking about.

Water injection.

They played about with the Valiant BK1 with JATO. One of the problems was where to drop the spent rockets before continuing. This would use up all the fuel that you had saved.
It was overcome with the water meth injected Avon 205A which produced 10% extra (10,000lbs/11,000lbs) for one minute.

1410 lbs of water meth lasted exactly one minute; precisely the time that the mainwheels left the ground at Embakasi.

The only 5 engined jet airliner....

Beech 18. Some were offered with a JATO option giving a few seconds of emergency power in the event of an engine failure during takeoff.

There were 727's around that era operated or tested with JATO
Rumour is that Mexicana had it on 727-200s
and this MeType Certification Data 727-200 Series

Pedant mode on.

*R.A.T.O.

Pedant mode off.

ATO has been used as well. (USAF)