STOVL is an acronym for Short Take Off and Vertical Landing.
This is the ability of some aircraft to take off from a short runway, and land vertically (i.e. with no runway). This is often accomplished on aircraft carriers through the use of "ski-jump" runways, instead of the conventional catapult system. STOVL use tends to allow aircraft to carry a larger payload as compared to during VTOL use, while still only requiring a short runway. The most famous example is probably the Hawker Harrier Jump Jet, which though technically a VTOL aircraft, is operationally a STOVL aircraft due to the extra weight it carries at take off for fuel and armaments. The same is true of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which demonstrated VTOL capability in test flights but is operationally STOVL.
Other examples include:
- EWR VJ 101C (Germany)
- Dassault Mirage III V (France)
- Yakovlev Yak-38 (USSR)
- Yakovlev Yak-141 (USSR)
Except Yak-38, none of these has reached operational status, though the JSF is expected to enter service by 2010.
