"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
...
It's an urban legend with roots in sea plane operations.

Actually, other than borrowing the name, the "technique" has nothing to do
with seaplane operations. Even those who believe in the concept aren't
claiming that the extra airspeed comes from a similar process as that found
when getting up "on the step" in a seaplane (where increased performance and
reduced drag comes from lowering the surface area contacting the high-drag
water surface).