You make a valid point; change your directional angle of attack vector so your not fighting gravity on its own terms. ‘If you lift up straight, you bear the weight; if you lift to the side, you enjoy the ride!’ (andI remember the game Choplifter on the Atari 2600 and NES)
If we hadn’t scrapped the orbiter program, by now we’d likely be launching those things w/o the use of chemical fuel boosters using gravity as propulsion!
(I think that Guest was me, but I'm not sure after all this time.)