Very cool.

I can see it now .. parallel parking on the ATPL exam

Like most innovations you have to measure both sides of the equation to know if you are ahead.

Given that those motors must weight quite a bit, 20-30lbs each per side and have to be lugged around for the life of the plane, plus the cabling etc I wonder if they infact would save any gas over their life?

Whats the rule of thumb for something like an airbus .. i.e. x lbs of fuel to carry one lb of baggage for 1 hr.

At some point they will do what they did with Concorde, just tow them out to save fuel.