I've seen the videos, and they're something. These jets come in over the desert, maybe half a wingspan above the ground, then pull up and go vertical.
Seems like ground effect would help keep your plane from drifting down and hitting, assuming you had flat ground beneath you. I don't remember feeling this in AH, how well is ground effect modeled at speed? Or are there people here who have flown fast at less then a wingspan off the ground that have felt the GE repelling them?