Landing with Cables: the Systems of Blériot, Brodie and Reitsch

During World War II, James H. Brodie, a captain in the United States Army Air Force, sought to create portable airports that could be quickly installed anywhere (see his patents here). The idea behind the “Brodie Landing System for Light Aircraft” was to catch an aircraft in flight with a hook attached to the aircraft by means of a sling associated with a cable system (similar to what happens on aircraft carriers with braking cables, only “hunting” the aircraft in flight). Here is a video showing one of the tests.