Aeronautics: Operation Skyhook

It has always been the proud boast of the U.S. armed forces that their pilots would go to extravagant lengths to rescue comrades in trouble. Helicopters flap into impossible places to save plane-crash survivors; skindivers drop to the aid of downed astronauts; search-and-rescue craft crisscross vast areas of ocean. And now the lifesaving arsenal has a new weapon: the military Skyhook developed by Connecticut Inventor Robert E. Fulton, Jr.

Once its target is located, a Skyhook rescue plane sends a 400-lb., do-it-yourself kit drifting downward by parachute. The bulky package, which is buoyant enough to float if it lands on water, contains a cylinder filled with helium and 500 ft. of woven nylon line with a special suit attached to one end, a balloon to the other. The man to be rescued must be in good enough physical shape to do a few simple things: put on the suit and inflate the balloon with helium. Once the big bag rises to the full length of the line, the rest of the operation begins.

The plane drops down to 450 ft., zeroing in on the nylon line. A V-shaped fork, attached to the plane’s nose, guides the line into a locking device. Although the plane is moving at 150 m.p.h., the man being rescued is lifted with less of a jolt than the force of a 6-ft. jump. The man goes up almost vertically before he begins tracing a curved path into a position somewhat below and to the rear of the plane. The relative gentleness of the takeoff and the curved trajectory result from the interaction of several forces: the man’s weight and air resistance, the speed and altitude of the plane, and the stretchability of the woven nylon line, which absorbs shock as it lengthens. Within five minutes of liftoff, the man is hoisted aboard the plane.

The Navy, which got into the act first, has been perfecting Skyhook rescues for seven years. Earlier this year, the Army used the technique to lift 35 men, including two Special Forces generals, during exercises at Fort Bragg, N.C. Now the Air Force is also trying the method, and 48 Lockheed C-130 transports have been modified with the forks and winches needed for Skyhook lifts. “I’ve never experienced anything like it in my military career,” says Special Forces veteran Sergeant First Class Johnny Dolin. “First there is a slight tug at the shoulders, then you’re soaring through the air like a bird.”