Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Fulton Skyhook was a less-than-pleasant method to travel from ground to airborne plane. It's as impressive and terrifying as you would imagine.
"The Fulton surface-to-air recovery system (STARS), also known as Skyhook, is a system used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), United States Air Force, and United States Navy for retrieving individuals on the ground using aircraft such as the MC-130E Combat Talon I and B-17 Flying Fortress. It involves using an overall-type harness and a self-inflating balloon with an attached lift line. An MC-130E engages the line with its V-shaped yoke and the person is reeled on board. Red flags on the lift line guide the pilot during daylight recoveries; lights on the lift line are used for night recoveries. Recovery kits were designed for one- and two-man retrievals.
This system was developed by inventor Robert Edison Fulton, Jr., for the CIA in the early 1950s. It was an evolution from a glider snatch pick-up, a similar system that was used during World War II by American and British forces to retrieve both personnel and downed assault gliders following airborne operations. Snatch pick-up did not use a balloon, but a line stretched between a pair of poles set in the ground on either side of the person or glider to be retrieved. An aircraft, usually a C-47 Skytrain, trailed a grappling hook that engaged the line, which was attached to the intended cargo."
More on Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_surface-to-air_recovery_system
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The Fulton Skyhook was a less-than-pleasant method to travel from ground to airborne plane. It's as impressive and terrifying as you would imagine.
"The Fulton surface-to-air recovery system (STARS), also known as Skyhook, is a system used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), United States Air Force, and United States Navy for retrieving individuals on the ground using aircraft such as the MC-130E Combat Talon I and B-17 Flying Fortress. It involves using an overall-type harness and a self-inflating balloon with an attached lift line. An MC-130E engages the line with its V-shaped yoke and the person is reeled on board. Red flags on the lift line guide the pilot during daylight recoveries; lights on the lift line are used for night recoveries. Recovery kits were designed for one- and two-man retrievals.
This system was developed by inventor Robert Edison Fulton, Jr., for the CIA in the early 1950s. It was an evolution from a glider snatch pick-up, a similar system that was used during World War II by American and British forces to retrieve both personnel and downed assault gliders following airborne operations. Snatch pick-up did not use a balloon, but a line stretched between a pair of poles set in the ground on either side of the person or glider to be retrieved. An aircraft, usually a C-47 Skytrain, trailed a grappling hook that engaged the line, which was attached to the intended cargo."
More on Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_surface-to-air_recovery_system
Join membership: youtube.com/channel/UCGHDQtN_vzFYJaq_Fx1eikg/join
Second Channel: youtube.com/channel/UCt93hxFmjppL5nLRAX94UrA
Merch: qxir.creator-spring.com
Patreon: patreon.com/qxir
Twitter: twitter.com/QxirYT
Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091768766293
Instagram: instagram.com/qxiryt
Tiktok: tiktok.com/@qxiryt
Discord: discord.gg/jZzvvwJ
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Subreddit: reddit.com/r/Qxir
