Ground appliance for controlled deceleration braking of aircraft on landing

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION WITH A LANDING TRACK AN APPLIANCE FOR BRAKING LANDING AIRCRAFT IN A PREDETERMINED MINIMUM DISTANCE ON THE TRACK COMPRISING A FLEXIBLE ELONGATED CATCH MEMBER NORMALLY EXTENDING ACROSS THE TRACK, AND A PAIR OF CO-EXTENSIVE BRAKING CHAINS FREELY LAID ON THE GROUND LENGTHWISE OF THE TRACK AT OPPOSITE LONGITUDINAL SIDES OF THE TRACK CONNECTING THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID CATCH MEMBER TO THE GROUND; EACH OF SAID BRAKING CHAINS COMPRISING A STRING COMPOSED OF A PLURALITY OF SERIES-CONNECTED HYDRAULIC TELESCOPIC ENERGY ABSORBERS TELESCOPICALLY EXTENSIBLE OVER SAID DISTANCE UNDER A PULL OF AIRCRAFT ON THE CATCH MEMBER ON LANDING THEREBY TO APPLY A HYDRAULIC BRAKING FORCE ON THE RESPECTIVE END OF THE MEMBER, AND A STRING COMPOSED OF A SIMILAR PLURALITY OF SERIES-CONNECTED TUBULAR SHEATHS OF ELASTOMERIC MATERIAL RESILIENTLY EXTENSIBLE OVER SAID DISTANCE UNDER SAID PULL OF AIRCRAFT ON THE MEMBER IN AN ARRANGEMENT WHEREIN EACH OF THE ENERGY ABSORBERS IS NORMALLY HOUSED WITHIN ITS RESPECTIVE SHEATH AND WHEREIN THE STRING OF SHEATHS