In the 1950s, it was tried for the USAF, with the X-13 Vertijet.
The successful in-flight capture of the SpaceX Super Heavy booster on its launch pad is a major step forward toward reusability of this very large and expensive stage. The idea of catching the vehicle and suspending it in the air isn’t new. In the mid-1950s, the Ryan X-13 Vertijet demonstrated a similar system, dangling a small jet aircraft from an extendable cable, mounted on a hydraulically erectable platform.
The benefits then were like the advantages that SpaceX predicts for their much larger system, faster turnaround and weight savings by deleting landing gear. The Ryan X-13 program failed, both because of the inadequacy of jet engines of that time, and a lack of a real need for the capability. But for SpaceX, the applications for low-cost heavy lift to orbit are just beginning.
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