Leon Fisk wrote:

Somebody made a sling-shot, weight and string rig too.
....
Here are three different patents illustrating the idea:

...

I was made a sling shot with a fishing reel attached, to shoot line over
tree limbs, to start ropes for felling. Didn't work for ****. Problem
was the line would get tangled in the slingshot. Went through a number
of revisions before I gave up.

Along a similar line, and maybe useful over dropped ceilings, would be a
compressed air gun shooting a soft ball, with string attached. Here's a
start:
http://www.antennalaunchers.com/antlaunching.html

Bob