Communications
Communications between aircraft and the ground can be accomplished optical signaling, electronic telegraph, or other means.
In a military context, communications between air and ground enable coordination between forces and allow the exploitation of aerial reconnaissance.
Aircraft can also be used for communications from ground-to-ground, as in the case of air mail. This use dates back to the dawn of ballooning, and was also often done for military purposes.[1]
The first recorded instance of wireless telegraphy between ground and air occurred on 11 November 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair.[2]
References
- ↑ Allaz, 1998, pp. 12–13, etc.
- ↑ Horgan, 1965, pp. 124–125:
While activity among the airships lagged, another aeronautic 'first' was recorded at the Exposition. On November 11, three men ascended in a balloon and performed the first successful demonstration of wireless telegraphy between the ground and air in the United States. They were: Paul Knabenshue, the younger brother of the pilot of the California Arrow, A. W. McQueen, a wireless operator for the American De Forest Wireless Telegraph Company, and Will S. Forman, a reported for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. They left the Exposition grounds at 3:15 P. M. in a thirty-foot balloon of 6,000-cubic-foot gas capacity. For an hour and a half, at heights varying from 1400 feet to two miles, they received twenty messages from the station at the Fair ground, the first of which read:
W. S. Forman, Balloon: I congratilate the Globe-Democrat on having a reporter present to see the first wireless message every received in a balloon. (Signed) L. Z. Harrison, Manager De Forest Company.
| Enclosing categories | Simple tech terms |
|---|---|
| Subcategories | air mail, Radio |
| Keywords | Electronics |
| Start year | |
| End year |
