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Anthony's Wireless Airship: 1912

"Anthony's Wireless Airship." A small powered blimp used in 1912 to demonstrate remote control of aircraft by wireless telegraphy. ("Professor Anthony has exhibited a method of airship control of his own by wireless. He and Leo Stephens recently gave an exhibition of starting, controlling, turning and stopping an airship by wireless which was quite a long distance from the station which controlled its action.") View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

"Anthony's Wireless Airship." A small powered blimp used in 1912 to demonstrate remote control of aircraft by wireless telegraphy. ("Professor Anthony has exhibited a method of airship control of his own by wireless. He and Leo Stephens recently gave an exhibition of starting, controlling, turning and stopping an airship by wireless which was quite a long distance from the station which controlled its action.") View full size. 5x7 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection.

 

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Ground based aeronaut

Remote control not that unusual by 1912.

Radio control of a model airship had been demonstrated in England in 1909/1910. From a keyboard not unlike a typewriter!

Delightful article from July 1910, reprinted in new Zealand. A lot more detailed than you usually got in those days. The description of sparks is delicious.

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA19100701.2.9

Airships

I agree.I recently read a book that claimed the same thing. It even gave a list of names of inventors involved in building and flying the Airships in 1896 and 1897.

early ufos

You have to wonder if this or something like it was responsible for at least some of the mystery airship sightings which were so common around the turn of the century.

It's funny how it seems like we've come so far, yet a lot of what we have today was actually possible back then, just not common.

telegram to mechanical pilot:

TAKEOFF STOP
TURN LEFT STOP
GO FORWARD STOP
WAIT I DIDNT MEAN TO REALLY STOP I JUST DO THAT TO END SENTENCES STOP
NO THAT ONE DIDNT COUNT EITHER STOP
GAHHH JUST COME BACK HERE WE NEED TO FIGURE THIS OUT BETTER STOP

Airship

Fantastic and to think this was done in 1912, these two gentlemen were way ahead of their time in concieving this.

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