Stratovision...precursor to satellites

Stratovision Engineer, A.A. Nims lowers antennas into place during flight tests of this revolutionary new system of airborne television and FM radio transmission under development by Westinghouse and the Glenn L. Martin Company. Two 15-inch loop antennas are mounted on a 10-foot shaft of aluminum tubing hinged to the under side of the plane and lowered into place, loops down, after takeoff. Manually operated in the converted bomber being used for tests, this equipment will be fully automatic in final Stratovision planes.

May 27th, 1946

"Stratovision...opens the way for nationwide television and FM at reasonable cost by employing airplanes cruising constantly six miles in the air to overcome line-of-sight reception limitations characteristic of these services." What a novel idea to have coast to coast TV and FM transmissions--and costly too. I also wonder about reliability and curtailment of the service during bad weather.

Stratovision