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I have no source for this, but I did read somewhere that the word "aerial" used to denote an antenna derives from early experiments where kites were used to hoi

I have no source for this, but I did read somewhere that the word "aerial" used to denote an antenna derives from early experiments where kites were used to hoist a wire high up.

aksss 3y ago
Evidently, "The Cradle of Aviation Museum" in New York has an exhibit of a replica "Marconi Kite". This was, I gather, a "Levitor" kite modified to lift an antenna. Of this exhibit, the Museum's website says: "A pioneer of the heavy-lift kite was Baden Baden-Powell, pre-WWI aviation pioneer and guiding force behind the Royal Aeronautical Society. In the 1890s he developed large hexagonal-shaped "Levitor" kites which were intended to be used by the army in order to lift a man for aerial observation. In 1901, radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi made the first successful transatlantic wireless (radio) tests by raising the antenna 400 feet by means of the Baden-Powell Levitor Kite. Marconi also experimented in shore-to-ship radio communication from Babylon in 1901, possibly using these kites to raise the antenna." https://www.cradleofaviation.org/history/exhibits/exhibit-galleries/the_dream_of_wings/marconi_kite.html https://www.cradleofaviation.org/history/exhibits/exhibit-ga... Pretty neat! Imagining Marconi's experiences with his first wireless radio communications fills me with wonder. How fascinating that must have been.