Television Broadcasting from Airplanes

Back before commercial satellite service was feasible, electronic engineers were pondering the concept of using aircraft as broadcast platforms.

One of the essential requirements for broadcasting on the frequency that television stations use, is the height of the transmitter antenna. The height of the antenna determines the coverage area of the broadcast signal.

This idea led to a research project known as Stratovision. A fleet of aircraft would circle the country and provide local television broadcast coverage, then relay the broadcast signal to the next aircraft for re-transmission. The broadcast content would be originated on the ground and beamed to the aircraft for broadcast.

The Stratovision concept was adapted for television instruction by several colleges. This program was inaugurated as the Midwest Program on Airborne Television Instruction.

Airplanes were also used as a mobile broadcast platform in Vietnam by the AFRTS ( Armed Forces Radio Television Service ). This operation was known as Project Jenny. The US military uses the same technique of airborne broadcasting for PsyOps today. The aircraft are known as Command Solo. Both operations Project Jenny and Commando Solo aircraft allow(ed) the broadcast of radio and television signals for reception by the local populace.

At one point, the famous UK pirate radio station Radio Caroline, was rumoured to have contemplated the use of airborne television transmitters to provide pirate TV service to the British Isles.

For a humorous look at airborne television broadcasting, watch the movie Riders of the Storm.
Disgruntled Vietnam War veterans operate S&M TV, a pirate TV station that broadcasts from an airborne B-29 airplane.