FIRST AIRSHIP OPERATOR

Evening Star, Issue 21689, 7 April 1934, Page 4

FIRST AIRSHIP OPERATOR

The recent death of Wellman, the airship pioneer, who tried to fly (or drift) the,-North Atlantic in 1910, brings to mind Jack Irwin, who accompanied him as wireless operator and was the world’s first Marconi airship officer. The station on which 1 was serving was iu touch with the airship America not long before she came down in the sea . (says a writer in ‘ Popular Wireless ’), and I well recall the gloom which descended on me when 1 lost her signals. They were, however, safely picked up by the Trent on a 100 to 1 chance, and the incident was rather amusing from the radio point of view, because when they were sighted Irwin had to Morse to them by flash-lamp to tell them that he could communicate by wireless.

And such wireless, tool All he had was a Klin spark coil worked from a twenty-five-volt battery, a magnetic detector, a loose-coupled “ jigger ” (oscillation transformer), and one variable receiving condenser.