Formed in 1919 by Isidor Goldberg (1893-1961), the Pilot Radio Company initially supplied kits and parts for amateur radio enthusiasts. Their "Wasp" shortwave set was introduced in 1925 - the first short-wave radio available to the general public. Pilot acquired the Speed Tube Company in 1929 and introduced the ‘AC Super Wasp’ using the new type 227 low-noise tubes. The Super Wasp was designed by a brilliant young Italian engineer, John Geloso who, upon leaving Pilot in 1931 returned to Milan, Italy where he established his own self-named radio company. Pilot produced several other radio models, including their first factory-wired set “The Midget” before going belly-up in 1933 largely due to the Great Depression.

But you can't keep a good man down, and in 1934 Goldberg resurrected The Pilot Radio Corporation in Long Island City, New York with a United Kingdom branch opening in 1936. The British-produced sets used both imported and locally made parts and, for a few years, closely resembled those models which were being produced by the American parent company. However, due to a shortage of certain components (metal tubes were not available in Britain during the War years and substitutes were required) plus the need to economise on cabinet costs, the British models took on an identity of their own.

All commercial production ceased during WWII, with radio sets being sent to USSR and China under various ‘Lend-Lease’ schemes. Immediately following the war, Pilot recommenced commercial production; their range now included affordable FM radios and TV sets, and in 1948, their first high fidelity components. In 1952 Pilot began producing high fidelity components exclusively, and by 1958 their entire facilities had been converted to the design and production of stereo components and consoles.

In 1949, the Emerson Company purchased a large interest in Pilot and, when founder Isidor Goldberg passed away in 1962, Emerson bought out the rest of the company, only to dissolve it in 1963.