Published December 2, 1930.
Buddy Deering: "For a Iong time I had been thinking of a Flying Robot – Radio-controlled with Attractor-beam propulsion. I had it built…..with this control box I can make it do anything and talk through it."
Sundays / Buck Rogers S03 – Mysterious Saturnian (1930-09-14 to 1930-11-30). The Fair Prisoner (Sept 9, 1930).
During March 1930 the Sunday version of the Buck Rogers comic strip began, but Buck didn't feature in the Sunday strip, but this time his girlfriend's brother Buddy Deering (because back then they didn't know how 'Buck' could serially feature in both daily serials and a full length Sunday special!) has a teleoperated robot, a flying robot at that. The strip was signed by Dick Calkins although the actual illustrator was Russell Keaton (until 1933).
Not your regular "fireman's lift" used here. I wonder if Buddy's control box had tactile feedback or not.
Image source: See here.
See another Buck Rogers robot here.
See other early Teleoperators here.