Warbird Information Exchange

Hi guys,
Like I said, I realize it's a longshot, but looking for AAF Print No. H43 G 13392 for instructions on fabricating splices. I'm currently working on a liason antenna for our C-53 and want it just right!

Thanks!
John

Try the Air Corps Library

https://aircorpslibrary.com/

Splicing antenna wire? Do you have the title for the instruction?

The drawings are on Aircorps, but not the "splicing instructions". Basically it should be how to wire wrap the antenna to make a loop on one end of the jumper section I think.
The antenna I'm making is non functioning obviously, so more than anything it only needs to survive the flight environment. The only title that's there is the one on my first post, and it's just a note pointing at where the antenna wire loops back on itself and is wire wrapped. The only other note is to not solder that particular wrapped section, but I think I may have to to prevent it from unwinding in flight.
The antenna wire itself is a copper clad steel core and is only about .040 thick! It's the correct wire that's called for in the drawing though. I always thought it would be a larger diameter.
Thanks for the replies so far!

What’s the original drawing number?

Looking at 3118157 and 3118158, the fabrication is straight forward. The splicing reference really doesn't come into play, as the lengths are short enough to be pulled off a standard spool of wire. Just watch that you use the correct wrapping wire at each location, as there is a wire change within the drawings.

You need a long table to work this, but it can be done fairly quickly. The loop through the left AN-100-3 thimble, continues and is used to make the round eye. Most of the wraps are also W-106A wire. The -2 wire appears to be standard 7x7 cable, and the -4 is soft annealed steel wire. Look at the standards for the old control cable fabrication and soldering for more info there, for this end of the antenna.

BTW, unless you want to buy an entire spool of W-106A ( 1000 foot minimum) you should be able to substitute standard Copperweld 18 gauge solid wire. I've been on the hunt for W-106 or W-106A, for over three years now and have not found a stocking source in the world. Probably the best place to buy is DX Engineering, and you want DXE-ANTCW18-xxxx, with the x's being roll length. https://www.dxengineering.com/search/pa ... ated-steel
DXE's version is rated at 224 lbs breaking strength, so a bit over the W-106A spec, but that's okay.

I'm currently working on the long wire for my L-5, which uses 125 feet of the flexible copperweld.

3118158 is the one I'm working on. I figured the note about instructions for splices was instructions for the wire wrapping and not necessarily splicing two pieces of antenna wire together.
The wire I got is rated for 280 lbs break strength, so hopefully that will hold up. It IS pretty stiff though. Hope I can get it straightened out enough to be presentable. It's stiff enough that I probably won't be able to use it for wrap, so I need to find an alternative that looks right from standing on the ground.
Any suggestions for the annealed steel wire?
Being that it's non-functional, I may just get some solid copper 18ga and solder all the wraps on the whole thing......all it needs to do is survive the ride, and look real enough!
Thanks, guys, for the replies so far!
John

For the annealed steel, I'd simply substitute either .041" or .051" safety wire. Be sure to tuck the ends in and I would use a small amount of epoxy to secure the tucked end and make sure it wouldn't come out on it's own. At the distances you are dealing with, almost no one would be able to spot that you used safety wire for the wrap rather than steel.

The drawing calls for .035, so I may do .032 since it would be easier to wrap. Good idea on the epoxy! Having never done this, about how much wire needs tucked in to each side to keep it from coming apart?

Again, thanks for the replies!

No clue how much you can tuck, other that it could vary based on how tight you get your wraps. Main thing is get the ends to be captured and not in the airstream and able to flail around and work loose. Going to take some experimenting. For practice, hit the farm store and grab a small coil of bailing wire....way cheaper than the copperweld, definitely more flexible and when you booger it up, no hard feelings about wadding it up and tossing it in the recycle bin.

This is about as good as its gonna get! I opted to use copper wire and solder all the wrappings since it wont be functional. It seems plenty strong, and that was my main concern. Unfortunatelythe ceramic forward mast broke apart with very little force applied to the through-bolt. It is dang near unobtainium...so if anyone knows where to find one (P/N 5175793) it would be HUGELY appreciated! Aside from breaking the mast, I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. Sorry for the giant pictures, not sure how to resize them from my phone!

Bummer about the mast. The rest looks good. From the 15 feet or so, it will look fine. Most people will never get close enough to know the difference. For photo resizing, I use this website: https://picresize.com/ I drop the size by 50% most of the time.