Method and Apparatus for Connection and Deployment of Trailing Wire Antennas

A trailing wire connector comprising:

• a conductive socket having a wide opening on a first end and a narrow opening on an opposite end, wherein the conductive socket is physically connected to, and electrically insulated from, a fuselage such that the wide opening faces the fuselage, and wherein the conductive socket is electrically connected to a feed line of a transceiver and the fuselage functions as an electrical ground;
• a conductive wire having a distal end and a proximal end, wherein the conductive wire is capable of resonating at a desired frequency, and wherein the conductive wire has a cross-sectional profile small enough to pass through the narrow opening;
• a conductive plug electrically and physically connected to the proximal end of the conductive wire and sized to fit through the wide opening but not fit through the narrow opening of the conductive socket;
• a non-conductive line having a distal end that is connected to the conductive plug opposite the conductive wire;
• and
• wherein the non-conductive line, the conductive plug, and the conductive wire are configured to be wound around a fuselage-mounted spool such that, when the fuselage is in flight, the non-conductive line, the conductive plug, and the conductive wire may be unspooled with the conductive wire passing through the narrow opening until the conductive plug comes into contact, and forms an electrical connection, with the conductive socket thereby forming a trailing wire antenna.

A method for providing a trailing wire connector comprising:

• mounting to a fuselage of a UAV a conductive socket having an opening therein;
• electrically insulating the conductive socket from the fuselage;
• electrically connecting the conductive socket to a feed line of an RF cable;
• electrically connecting a metal shield of the RF cable to the fuselage;
• winding a trailing line around a spool and mounting the spool to the fuselage, wherein the trailing line comprises a non-conductive line segment separated from a conductive wire segment by a conductive plug, and wherein the conductive plug is electrically and physically connected to a proximal end of the conductive wire and sized to not fit through the opening of the conductive socket;
• and
• when the fuselage is airborne, unspooling the trailing line through the opening of the conductive socket until the conductive plug comes into contact with the conductive socket creating an electrical connection between the conductive socket and the conductive plug thereby forming a trailing wire antenna.