[Elecraft] (K2) Airplane Ride

[Terry Schieler]

I have a DVD that's a documentary of two young men who crossed the North
Atlantic in a Mooney.  It's called "North Atlantic Crossing".  They had an
Icom HF rig on board to supplement their VHF radios.  Their antenna was
steel wire wound on a deep sea fishing reel.  The antenna exited the rear of
the aircraft and had a small drag chute at the tip (just like the old days).
I saw no details on just how the antenna wire got out of the airplane
without shorting to the fuselage metal.  They would crank out enough antenna
to make it resonant for the Icom rig's aeronautical frequencies.  After
making contact, they cranked the antenna back in.  It looked (and WAS)
jury-rigged.  The right seat occupant held the HF radio on his lap.

There was no mention of 337 signoff's, etc.  I just assumed (hoped) it was
blessed by someone.  Interesting flick.

Terry, W0FM



-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Bayern [mailto:plcmark at gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 5:54 PM
To: JAMES ROGERS
Cc: Patrick DalPorto; Elecraft Reflector
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] (K2) Airplane Ride

> A simple trailing wire is all you need

A trailing wire should exit the plane _behind_ the rudder and
elevators which is not an easy feat to accomplish. Then you should get
approval for the installation -- once again not all that easy.

A simple trailing wire might not be all that simple

Mark


On Wed, Mar 2, 2011 at 5:24 PM, JAMES ROGERS <w4atk at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> A simple trailing wire is all you need if your K2 has the built in antenna
tuner. It is best if you can trail the wire from the rear most point on the
plane. You do not want to interfere with the controls.
> This was the standard aircraft antenna back in the days before VHF.
>
> Jim, W4ATk
> On Mar 2, 2011, at 10:45 AM, Patrick DalPorto wrote:
>