Methods and Systems for Winding a Tether

摘要

Methods and systems are provided to wrap a faired tether around a drum. The tether may be connected to an aerial vehicle. The method may involve guiding a faired tether around an exterior surface of a drum, wherein the drum comprises a helical shaped step around the exterior surface that is configured to mate with at least part of the faired tether, and to stack subsequent layers of wrapped tether in a staggered manner along the longitudinal axis of the drum. The faired tether may be guided onto the step using one or more level winds.

主权项

1. A method for winding a faired tether of an aerial vehicle around a drum comprising:
guiding a first layer of the faired tether onto a step on an exterior surface of the drum, wherein the step extends in a helical shape along a longitudinal axis of the drum, wherein guiding the first layer comprises aligning the faired tether with the step; and guiding a second layer of the faired tether onto the step in the helical shape such that a portion of the second layer is adjacent the first layer of the faired tether and another portion of the second layer of the faired tether is adjacent to the step.