I'm guessing it's an F-15E Strike Eagle. And that he's a crew chief for said aircraft. 
Yup, I was. I don't turn wrenches on it anymore though. Regardless of opinions about it's usage, it's one incredible machine.
So I am trying to solder some wires onto a connector that has solder cups on the one side of things. Any suggestions for getting the wires down into the cups for a good connection?
A couple of the wires are a little large for them. Can I just split off a couple of the strands and cut so they fit down in a bit better? I do have a "helping hands" for holding the connector but I still don't have 7 hands for everything.
Solder cups are a little tricky to begin with, but you'll soon get the hang of them. They can easily be done with 2 regular hands and your helping hands.
1. Measure, strip, and tin the end of your wire. You should strip enough of the wire so that when the wire is bottomed out in the cup, there is some clearance between the start of the insulation and the top of the cup (about one wire diameter's worth).
2. Take a length of solder, fold it in half once or twice to increase it's thickness, and twist it to form a multi-strand wire. Snip a bit of this off and drop it into the solder cup.
3. Then, lay your iron's chisel tip against the outside of the cup until the solder melts. While the solder is molten, insert your pre-tinned wire at an angle. in one movement, straighten the wire and force it down into the cup. Try to keep the wire in contact with the highest point of the cup wall (this only applies if you're using cups that have a milled edge).
The trick to all of this is to estimate the correct amount of solder so that it fills the cup completely but does not overflow. It's better to start with too little solder, because it's easier to add more than to clean up the mess that happens when it spills over.
If your wires are too large for the cup, then ideally, you should get different wires or cups. If that is not an option, I suppose you could clip a few strands to get it to fit. Be aware however, that by doing this, you will decrease the strength of the wire below that of even the now smaller portion. In many home projects, this is not an issue, but just keep in mind that it will be more prone to failure from flexing and vibration than if you had just used a smaller wire.
