Abstract: An aerial cable installation method uses a series of large-diameter capstan winches, placed at intermediate access points along a conduit lashed to a strand stretched between a series of poles, to pull a long run of cable through the conduit. Each capstan winch is suspended at an access opening in the cable adjoining a pole from the strand and from the pole. The capstan winch has alignment arms for supporting opposite portions of the conduit in tangential alignment with capstan wheel and guiding the cable on and off the wheel without overlapping. The conduit includes a slidable sleeve which encloses the cable within the access opening after cable is capstanned into the conduit. The slidable sleeve may be fixedly connected to the main conduit at one end but remains slidable at the opposite end to permit movement including expansion and contraction of the cable in the conduit.