What do you do when you leave your plane on the ramp?

[A64Pilot]

I’d install an alarm as a minor alteration so long as it didn’t disable the magnetos or starter etc. The simple switch to siren would have no battery drain, there may even be portable motion detecting type alarms?

Would one help? I don’t know, maybe a thief would take the time to look for the noise maker and disable it.

Edited April 6, 2022 by A64Pilot

[RobertGary1]

3 hours ago, A64Pilot said:

What do you guys pay for transient hangars?

I only did it once, ground crew had a tug with a way of picking up the wheel and apparently some kind of strap, long story short they must have put this strap over the fuselage as the cracked the paint on the fabric. Since then I don’t hangar because it means they may be moving your airplane

Hanger or not most airports are going to move your plane. They don't leave you in front of the FBO. Unless you go to some really small town little field.

-Robert

[N201MKTurbo]

I haven’t found an airplane yet I can’t open or start with my Mooney keys. You have to jiggle them a bit sometimes.

[A64Pilot]

Just now, RobertGary1 said:

Hanger or not most airports are going to move your plane. They don't leave you in front of the FBO. Unless you go to some really small town little field.

-Robert

I guess that’s where I go then, because I have always asked not to be moved, and none ever have, except that one time with the Maule, then I showed the how to do it safely, but it wasn’t the people I showed that moved it. I’m sure it being a tailwheel and fabric at that is what confused them. Once or twice I’ve been told to tie down in a certain place as you say it’s not going to stay in front of the FBO. But if you ask where can I put it so it won’t be moved I’ve never been told no where.

Normally I tie down with my own ropes, if I’m going to be there more than overnight, most ropes it seems are rotten.

[A64Pilot]

11 minutes ago, N201MKTurbo said:

I haven’t found an airplane yet I can’t open or start with my Mooney keys. You have to jiggle them a bit sometimes.

Most mechanics will have a ring of keys that will open any GA aircraft, but a thief I doubt would bother, they will just brute force the lock in seconds I bet.

Most aircraft locks like Beech and Cessna I assume Mooney can be bought at any home improvement store, they are just desk locks, the little lever that flips to lock. Shove something into the lock and force it to rotate, lock itself is still locked.

I’ve not messed with a Mooney lock, but assume it’s the same

The million dollar Ag planes we built had no kind of lock, not even an ignition lock, just a switch. When I ferried them overseas I had a piece of control cable that I would run through the window vents and padlock, but even then all you had to do was pull the emergency release rod on the outside and the door would fall off.

Never heard of one being stolen, odd too because they make great drug smugglers, a couple of tons of useful load and very good at low altitude

Edited April 6, 2022 by A64Pilot

[Marauder]

You guys need to get one of these.





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[ZuluZulu]

3 minutes ago, Marauder said:

You guys need to get one of these.





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Want.  Tell me more.

[laytonl]

16 minutes ago, Marauder said:

You guys need to get one of these.





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Great solution!

lee

[Marauder]

Want.  Tell me more.

I picked this up back in the mid 90s. Some guy was making and selling them. Found it in the MAPA magazine.

Doesn’t look too difficult to make.

There isn’t any absolute guarantee to stop a determined thief. But anything to get them to think about an easier target is the goal.


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[MikeOH]

3 hours ago, RobertGary1 said:

Hanger or not most airports are going to move your plane. They don't leave you in front of the FBO. Unless you go to some really small town little field.

-Robert

My first question to the line guy, or the front desk staff, is, "Where can I park my plane so NOBODY moves it?". That's always worked for me.

[RobertGary1]

13 hours ago, MikeOH said:

My first question to the line guy, or the front desk staff, is, "Where can I park my plane so NOBODY moves it?". That's always worked for me.

Honestly in 25 years I’ve not had a problem. I’ll tip the line crew and ask them to put a note on the file. We had similar limitations on the citation so they’re used to it. But often the ramp can get full and they’re playing Tetris throughout the day. 

[NotarPilot]

I fabricated these in my spare time as a throttle lock solution as I didn’t see any that were economical to buy. They are made out of aluminum tubing, pop rivets and the hinges I bought at Home Depot along with the lock. I think it cost me less than $20 to make each one and maybe an hour of labor. I know it’s defeafable, like anything else, but hopefully it’s enough to encourage the lowlife POS that the next plane on the ramp is more attractive. I really like @Marauder’s solution and it might get me thinking on maybe making something that attaches to one or both yokes and the center bar above the glareshield. 
 

In addition to that, I also put home made sun shields in the windows to keep prying eyes from seeing what I have in the panel. Canopy covers are good but someone can easily unstrap it and have an easy look into your plane.

[A64Pilot]

Whenever I flew the Maule near Mexico especially, I’d put a good bicycle cable lock on the prop, the Kryptonite lock would be hard to break. Maule’s, 206’s etc we’re often stolen to run drugs.

You can put any kind of lock on something and it may get stolen anyway. In the Caribbean bigger dinghy motors often get stolen, people would put really good locks on the two screws that clamped the motor to the boat to prevent theft, thieves just showed up with a Sawsall and cut the transom off.

I put a 6HP sticker on my 20HP Suzuki, no one ever figured it out, thought I just had a big, heavy 6HP, nobody wanted a big heavy 6 HP.

Mine is the motor to the left, same motor as the 15 right beside of it.

What we need is a picture to cover our panels, you know one with old worn out Narco coffee grinders  

 

Edited April 11, 2022 by A64Pilot

[David M20J]

On 4/6/2022 at 1:39 PM, N201MKTurbo said:

I haven’t found an airplane yet I can’t open or start with my Mooney keys. You have to jiggle them a bit sometimes.

there are like 3 common keys out there that will unlock and start almost any aircraft...

[201Steve]

On 4/11/2022 at 7:18 AM, A64Pilot said:

What we need is a picture to cover our panels, you know one with old worn out Narco coffee grinders

This. Is genius

[Hank]

On 4/11/2022 at 6:18 AM, A64Pilot said:

What we need is a picture to cover our panels

Here you go, print away!

[exM20K]

here I am, sitting here all smug this morning, confident that my remote-mounted avionics (G1000) are safe from this sort of mischief.  Thinking a little farther along, it occurs to me that those remote mounted boxes are securely installed behind a couple dozen DZUS quarter turn fasteners.  D'oh!   

All hangars are not alike.  The least secure I was ever in was in Princeton, NJ, big row of hangars with no interior walls.  I don't even recall if the sliding doors locked.  Even if they did, one of eight or 10 doors left unlocked would provide an excellent work environment for an avionics thief.

 

-dan

[hubcap]

On 4/6/2022 at 12:11 PM, A64Pilot said:

What do you guys pay for transient hangars?

I only did it once, ground crew had a tug with a way of picking up the wheel and apparently some kind of strap, long story short they must have put this strap over the fuselage as the cracked the paint on the fabric. Since then I don’t hangar because it means they may be moving your airplane

We typically pay around $50 at smaller airports and around $75 / night at larger airports. Sometimes they will waive the fee if you are only there overnight and buy gas.

[A64Pilot]

Thanks, I’ve only hangared once that I can remember, I think it was due to ice

[hubcap]

2 minutes ago, A64Pilot said:

Thanks, I’ve only hangared once that I can remember, I think it was due to ice

Where I fly, we hangar because of hail. Last year in Oklahoma our rental car was totaled by hail, but Myrtle was snug inside the hangar and didn't get a dent.

[A64Pilot]

I’ve lived out there, Newcastle Oklahoma, built oil drilling rigs as a contract welder in 1980, then the oil field shut down in 81? Moved to Tx hunting work and like to starved to death so I joined the Army with a plan on flying.

[jwilcoxon78]

I'm an aviation claim's adjuster and have dealt with many theft claims sadly. Do have them report it to Garmin and ACPI Industry Forms (acpi.org) (your insurance carrier may do this anyways)  

I concur that it is most likely other aviators, or at least people into aviation, as most of the removals are "clean" and they mostly take certain avionics.  I've had thefts where Bose headsets were left in.  You'd think a "normal" criminal would take those as well due to their easy access.  Additionally, on one incident, we reviewed the video.  It was very late at night when the folks were in view.  In the background, you could see what appeared to be a stationary, operating aircraft on the ramp.  The anti-collision lights and beacon were very visible.  On another incident, at a separate airport, there were no cars in or out of the airport area.  Best guess is they flew in.