In the wake of the SuperCub being stolen out of a hangar in Twin Falls sometime in the last few weeks. I was wondering what some of you are doing to protect your planes, even if your plane is parked inside a hangar? I've been thinking all day how I can protect my plane, even though it's parked inside a hangar. The access door can easily be pried open with a crow bar (I don't own the hangar, so no beefier lock or locks).

Here's an older thread with some info:
http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=921&hilit=theft

And the thread about the stolen Twin Falls Cub:
http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9148

I've thought that on 180/182's that you could take the tailcone off. Then take the bolt out of the rod that attaches to the elevator bellcrank. Put the tailcone back on so it looks normal. If a thief takes off, he'll have a big problem if he can't fly with the trim tab. Also, don't forget to put the bolt back in before you fly.

At face value of the theft story, the airplane was stolen sometime between Thanksgiving and Dec 28th. So nobody laid eyes on that plane for a month? I'd bet the thief was aware of that. My planes park outside and are in plain sight of lots of friends. If something looks unusual I get a call. Being parked on a tower controlled airport is probably the best theft deterrent I can think of.

180Marty wrote:I've thought that on 180/182's that you could take the tailcone off. Then take the bolt out of the rod that attaches to the elevator bellcrank. Put the tailcone back on so it looks normal. If a thief takes off, he'll have a big problem if he can't fly with the trim tab. Also, don't forget to put the bolt back in before you fly.

Trying to disable aircraft could prove fatal either owner or thief . Buy insurance and secure aircraft best you can. I changed door locks with round coke machine type ,added throttle lock ,Inside locked hanger with only 2 very high security keys. As much as we try to keep them out -- the determined will get into our homes,airplanes and other stuff if given the "opportunity" .I've had Cars stolen,tools from my shop and money -stereos etc. Be careful out there .

I personally think the best anti-theft device is a 12 gauge or my 220 Swift, if they're getting far from me! That being said, I do have a friend that had all the bars on the windows, alarms on the doors and all that stuff on his hangar at a big airport... so the thieves came in with their power drills, unscrewed some of the metal on the side (between his and another hangar) and "made" themselves a nice door, kicked in the insulation and drywall, then went in and removed alot of toys...Harleys, tools, sno-cats, etc. When they were done, they just put a few screws back in so that the panels would look fine from a distance and left. He came home and everything looked great until they went inside.
I think the best deterrent is going to be non-scheduled appearances and use. If someone's scoping you out, it's pretty safe to grab something if you keep a schedule and show up every other day or at a certain time, etc. That being said, if they really want something, it seems anymore that they're just going to take it.... it's a sad state.
John

I agree HardTail
One of the best break in tools out there is a Sawzall, just cut a hole in the wall, you wont set of any of the alarms at the doors or windows.
And I have given my 220 swift to a nephew, moved to the 204 Ruger for something new!!
Happy NEW YEARS ALL!
GT

I buy really crappy planes that no one in their right mind would actually fly in.

Great insurance! Please steal my M7, I'll get a better one.

Good day

Ok Just if you give me the title too!

I agree w/ OregonMaule...please steal my plane. Due to drop in plane value, I am quite overinsured and can get a better one.
Jim

cstolaircraft wrote:Ok Just if you give me the title too!

Years ago I used to "chase" airplanes for Insurance company's -really wild stuff happens. 90% of all the "theft's" occurred with someone who was familiar with airplane. Line guys getting paid "finders fee" to say which hanger has what -or when the coast is clear.Keep the door closed and locked ,move airplane occasional on tiedown to let everyone think you'll be there when they least expect it. Pay frequent and random visits to where your airplane is sometimes to fly other to just check it out, Lots of variables .

On a related note, I've had fuel stolen out of my plane when I was tied down overnight at another airport. Always check the level before flight, even if you filled it the night before!

stewartb wrote:At face value of the theft story, the airplane was stolen sometime between Thanksgiving and Dec 28th. So nobody laid eyes on that plane for a month? I'd bet the thief was aware of that. My planes park outside and are in plain sight of lots of friends. If something looks unusual I get a call. Being parked on a tower controlled airport is probably the best theft deterrent I can think of.

Twin Falls is towered but they're closed between 9pm and 6am. I suppose the plane left at night. If I were stealing it, I'd fuel up and leave around 5am, then land somewhere off field around daylight. You never know though, someone could have flown it into another towered airport in the dark and given a bogus tail #, tower wouldn't read your number unless you were screwing up. I wish someone would steal mine since it's insured for the amount I paid for it.

It's pretty sobering when you really think about how easy it would be to steal a plane if something caused anarchy. Locked hangers with glass windows like mine only keep honest people out.

I am sorry to say that this is a topic that I can speak on with authority. In March of '04 I had my '77 T210 stolen from a rural strip in southern Baja. The plane had a prop lock cable, a hockey puck window/door lock, and a throttle lock. LOCKS DO NOT WORK. Other planes stolen before and after me were not saved by having locks.

I spent the summer thinking how I could safeguard my 185 from a similar fate. I considered removing sparkplugs and replacing them with inop plugs but that would prove to be too much work as I would have had to remove both top and bottom cowlings. I settled on removing a part of the engine that was easily accessible and removal with just the top cowling being removed. I then replaced the serviceable part with an exact duplicate that is inoperative that prevents the engine from starting. PM me if you want more details.

Jan '05 had thieves try again but failed. They even syphoned fuel out of a Cherokee 6 that was parked next to me and topped my plane off. The thieves even moved the copilot's seat to the pilot's seat rails as I had removed the pilots seat for cosmetic repair. I firmly believe that you must disable your plane, especially in areas of high risk. I added a hidden kill switch that interrupts the battery to the starter after this attempt. This is something I use when parking in more civilized areas as well as the high risk areas.

Full and reasonable insurance coverage is comforting. If not for the insurance money, I would probably not own another plane. Disabling the plane is not a 100% sure method. I know of at least 3 instances when a plane was stolen while the pilot was either in the plane or next to it by thieves that pulled a gun on them. Some times you win and sometimes you lose. You can't worry about everything but you can increase your odds. Good Luck. FF

Fly a Maule, nobody in their right mind wants one of the short coupled, ground loop waiting to happen, expensive insurance airplanes. In Mexico you can leave them with the keys in and they still won't take em.

Good day

OregonMaule wrote:Fly a Maule, nobody in their right mind wants one of the short coupled, ground loop waiting to happen, expensive insurance airplanes. In Mexico you can leave them with the keys in and they still won't take em.

Good day

Wow, I'm glad you said it.......I was thinking it!

I had a friend who grounded his mag leads on his c-172. He could contort his arm to reach through and disconnect them. They were push-on spade lugs where the nuts were on the P leads. He disconnected them whenever he checked his oil before preflight, and did a thorough mag check to make sure he had them removed. Even with the cowling off, you'd never notice the extra wires unless you knew exactly what you were looking at.

He did this after having a WAAS GPS taken right out of his panel in the hangar just a few weeks after the unit was installed.

I've had gas taken from a Montana airport this past summer (30 gals or so), and I interrupted an attempted break-in up in Tok, AK, just 15 minutes after I had left it tied down and returned for something I had forgotten. The mag grounding thing always struck me as something I might consider but never felt comfortable enough to try myself.

As far as security at your local airport..we don't have that many planes based here. We all know the other pilots based here and the vehicles each other drive to the airport. Some park their vehicles in the hangar when the plane is gone , others don't. These are signs we all watch for to protect each other..locked fences and gates be damned! We all pay attention to the transient aircraft that come and go who may be tied down or hangared overnight etc.. Our security rests in ourselves, but .........as others have stated when someone REALLY wants your aircraft, your best protection is insurance. As part of this security when we see someone unknown to us on the ramp or about the grounds, we make a point of questioning this/these persons. If these persons have a legitimate reason for being there, there usually is no problem because they understand what you are doing. I know this may not be possible at all airports and there are others who don't want you medling into their business. I hope the owner of the SuperCub gets his machine back in perfect condition, but time is not on his side.
HC

Y'all assume the stolen Cub was flown. Removing the wings and horizontal tail from a Cub is pretty simple work. Let the air out of (or remove) the tires and the whole thing rolls nicely into a typical 4 place enclosed snowgo trailer or a car trailer. There's plenty of room on the sides for the wings. Quick, quiet, and the plane remains out of sight. Two guys and a couple of hours is all it would take.