I just saw this sad news posted on a friend's FB page. Apparantly some a$$hole stole another aquiantances 182's set of floats and the trailer they were sitting on. These 2870A floats with hatches and 182 flat gear rigging were stolen from Mobergs Seaplane Base in Bemidji MN. The floats are white with a red strip down the top center and red stip on the side. Picture posted on SC site under the same posting. Please keep your eys open for theses. Thanks!

It is hard to imagine that sort of thing can happen in the airplane community. I read about the occasional theft in Alaska, but it seems to be a rarity in the lower 48 states. Having said that, there seems to be a particular small group of renegade pilots in MN that have gained a reputation for thievery. There has been some issues with them on my side of border (Canada), including a problem we had with one of the group breaking into one of the outpost cabins I look after (as a coincidence they were caught red handed by one of our Back Country members), the Canadian authorities were notified, but the offender was back across the border before anything could be done. This was not the first incidence of break-ins by them in our area, we have heard of others over the years. Hopefully the float thief will be caught and if he is one the group we have had problems with, it will be all the sweeter to me.

Steve

What are the odds it was a few dumb kids that thought they nabbed some old pontoons to make a beer barge out of?

The float community is fairly small, I can't imagine there being much of a market. The risk of getting caught (someone recognizing the floats) is pretty high as well as being a felony.

Thanks for the heads up Steve. I was hoping to do a few flights around the area to see if I could spot them. Trees are still bare and it is easy to see things laying around on peoples property. The trees are all budding, it won't be very long and the aerial view will be limited.

I would say this is akin to horse thievery. Punishable by death. Or at least a serious beat down.