making key copy?

Peter Ha

Peter Ha

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Nov 18, 2019
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Leadpan
Hey folks,
I have C150, but seller only gave me single key that opens door and ignition.
Where can I get copy of key? Will any locksmith work? Homedepot?
Also, he said I should get Medeco key locks for the ignition? Anyone have experience with it?
 
Yup, true value did mine, though i had to supply the blank but that is just due to mine being 73 years old and its just a blank that isnt used for much of anything anymore. But yea any key cutter...

I also made mulitples....
 
I know its off topic, but another good thing to make multiple copies of is your log books, and paperwork. I have my originals in a fire box, another paper copy in file, a paper copy at my moms home, and a fully scanned pdf of them all saved on my computer and my cloud storage. For 73 years she has had those with her from her test flight in Kansas, and by god they are not going to get lost on my watch!
 
Peter Ha said:
Hey folks,
I have C150, but seller only gave me single key that opens door and ignition.
Where can I get copy of key? Will any locksmith work? Homedepot?
Also, he said I should get Medeco key locks for the ignition? Anyone have experience with it?
Click to expand...
If this is your typical Cessna key then take a couple of XC trips and each FBO ask to go through their lost&found. Collect 3-4 Cessna keys and there's about a 95% chance one of them will work.
 
If I remember correctly, I had to get my Cessna keys copied at a locksmith but my Piper keys can be made at the hardware store.

You might want to get a couple of spares made. Keep a key taped to an inspection plate or under a fairing in case you lose your keys. I also have friends leave keys in my hangar in case they get to the airport and forget theirs.

We swapped out the door keys on the 210 for Medecos since old keys will open the locks on old airplanes. My Cherokee key will open the door of my brother’s Arrow, but won’t start it or open the baggage door.
 
Multiple plus ones to photocopying the aircraft logbooks and other important papers.
 
My ignition key for my 1947 cessna 140 opens the door to my 1975 cessna 172m club plane without notice. It slips in the ignition just a scoash rough but barely noticeable... it will not however turn the starter...
 
denverpilot said:
In a pinch just violently shake the plane from a wingtip. The door will usually pop open. LOL.
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This is true.

Also, funny story - my plane came with separate ignition/door and baggage keys. Rather than carry 2 separate keys (payload) I had a couple extra ignition/door keys made and started experimenting by very lightly rounding surfaces of the new key to where it would also start working on the baggage door with a little jiggle. It took two keys to experiment with to get it right. Silly Cessna.
 
Generally a locksmith is your best bet. Many of the Cessna keys are the same blanks for Gravely.
 
Most hardware stores and other non professional locksmiths are now useless for anything other than house and car keys (and most car keys as well). Our plane uses a super common key found on file cabinets, office desks and God only knows what else. The people running the key duplicating system at Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace Hardware, and Wally World just gave us blank looks when the number on the key didn't pop up in their computer. The guy at Wally World got closest, he at least found one close -- but too long, and he had no means to shorten it, and the machine cuts from the tip back.

Save yourself the time and go to a locksmith. Mine had three copies done in about as many minutes, for $2.25 a pop. That's less than the hardware store would have charged, had they even been able to do it.
 
I believe it is a Y11 key.

y11larger.jpg
 
For my '57 Cessna I had them done at Lowes. It is just a standard blank that they have similar to a trailer key.
 
It actually varies with the airplane. I had them made for my Cherokee by a locksmith. I've seen Mooney pilots go to some pretty extreme lengths to replace lost keys, it isn't quite as simple. That said, I'll be a competent locksmith can get a set made. A nice thing to do while you're weathered out.
 
Skip Miller said:
Make 3 sets. Keep one at home, one in your pocket, and one in your car's glove compartment. The last one can be useful. Ask me how I know....
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And make a spare car key while you’re at it and put it on the ring with your airplane keys. Ask me how I know....
 
AKBill said:
I have left my key in the ignition for 20+ years. Have not lost it yet..:rolleyes:
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Good idea, actually. Planes are so easy to "hot wire" there really is no point in removing the key.
 
I remove the key to make sure the mags aren’t hot. When in my hangar I leave it on the console so I can verify the mags aren’t on before morning it.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
This is true.

Also, funny story - my plane came with separate ignition/door and baggage keys. Rather than carry 2 separate keys (payload) I had a couple extra ignition/door keys made and started experimenting by very lightly rounding surfaces of the new key to where it would also start working on the baggage door with a little jiggle. It took two keys to experiment with to get it right. Silly Cessna.
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When I bought my plane the seller gave me a bunch of keys. I always used the same key for baggage, door, and ignition. He still flies with me sometimes and he asked me for the baggage key. I gave him the key and he says, “no the baggage key, not the ignition key”. He swears they are 3 different keys, but I’ve never had any issue using any of them in any of the locks.
 
Medeco keys?
When I was younger my family owned a locksmith business and unless medeco locks have changed they are high security locks designed to be pick proof and the keys required a special key duplicating machine to make copies. Not sure why a C150 would require such a lock unless the plane is made of gold and has some serious value. Keys keep honest people honest, period. A good locksmith, or thief can bypass a lock if they really desire. Sure, a medeco will slow someone down but again, its a C150. If you want to replace the ignition with one that doesn't use the standard Cessna key I could maybe see some interest in that if your really concerned about theft. But you don't need to go with something as extreme as a medeco.
 
My ultralight uses a John Deere Tractor Key.

The Ercoupe spare key had to be duplicated at a Locksmith.

Cheers
 
I think many airplane locks use commonly available keys. Mine (both bendix ignition switch and canopy lock) are Y103 blanks. I made duplicates at the local hardware store.
 
Will Kumley said:
Medeco keys?
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Really depends on the model of Medeco.


LPL has picked a number of them easily.

Assa Abloy in the right models seem to be the ones to beat these days, but total overkill for most things.

It’s always entertaining to see an Assa or similar lock on someone’s house with ground floor glass and even better, those skylight things top to bottom alongside the front door. LOL.

Airplanes, you’re probably better off putting it in a hangar and securing that, rather than care much about the garbage locks on them.
 
DaleB said:
Most hardware stores and other non professional locksmiths are now useless for anything other than house and car keys (and most car keys as well).

Save yourself the time and go to a locksmith. Mine had three copies done in about as many minutes, for $2.25 a pop. That's less than the hardware store would have charged, had they even been able to do it.
Click to expand...

Very true. Unlike a few years ago where the local hardware guy had a key cutter which mechanically cut the new key by having a probe follow the original key, today's hardware, Wal Marts, Home Depots and the likes have computerized cartridge machines. You tell them which car or house key manufacturer you have and the machine load the appropriate blank - all within the machine. While it removed the need for an operator to have any type of skill to save costs, but that means anything out of the ordinary can't be dealt with. (Ask them to cut and program a smart key that has a chip and they still melt however).
 
murphey said:
Make 2 sets. Keep one at home.
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Make lots of sets. Keep one in the flight bag, one well-hidden in the plane, one well-hidden in the hangar, etc.

I haven't lost my keys in a long time, but I did lose them once on a trip, and fortunately had spares in my flight bag so I wasn't stranded.
 
Not much point in putting a medeco lock into a door where you can turn the whole lock with a screwdriver or pry the locked door open.
 
flyingron said:
Not much point in putting a medeco lock into a door where you can turn the whole lock with a screwdriver or pry the locked door open.
Click to expand...

It’s worse than doing weekly “security updates” on operating systems not designed to be secure... ;)
 
Or you could do what my school does. The most popular rental plane they have doesn’t have a lock on the door
 
DaleB said:
Whatchoo got against Windows? :D
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It ain’t just Windows anymore. LOL.

The Mac updated last week, the phones and tablets this week.

We literally wouldn’t keep up without automating it in business anymore. Damn the breakage caused by it, updates are automated now.

We literally although quietly, don’t really care anymore. We split the update groups so only half the company is broken and we can switch it off for one week on the others. LOL.
 
Some years ago when I needed a copy of a 182 key, the first locksmith I tried didn't have the blank, but the second one did.
 
Salty said:
I remove the key to make sure the mags aren’t hot. When in my hangar I leave it on the console so I can verify the mags aren’t on before morning it.
Click to expand...
True, shut down with mixture makes that much more difficult to start by rotating prop 1/4 turn
 
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