Plane security at remote airport

cgrab

cgrab

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cgrab
My brother wants to go hunting/fishing and I plan to fly to an airport near the destination and have him pick me up. The plane will be tied down for about five days at a remote airfield.

What do other folks do when they leave their planes like this? I do plan to call the airport manager before I go and I'm sure he's going to tell me that everything will be great.
 
Don't leave food in the plane
Tie down very snugly
Put any plane covers on that you have

It'll be fine. Id rather leave my plane at a remote airport than I would a large City airport.
 
I have locking caps on my fuel tanks, and ordinarily don't bother locking them. When I leave my plane outside for several days, I lock the fuel caps. Turn the fuel selector valve "off", lock the doors or canopy, install the control lock, put the cover on, tie it down securely, and enjoy the time with your brother.
 
Do every thing every one else says plus leave the A/C empty. no valuables visible

Enjoy.
 
I’ve put a motion activated (infrared?) alarm in my baggage space, arm it through luggage door as last step leaving the plane, disarm it through luggage door first thing upon getting back. It has an ear splitting alarm that should alert anyone in the area of something awry.....deep in the boonies probably wouldn’t help.
It would take a n’er-do-well entering the cockpit some effort to get to it deep in the baggage space.

The airplane cover is probably the most effective deterrent.
 
Put a note in the window with the date on it and a number they can call if you don't come back. If someone is gonna mess with the plane, nothing is gonna stop them.
 
Second on not leaving food in the plane, but bring along LOTS of duct tape just in case.....

 
cgrab said:
My brother wants to go hunting/fishing and I plan to fly to an airport near the destination and have him pick me up. The plane will be tied down for about five days at a remote airfield.

What do other folks do when they leave their planes like this? I do plan to call the airport manager before I go and I'm sure he's going to tell me that everything will be great.
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If there's an airport manager that you can actually call, then it's not remote enough to worry about. ;)
 
I’ve left airplanes (some really nice ones too) at plenty of remote airports and have never had a problem. I’d just remove all valuables and food, lock the doors, and tie the plane down good. I’ve never had anyone mess with anything doing this.

If the airport is that remote there likely isn’t anyone around wanting to mess with anything. I worry more about the airports in rough neighborhoods than I do the ones out in the sticks.
 
Lachlan said:
I disagree. Leave gas in tanks, extra oil in the cabin, keys in the switch, whisky under the seat. That should do it.
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Don’t forget the hookers and blow.....
 
I’m just curious is it common for people to go around trying to open up parked planes looking to steal stuff?
 
They do it with cars and trucks on the street in the neighborhood. Why not airplanes... radios are worth something.
 
I think there is a idea in most non-pilots that airports are high security areas. I have people that I invite for rides get nervous about walking through the open gate to get to the plane. They look uncomfortable, like we are about to get rolled up by some sort of security. They say something like, "wait we just walk in here?"
 
Stan Cooper said:
It happens, especially at small general aviation airports without perimeter fencing and surveillance cameras. It's usually in the middle of the night, and they're looking for expensive avionics.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2014/july/16/missouri-thefts

Do you fly out of Craig or Herlong?
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I fly out of Craig. I was curious as I’ve never really seen anyone securing their planes other than just trying them down and putting on the cover if they have one. I usually just see most folks park and walk away. There is airport PD presence but it always seems like just the same old people and cars in and out and security is pretty lax even though there are fences.
 
I was born and raised in Jacksonville, and got stationed at Vandenberg AFB, CA in 1962, and have lived here (in California) ever since. When I fly back to JAX to visit family and old(!) friends, I fly into Herlong since most of my family lives on the westside.
 
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