Stolen Ercoupe wings

Kevin16587

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Feb 25, 2015
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Kevin16587
Hello all, I'm not sure if this is the correct location to post this but I'm trying to help out a friend. His family has had an Ercoupe since it was new. It hasn't flown in many years and has been sitting in a barn near Delano, CA. He recently went to check on it and the wings were missing. They were taken within the last month. They are all aluminum and unpainted. I know it's a long shot but if anybody has any information or sees a set of wings pop up on the market, I'd appreciate a heads up.

Thanks, Kevin


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W....T....F.....
 
Nobody just steals wings. The scrap value is not worth the effort. Seems more like someone just wanted them out of the way.

I'm wondering if there's more to the story. Police report filed? Is he the owner of the barn?

In the meantime, Barnstormers would be the obvious place to start looking.
 
Nothing is outside the realm of possibility with drug addicts looking for scrap. I rolled up on a call once to find a guy going to the effort of stripping the insulation from 18" of 12-2 house wire for the copper...

I would check the metal recyclers.
 
Nothing is outside the realm of possibility with drug addicts looking for scrap. I rolled up on a call once to find a guy going to the effort of stripping the insulation from 18" of 12-2 house wire for the copper...

I would check the metal recyclers.

Only thing I can say is this is pretty common. Stealing WINGS off a plane in a barn??!! Not as common. To the OP.....are you SURE they're missing??!!?
 
The apparent level of care with which they were removed could be an indication of if it was for scrap metal or for reuse on another aircraft. Unless they were previously removed.
 
The apparent level of care with which they were removed could be an indication of if it was for scrap metal or for reuse on another aircraft. Unless they were previously removed.

Unless that barn was next to a runway, I doubt they were attached to the fuselage. Perhaps the OP will shed more details.
 
Nothing is outside the realm of possibility with drug addicts looking for scrap. I rolled up on a call once to find a guy going to the effort of stripping the insulation from 18" of 12-2 house wire for the copper...
Aluminum isn't worth much. We have tons of Navion wings and other parts and it's hard enough to get someone to exert the effort to take them away for the scrap value.
 
Thanks for the replies. The wings were off the fuselage and would have been easy to take. I can't personally verify that the wings are gone, in fact I've never even seen the plane. However I'll soon be helping move the fuselage to a recently acquired hangar close to home. Unfortunately, I think some tweakers got ahold of them and sold them for scrap. My friend is checking local scrap yards because I'm sure they would remember a couple of airplane wings (I work in the business and that's not very common). On the off chance whoever took them knows what they are and tries to sell them, I thought I'd post about it here. Thanks for your help.


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