What's new
Van's Air Force

The definitive Van's Aircraft support community! Buying, building or flying an RV? Join our exclusive family of mentors and enthusiasts!

Ignition switch re-keying. Theft prevention

jrs14855 said:
I have hand propped IO 360's and IO540's with 10.1 and three bladed props. I put 1000 hours on my Pitts with stock 360 no starter and metal two blade. There's an excellent video showing how to prop a Luscombe by yourself with tail tiedown, parking brake, chocks and the fuel shutoff.
Hand propping airplanes since 1957.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the post. I've never attempted such a task as this and frankly I'm a devout chicken. Ba-baaak!! But I WILL keep the hanger locked at all times and when out, if I can find a Cub or something with the keys left in it - TJHAT'S why I'm parking next to!!!
 
Since 911 we have had a lot of aviation security “theatre” down under.
Think physical ID cards, airport fences that stop 100m past the apron etc etc.
One of the rules is 2 methods of securing the aircraft. So for example if inside a locked hangar you lock the plane. Or if outside you need to lock the aircraft door and have a throttle lock or similar.
Most of this has been largely ignored for 25y and hasn’t resulted in a spate of thefts obviously.

I thought I’d be clever with the 10 and put the starter inhibit key lock inside my center console. Out of the way and kind of “hidden” from the mythical RV joyrider.
Turned out to be an epic PITA.

I pulled it out and replaced it with an IntelliKey box. This has turned out to be much more practical in real life than expected.
It’s well thought out and just works. Plus there’s no practical way of circumventing it yet I can bypass it with either the phone or a physical dongle if necessary.
As with anything these days it has gotten expensive so I’m not sure I’d do it now but I’m glad I did.
 
Just a simple second single throw switch in series with the master switch. Mainly to prevent an issue from a kid at a fly in.

Personally, I would be more concerned with things like headsets and avionics disappearing.
 
Last edited:
RV7CardenMike said:
I have a "hidden" in-line switch with the start button. Has ZERO effect on any essential electronics - only eliminates the ability to start the engine. This seemed to be the simplest solution. YMMV....
Click to expand...
So they can’t operate the starter but can hand prop it!
 
rockyfatcat said:
It might be a better idea to have a hidden kill switch.

Aircraft ignition systems are extremely simple. How long would it take to Hotwire your ignition?

Edit: a simple toggle switch accessible through the oil door could disable your aircraft and unlike a RF fob based gismo, there are no batteries involved. .
Click to expand...
My -7 is in the avionics shop for the IFR upgrade. Right now there isn’t a single wire going through the firewall.

After discussing this he’ll find me a 3 row switch. 2 rows for grounding the mags and the 3rd for disabling the starter.

A guarded switch mounted to a bit of sheetmetal held to the motor mount with a couple adel clamps accessible through the oil door
 
rockyfatcat said:
My -7 is in the avionics shop for the IFR upgrade. Right now there isn’t a single wire going through the firewall.

After discussing this he’ll find me a 3 row switch. 2 rows for grounding the mags and the 3rd for disabling the starter.

A guarded switch mounted to a bit of sheetmetal held to the motor mount with a couple adel clamps accessible through the oil door
Click to expand...
A missionary outfit on the field here always uses a chain or cable on their props. As for avionics I don't know of a way to prevent a determined thief from stealing them.
 
N8DAV8R said:
It occurs to me after thinking about this thread that I have never even taken the key out of the ignition of my RV-12 since putting it in for the first start. I'm the guy that would leave it at home and not be able to go flying, or lose it. I don't even think of it as a key, it's a little metal tab that operates the start switch.
Click to expand...
Funny story...

I bought my RV-12 from a seller two states away. I flew down there commercial, took possession of the plane, flew it to my airport, tied it down, drove home, and proudly hung the keys up on a hook by my door.

A few days later, I drove back to the airport... and realized that the keys were still on the wall at home. A minute later I discovered that I already had an A126 key on my keyring from a piece of electrical equipment with a key switch. Problem solved!

My airport has a tall fence with keycards and lots of cameras. If someone manages to steal the plane anyway, that's a problem for my insurance company.
 
The op started a great thread so this post is for humor only.. At my home airport I leave the keys in the plane, even if on the ramp and I go home. When coyotes learn to fly I will amend this practice
 
sansoneservices said:
The op started a great thread so this post is for humor only.. At my home airport I leave the keys in the plane, even if on the ramp and I go home. When coyotes learn to fly I will amend this practice
Click to expand...
LOL....thank you. This whole discussion has taken turns I didn't expect, which is making for some fun reading. I do think there might be some entertainment value in watching someone hand-prop a 9-series Rotax. Anyone who can pull it off and keep all their bits probably deserves the plane. I do like the notion of a simple push-button starter switch in series with a captive-key lockout. My cheesy stock key once fell out onto the floor while in flight.
 
Last edited:
Just as an FYI for those not familiar with the Rotax world, the 912iS series engines can't be started by hand propping. The ECU doesn't fire the plugs until it spins up to a steady prop rpm >100 (about 225 engine rpm). Not sure about the 912 ULS.
 
Norman CYYJ said:
A missionary outfit on the field here always uses a chain or cable on their props. As for avionics I don't know of a way to prevent a determined thief from stealing them.
Click to expand...
Locks only keep honest people honest. When I was walking around Oshkosh, I saw many unattended aircraft with the keys hanging on the dash. As noted here, the damage caused by breaking the canopy to access the cockpit would be more painful than the loss of avionics.
 
rockyfatcat said:
Locks only keep honest people honest. When I was walking around Oshkosh, I saw many unattended aircraft with the keys hanging on the dash. As noted here, the damage caused by breaking the canopy to access the cockpit would be more painful than the loss of avionics.
Click to expand...
I like to cover the panel and glare shield to prevent uv damage. Maybe that helps prevent temptation??
 
RandomSquawk said:
...My cheesy stock key once fell out onto the floor while in flight.
Click to expand...
When I did my transition training, my instructor told me that some of the other instructors have students remove the key and place it in the side pocket during flight. They have a fuel card attached to the keychain. It can flap around and hit your knee whenever the vent is open. I decided to leave the key in.

For those that are adding unlabelled switches (or switches with secret purposes), is this allowed? I seem to recall there being a requirement about all switches needing to be properly labeled.
 
Last edited:
rv12is said:
When I did my transition training, my instructor told me that some of the other instructors have students remove the key and place it in the side pocket during flight. They have a fuel card attached to the keychain. It can flap around and hit your knee whenever the vent is open. I decided to leave the key in.

For those that are adding unlabelled switches (or switches with secret purposes), is this allowed? I seem to recall there being a requirement about all switches needing to be properly labeled.
Click to expand...
All the planes that i have built just use toggle switches, never liked keys and most twins that I have flown use toggle switches also.
 
sansoneservices said:
The op started a great thread so this post is for humor only.. At my home airport I leave the keys in the plane, even if on the ramp and I go home. When coyotes learn to fly I will amend this practice
Click to expand...
They seem to be thinking about it at my field. Last two flights there were 4 of them roaming about the runway. I called up the fbo and said we need a sign prohibiting feeding of the wildlife.
 
rv12is said:
For those that are adding unlabelled switches (or switches with secret purposes), is this allowed? I seem to recall there being a requirement about all switches needing to be properly labeled.
Click to expand...
Nope! Not allowed.
 
Allan Stern said:
When I built my RV12 I was told that all the 12 ‘s had the same keys.
Click to expand...
I just took delivery of a new (to me at least) RV-12. When I did a web search on the number stamped on the key, I found that Amazon would deliver a dozen, pre-cut, to my door in less than a week. A hmmmm.
 
bobg56 said:
Are RV-12's being stolen regularly? Didn't know this is becoming a problem....
Click to expand...
I read the average number of stolen planes was 15 a year per 221,000 private planes.
The real question I have is a taildragger less likely to be stolen. 😂
 
Webb said:
I read the average number of stolen planes was 15 a year per 221,000 private planes.
The real question I have is a taildragger less likely to be stolen. 😂
Click to expand...

I’m surprised the nose draggers are even counted as “airplanes” 😀
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top