P 40 stolen out of the back of my truck while flying

[Marty72]

I know this doesn't make you feel better, but I'm pretty sure I know why the procedure is as it is: Police generally can't arrest people for misdemeanors that they don't themselves witness. You need the "complaining witness".

Thanks, that makes sense now. I guess I haven't file with such a petty thief before, the last time I reported a thief was a home break in.

 

[Marty72]

I absolutely hate thieves and vandals, it has happened to me living in the country someone drove in and swiped everything out of my boat.

Look on the bright side they thought it was worth enough to steal. I would keep an eye on facebook and any other places that they could list it for sale.

Police do not charge a person unless they are the ones that witness and capture the pervert, in this type of situation you would be the one having to file charges.

Thanks. I just didn't realize this was the case. It makes doing petty thefts pretty low risk, the only real risk is that the person you are stealing from catches you and is of the mind set to harm you (and has the ability).

 

[Grifflyer]

It also makes a good story, almost as good as Battleaxe leaving a plane on top of wife's car, next morning she drove off to work . The plane or any remnants of it, never to be seen again.

I've never heard that story, thank you for sharing that. I can't wait to tease him about that 😂

 

[Hondo76251]

I'm pretty libertarian so I'm by no means a hard line "law and order" guy on most things but I have no patients for thieves. I think it is a tragically under-punished crime. We only have so many hours in our lives, most we spend working, others are spent for seeking personal enjoyment. When someone steals something like your plane, they've stolen those hours of your life spent working to afford nice gear, they've stolen the hours spent building it, even if its only $5 worth of foam, and they've stolen your feeling of trust and safety in your community. Not my personal vice of choice, but the fact that I could get in more trouble for smoking a plant than for stealing your plane doesn't set well with me... but I digress.
Sorry about the luck, glad you've got a good attitude about it! Sometimes life gives lemons, take them and chuck them at people who are making your life so difficult!

 

["Corpse"]

I'm pretty libertarian so I'm by no means a hard line "law and order" guy on most things but I have no patients for thieves. I think it is a tragically under-punished crime. We only have so many hours in our lives, most we spend working, others are spent for seeking personal enjoyment. When someone steals something like your plane, they've stolen those hours of your life spent working to afford nice gear, they've stolen the hours spent building it, even if its only $5 worth of foam, and they've stolen your feeling of trust and safety in your community. Not my personal vice of choice, but the fact that I could get in more trouble for smoking a plant than for stealing your plane doesn't set well with me... but I digress.
Sorry about the luck, glad you've got a good attitude about it! Sometimes life gives lemons, take them and chuck them at people who are making your life so difficult!

Well said Sir,

 

["Corpse"]

I've never heard that story, thank you for sharing that. I can't wait to tease him about that 😂

Also well said.

 

[The Hangar]

It also makes a good story, almost as good as Battleaxe leaving a plane on top of wife's car, next morning she drove off to work . The plane or any remnants of it, never to be seen again.

Haha, I remember that... 😂

 

[cranialrectosis]

I read your story and Hondo's post and I am immediately drawn here.

 

[Hondo76251]

One of my favorites! 😁

 

[Marty72]

And now for something completely different. I took the dog, Roo, out to the abandoned ball field (different place) that is only 1 mile from my house. She loves to chase the UMX Timber. It's safe for her, but not so safe for the plane. It makes flying this plane much more exciting (low and slow with dog in pursuit). The Video was taken about 3 weeks ago. We improved our "leave it" since then. She nearly destroyed the 4 ounce plane, while landing, a couple of times( in the video). I edited 20 minutes of video into 4 minutes.

She is a Cattle dog/BC mix (most Cattle dog) and has a really strong herding instinct, so chasing a plane is right up her alley. She is also my Mtb dog, she gets bored during the climbs and takes side trips to tree squirrels.

 

[Scary]

I have a Boston terrier I dive bombed a couple times, now when I grab a plane to go fly she won't go with me

 

[whackflyer]

I've got a specialized rockhopper comp with upgraded tires and tubeless! Upgraded fork pending.

I work at a bike shop that's a Specialized dealer so I love to hear about other Specialized riders! I personally ride a Hardrock and am hopefully going to upgrade to a Stumpjumper Comp as soon as we can get them in the shop! Oh and sorry if this is off topic @Marty72

 

["Corpse"]

I work at a bike shop that's a Specialized dealer so I love to hear about other Specialized riders! I personally ride a Hardrock and am hopefully going to upgrade to a Stumpjumper Comp as soon as we can get them in the shop! Oh and sorry if this is off topic @Marty72

Lol I wanted a stumpy but Kwads took my money!

 

[flamingo]

had this happen to me alot with everything never leave stuff in the open

 

[whackflyer]

Lol I wanted a stumpy but Kwads took my money!

Kinda the same situation here. I have too many hobbies!

 

[chris398mx]

I have to share this story (which I still can't believe). This morning I took a Ft Spitfire and FT P 40 (w/ Rimfire 3536) to the ball field I fly at. It's a private place, with a gate (only one way out, at the end of a road), and a very nice field. I know all the folks involved with the park, today, the field manager was on the site taking care the park. I had just finished flying the P 40 and it was a bit damp due to the wet grass landing. So I put it in the bed to sun dry. I walked about 200 feet to my spot, to fly my Spitfire. After a 6 minute flight (As I do after every flight), I landed the plane and saw this white Ford explorer backing away from my truck like a bat out of hell. I wondered what that was about, as I approach my truck, I don't see the P 40. I question myself, did I put in the truck without thinking? Nope, this guy stole the plane. I told the Manager what happen and he called the Sheriff. We review the cameras and saw the whole thing. Unfortunately, no tag number could be read. View attachment 181485

Now, I feel pretty fortunate because my loses could have been much, much worse. Unusually, I take as many planes as will fit in the truck. I also frequent the place after mountain biking. I'll take the bike ($$$) off the tail gate and lay it on the ground to allow me to use the tail gate to prepare the planes for flight. But today, I only had 4 batteries charged up, so I just took two planes and no bike. He didn't take the batteries, either.

I felt like that location was about as safer than my own driveway (cameras on site too). The Pepsi guy was in there delivering while this was going on. It's not a busy area, no one is in there during the week, just me, the field manager (riding around on a Gator). No traffic. For whatever reason, this guy drove in there and pull up behind my truck, grabbed the plane and spit.

I talked with the Deputy Sheriff and he said to call if we get a tag number but then added that even if we had it, and the video, that they won't charge him, I would have to do that (but they would help me). I've never heard of such a think. I don't know if this is a NC thing or a county issue. I want to learn more about this. I have enough live experience to know that I'll never see that plane again (along with the list of things I've had stolen over my life time) but I was very surprised by the remark, "we can't charge him, even if you get the tag number, we (police) didn't witness it. You will have to go the court house and charge him."

I will try to make a very long story short. My sister had her car stolen out of her driveway and reported it to the police right away, obviously. they told her when they took the report, they would likely not find it (implied there would be little done to actually look for it.) Too many donuts to eat I guess. Two weeks later, she sees her car in her neighborhood and parked in front of another house 2 streets over. (the gall of some people). She parks across the street a few houses down and calls 911. They tell her not to do anything and not to confront the thief and they will send someone as soon as they can. She sits there for over 30 minutes waiting (she lives in the outskirts of Indianapolis, in an area crawling with cops) finally, a guy comes out of the house and leaves in the car. she follows a little ways back and calls 911 again. They stay on the phone with her and say someone is in route. she follows for about 4-5 minutes, but eventually loses the guy in traffic. No, cop ever shows. 2 more weeks later they find the car in another neighbor hood stripped and left for dead. It really makes you angry when they cant even show up within 30 minutes when you know there are multiple cops less than 10 minutes away.

All this being said, I am definitely for law enforcement and I think they are getting a bum deal in America. I just wish in circumstances like this, when it would have been easy to recover a stolen car, they would do exactly what they are here for.

End rant.

 

[Hondo76251]

When seconds count, the police are only minutes away...

 

[Marty72]

I like the car stolen story, sounds about right based on my experience. I had my pickup truck stolen in High school, It was after school, I was working out in the gym, someone broken into my locker and got my keys, stole the truck. We heard who did it(word gets around) but nothing ever happened to the guy. Someone found my truck weeks later, badly beaten up. I wish I never got it back, it was never the same.

I'll try and call 911, but I'm not waiting on anyone with a gun. People who believe the police can protect YOU (individually), are seriously mistaken. It's not that they don't want to, it just isn't possible. The police, file a report, and eventually investigate (if it's a serious crime). This belief that no one needs a gun, call the police, good luck with that. I am pro law enforcement, btw.

 

[The Hangar]

And now for something completely different. I took the dog, Roo, out to the abandoned ball field (different place) that is only 1 mile from my house. She loves to chase the UMX Timber. It's safe for her, but not so safe for the plane. It makes flying this plane much more exciting (low and slow with dog in pursuit). The Video was taken about 3 weeks ago. We improved our "leave it" since then. She nearly destroyed the 4 ounce plane, while landing, a couple of times( in the video). I edited 20 minutes of video into 4 minutes.

She is a Cattle dog/BC mix (most Cattle dog) and has a really strong herding instinct, so chasing a plane is right up her alley. She is also my Mtb dog, she gets bored during the climbs and takes side trips to tree squirrels.

Haha, that’s awesome! Is that the turbo version or the original?

 

[Marty72]

Haha, that’s awesome! Is that the turbo version or the original?

That is the original. It's the only store bought plane I have, it replaced the battered Crash Sportscub. I used it as trainer, the safe function was great to bail me out, but I got bored with it. Now, it's got a new purpose, dog exerciser. And boy does she love this game. It's also good for slow, low flying practice with high stakes. If I crash and I'm done, as she'll bounce it to bits. Last time I went, five people showed up (uninvited) and I wasn't sure how non fliers would view this. They thought it was great, said it was the highlight of their day.