Stolen "Champ" wings located...from 23,000 feet!!

[Tom Pappano]

A nice ending to the story:


Folks:

MIRACLES HAPPEN!!!!



In followup to the search for the missing Aeronca wings which began on
Wednesday before Thanksgiving (see attached story), here's the rest of
the story ..... Be sure to read the "Special Thanks" section at the end
for the details which made this whole event so miraculous!



On Friday night (12/5/03), I received a phone call from Brent
Higginbotham that he had spotted what he thought could be a pair of
wings on the ground 2 1/2 miles north of Minco and 1 mile west of
Highway 81 FROM 23,000 feet with his aerial photography work!



Saturday I overflew that general area, and was unsuccessful in locating
the wings. I decided to fly back to Chickasha (18 miles south where the
rest of the airplane is hangered), when my friend Cory, spotting from
the right side of the airplane, yelled "There they are!" They were in
the back yard of a house in downtown Minco, Oklahoma. We landed and
decided to consult the situation with the Minco police department
(already aware of the search), which confirmed that these were the
missing wings. After knocking on the door to the owner of the backyard,
no response was obtained and so they checked next door neighbor (family
members of homeowner), who authorized police & us to retrieve them, and
even offered the use of their big trailer to transport the wings back to
the airport. Two trailering trips later the wings are safe & secure
back at the Chickasha Airport (home of the Champ)!



SPECIAL THANKS TO:

* Pilot Frank Bice, who amazingly had taken photos of my Aeronca
Champ airplane safely parked on the side of the highway just after the
emergency landing, and initiated an incredible spreading the of the
Wing Search by email and Internet to hundreds of airports & pilots in
this region.
* Editor & Publisher Ralph McCormick of the Fly-Low aviation
magazine, for his remarkable article in such short time, published on
the website prior to the regular printing date. (See attached article)
* Minco, Oklahoma Police Department for their invaluable assistance
in the recovery of the wings in a safe, courteous, legal and non-violent
manner.
* Brent Higginbotham, aerial photography in Oklahoma City, who
reviewed his film of that general area and spotted what turned out to be
the missing wings - and his diligence in tracking me down late at night
to let me know of this finding, inspite of professional obligations at
4AM the following morning.
* My best friend, Cory, whose expertise from youthful experience as
a airplane spotter for the Wildlife Department enabled him to pick out
the two yellow wings amongst a sea of yellow farm equipment from the air.

Final note - In this day & age of skepticism and stories of heartache,
this entire event and all those involved has once again shown the
goodness of people everywhere, especially in Oklahoma. What a wonderful
holiday gift!

Pablo

[Corky Scott]

On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 19:13:59 GMT, Tom Pappano >
wrote:

>A nice ending to the story:
>
>
>Folks:
>
>MIRACLES HAPPEN!!!!

>
>Final note - In this day & age of skepticism and stories of heartache,
>this entire event and all those involved has once again shown the
>goodness of people everywhere, especially in Oklahoma. What a wonderful
>holiday gift!
>
>Pablo
>
Wait, why were the wings in the backyard of this person? Was he being
a really nice guy and storing them for you? If so, why did he not
tell the police that he was doing you this huge favor?

Corky Scott

[Wdtabor]

In article >, Tom Pappano
> writes:

>Final note - In this day & age of skepticism and stories of heartache,
>this entire event and all those involved has once again shown the
>goodness of people everywhere, especially in Oklahoma. What a wonderful
>holiday gift!

Have arrests been made?

Don

--
Wm. Donald (Don) Tabor Jr., DDS
PP-ASEL
Chesapeake, VA - CPK, PVG

[Montblack]

Do you think the thief has any direct connection to GA?

A person doesn't take wings unless he has a buyer lined up, or unless *he*
is the buyer.

--
Montblack
http://lumma.de/mt/archives/bart.gif


("Tom Pappano" wrote)
> A nice ending to the story:

> On Friday night (12/5/03), I received a phone call from Brent
> Higginbotham that he had spotted what he thought could be a pair of
> wings on the ground 2 1/2 miles north of Minco and 1 mile west of
> Highway 81 FROM 23,000 feet with his aerial photography work!
<snip>

[Mike Beede]

In article >, Montblack > wrote:

> Do you think the thief has any direct connection to GA?
>
> A person doesn't take wings unless he has a buyer lined up, or unless *he*
> is the buyer.

I've been in people's garages that had stolen traffic signs up. People
will steal anything.

I'd like to hear about an arrest, too. Please keep us posted.

Mike Beede

[Paul Tomblin]

In a previous article, "Montblack" > said:
>Do you think the thief has any direct connection to GA?
>
>A person doesn't take wings unless he has a buyer lined up, or unless *he*
>is the buyer.

Or unless he's an opportunist who thinks "Dang, I bet I can get some money
for them air-e-o-plane thingmies".


--
Paul Tomblin > http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
In any business, the customer is always right, except when he calls
technical support.

[Tom]

"Mike Beede" > wrote in message
...
>
> I've been in people's garages that had stolen traffic signs up. People
> will steal anything.
>

My brother had, in his gargae, a "SPEED LIMIT 80" sign that he stole from
I-70 back before the institued the national double nickel.

Tom

[John T]

"Paul Tomblin" > wrote in message

>
> Or unless he's an opportunist who thinks "Dang, I bet I can get some
> money for them air-e-o-plane thingmies".

....after getting a spam email about "How to make money on eBay". :)

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
__________

[BTIZ]

how can they be "stolen" wings.. when they were left by the side of a road
with no airplane attached.. did you leave a note on them?

isn't there something about salvage rights?

I know.. complete cars left by the side of the road and then "taken" are
considered stolen.... but what if I only find one fender?

BT

"Tom Pappano" > wrote in message
. ..
> A nice ending to the story:
>
>
> Folks:
>
> MIRACLES HAPPEN!!!!
>
>
>
> In followup to the search for the missing Aeronca wings which began on
> Wednesday before Thanksgiving (see attached story), here's the rest of
> the story ..... Be sure to read the "Special Thanks" section at the end
> for the details which made this whole event so miraculous!
>
>
>
> On Friday night (12/5/03), I received a phone call from Brent
> Higginbotham that he had spotted what he thought could be a pair of
> wings on the ground 2 1/2 miles north of Minco and 1 mile west of
> Highway 81 FROM 23,000 feet with his aerial photography work!
>
>
>
> Saturday I overflew that general area, and was unsuccessful in locating
> the wings. I decided to fly back to Chickasha (18 miles south where the
> rest of the airplane is hangered), when my friend Cory, spotting from
> the right side of the airplane, yelled "There they are!" They were in
> the back yard of a house in downtown Minco, Oklahoma. We landed and
> decided to consult the situation with the Minco police department
> (already aware of the search), which confirmed that these were the
> missing wings. After knocking on the door to the owner of the backyard,
> no response was obtained and so they checked next door neighbor (family
> members of homeowner), who authorized police & us to retrieve them, and
> even offered the use of their big trailer to transport the wings back to
> the airport. Two trailering trips later the wings are safe & secure
> back at the Chickasha Airport (home of the Champ)!
>
>
>
> SPECIAL THANKS TO:
>
> * Pilot Frank Bice, who amazingly had taken photos of my Aeronca
> Champ airplane safely parked on the side of the highway just after the
> emergency landing, and initiated an incredible spreading the of the
> Wing Search by email and Internet to hundreds of airports & pilots in
> this region.
> * Editor & Publisher Ralph McCormick of the Fly-Low aviation
> magazine, for his remarkable article in such short time, published on
> the website prior to the regular printing date. (See attached article)
> * Minco, Oklahoma Police Department for their invaluable assistance
> in the recovery of the wings in a safe, courteous, legal and non-violent
> manner.
> * Brent Higginbotham, aerial photography in Oklahoma City, who
> reviewed his film of that general area and spotted what turned out to be
> the missing wings - and his diligence in tracking me down late at night
> to let me know of this finding, inspite of professional obligations at
> 4AM the following morning.
> * My best friend, Cory, whose expertise from youthful experience as
> a airplane spotter for the Wildlife Department enabled him to pick out
> the two yellow wings amongst a sea of yellow farm equipment from the air.
>
> Final note - In this day & age of skepticism and stories of heartache,
> this entire event and all those involved has once again shown the
> goodness of people everywhere, especially in Oklahoma. What a wonderful
> holiday gift!
>
> Pablo
>

[Cub Driver]

>I know.. complete cars left by the side of the road and then "taken" are
>considered stolen.... but what if I only find one fender?

In the area where I live, it is standard procedure to put unwanted
stuff at the end of the drive. Sometimes the householder adds a sign:
FREE, but I don't bother. The thang is almost always gone by the time
of the next weekly trash pickup.

Indeed, I think the town counts on this behavior. We have a
bulky-trash pickup every June, and without fail the town tells us to
have the stuff by the side of the road two weeks in advance of the
actual pickup. They claim this is so they can allocate trucks, but I
think it's just so scanvangers will carry away most of it. They come
from several towns around to cherry-pick the leavings.

Perhaps in that part of the country, airplane wings are considered
trash to be put by the side of the road.


all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

[Tom]

"Cub Driver" > wrote in message
...
>
> In the area where I live, it is standard procedure to put unwanted
> stuff at the end of the drive. Sometimes the householder adds a sign:
> FREE, but I don't bother. The thang is almost always gone by the time
> of the next weekly trash pickup.
>
> Indeed, I think the town counts on this behavior. We have a
> bulky-trash pickup every June, and without fail the town tells us to
> have the stuff by the side of the road two weeks in advance of the
> actual pickup. They claim this is so they can allocate trucks, but I
> think it's just so scanvangers will carry away most of it. They come
> from several towns around to cherry-pick the leavings.
>

And the following June, all the stuff is out at the end of the driveway
again...but it's at the end of SOMEONE ELSE'S driveway.

[R. Hubbell]

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 08:22:22 -0700 "Tom" > wrote:

>
> "Cub Driver" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > In the area where I live, it is standard procedure to put unwanted
> > stuff at the end of the drive. Sometimes the householder adds a sign:
> > FREE, but I don't bother. The thang is almost always gone by the time
> > of the next weekly trash pickup.
> >
> > Indeed, I think the town counts on this behavior. We have a
> > bulky-trash pickup every June, and without fail the town tells us to
> > have the stuff by the side of the road two weeks in advance of the
> > actual pickup. They claim this is so they can allocate trucks, but I
> > think it's just so scanvangers will carry away most of it. They come
> > from several towns around to cherry-pick the leavings.
> >
>
> And the following June, all the stuff is out at the end of the driveway
> again...but it's at the end of SOMEONE ELSE'S driveway.
>

And so on and so forth. Purest form of recycling.



R. Hubbell

[ET]

"R. Hubbell" > wrote in
news:U81Cb.53$pY.4@fed1read04:

> On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 08:22:22 -0700 "Tom" > wrote:
>
>>
>> "Cub Driver" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> >
>> > In the area where I live, it is standard procedure to put unwanted
>> > stuff at the end of the drive. Sometimes the householder adds a
>> > sign: FREE, but I don't bother. The thang is almost always gone by
>> > the time of the next weekly trash pickup.
>> >
>> > Indeed, I think the town counts on this behavior. We have a
>> > bulky-trash pickup every June, and without fail the town tells us
>> > to have the stuff by the side of the road two weeks in advance of
>> > the actual pickup. They claim this is so they can allocate trucks,
>> > but I think it's just so scanvangers will carry away most of it.
>> > They come from several towns around to cherry-pick the leavings.
>> >
>>
>> And the following June, all the stuff is out at the end of the
>> driveway again...but it's at the end of SOMEONE ELSE'S driveway.
>>
>
> And so on and so forth. Purest form of recycling.
>
>
>
> R. Hubbell
>

Here in the San Antonio Texas area, we have "professional" curb trash
scavangers. It it very likely, if you go to one of the 4 or 5 large
flea markets in the area the next weekend you will see your former trash
for sale at a reasonable price.


I say more power to them!
--
ET >:)

(Future student pilot and Sonex or Zodiac XL builder)


"A common mistake people make when trying to design something
completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete
fools."---- Douglas Adams

[Brien K. Meehan]

"BTIZ" > wrote in message news:<B%OBb.19391$yf.9234@fed1read01>...
> how can they be "stolen" wings.. when they were left by the side of a road
> with no airplane attached.. did you leave a note on them?

How can they NOT be "stolen" if they were taken by someone who doesn't
own them? Keeping them attached, or putting a "note" on them (what
the hell?!?) doesn't change their personal ownership.

> isn't there something about salvage rights?

Salvage is a specific legal process. Taking someone else's personal
property (even if it's lost on public land) and keeping it is not
salvage, it's theft.

> I know.. complete cars left by the side of the road and then "taken" are
> considered stolen.... but what if I only find one fender?

If you find one fender, and you take it, you've stolen it.

[BTIZ]

>
> If you find one fender, and you take it, you've stolen it.

BS

[ET]

"BTIZ" > wrote in news:7tdCb.3840$m83.1342
@fed1read01:

>>
>> If you find one fender, and you take it, you've stolen it.
>
> BS
>
>
>

Years ago I lost my dog (he was a champion fence jumper <grin>). I ended
up getting a call from someone who found the dog allegedly on there way
through town, called me from 80 mile away, and said come get the dog.

I drove the 80 miles, and the person never showed up. I went to the police
station, and to officer told me that I had no complaint since if someone
finds a dog wandering around and picks it up, they are doing a public
service and can keep it if they want too.

Morally, you are correct, legally, I believe not.

--
ET >:)


"A common mistake people make when trying to design something
completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete
fools."---- Douglas Adams

[Roger Hamlett]

"ET" > wrote in message
...
> "BTIZ" > wrote in news:7tdCb.3840$m83.1342
> @fed1read01:
>
> >>
> >> If you find one fender, and you take it, you've stolen it.
> >
> > BS
> >
>
> Years ago I lost my dog (he was a champion fence jumper <grin>). I ended
> up getting a call from someone who found the dog allegedly on there way
> through town, called me from 80 mile away, and said come get the dog.
>
> I drove the 80 miles, and the person never showed up. I went to the
police
> station, and to officer told me that I had no complaint since if someone
> finds a dog wandering around and picks it up, they are doing a public
> service and can keep it if they want too.
>
> Morally, you are correct, legally, I believe not.
Sounds a bit like the UK law, with regards to poaching. If you hit a
pheasant on the road, stop and pick it up, you have broken the law, and
stolen the bird. However if a following driver picks it up, it is legal.

Best Wishes

[Brien K. Meehan]

ET > wrote in message >...
> I drove the 80 miles, and the person never showed up. I went to the police
> station, and to officer told me that I had no complaint since if someone
> finds a dog wandering around and picks it up, they are doing a public
> service and can keep it if they want too.

That's not true. The officer didn't know the applicable laws (very
likely), and/or didn't want to bother dealing with your problem (also
very likely).