Avoid becoming a victim of Crime.

In Aprils Skywings there was a letter from Mark White who wrote to say that he had fallen victim of possibly the most heinous crime known to man… he had all of his flying kit stolen from the back of his car whilst out walking in South Wales. He was sickened to find that his insurance did in no way cover the amount of his loss.

Well having travelled throughout many countries I have found a way of preventing this kind of crime from occurring in the first place and thought that it would be a good idea to share this advice with the readership.

<< Glider, harness, helmet, vario, etc etc. £3000 worth in a neat package ready to take away.

Large mass of fabric and lines. Not an easy thing to run away with!>>

In the first photo – imagine if the car boot was locked – looking at it from an opportunist thief’s perspective this looks like a great find, a ruck sack full of stuff, perhaps a tent, some camping gear etc. and what’s more it will be easy to carry out of this car park practically unnoticed.

Photo2 – to a prospective thief this looks like a load of material of little worth. Imagine if the thief managed to break in and take hold of an open glider he would have real trouble looking inconspicuous trying to carry it across a carpark, particularly on a windy day!

So, whether you’re stopping off for a pint after a days flying or leaving your car for 5 minutes whilst you go to the loo in the french services – take my advice, leave your glider unpacked. Pack it when you get to the flying site.