Fellow modelers, I am writing to you on ideas in which to secure your AMA flying field. We have a nice field with alot of hard work in the last three years and we have had vandalism almost 3-4 times per year. We have a locked gate, perimeter cable to keep most people out and we still have vehicles crossing thru the ditch or overgrown pasture lands and rutting our runway and pit area-we all know how much work it takes in planting grass, watering the grass via truck potable water and the list goes on. The police are called every time and reports taken but no results. We have posted game cameras and the vandals took those as well-when they ran down all the pilot station fencing and collapsed the 18x21 carport we had just purchased. We are about ready to give it up-We have grown from 6 to 34 members in three years but we are getting tired-thanks

[8D] Hi Jim ,

[] Sorry to hear of your Vandal problem

Any way a few well placed landscape boulders would keep the vehicles out ? Or Dig the ditch out even further so as to make it impassable ?

Too bad about the wildlife cameras being taken , any way you could put out a couple of obvious looking ones as decoys for the vandals to take , and have a different , well camoed one hidden just a bit further up a tree somewhere ?

I suppose asking the Police to make an occasional ride by check , even if only once a night a different times , wouldn't be well received by them ? If you could get em to do even an occasional patrol , maybe they'll scare the vandals away , if nothing else ......

Hi

Any nearby neighbors? Seems planned. Can you set up a long range camera? Or have someone watch the field from far away? It might be a pain, but if it is a nearby person, once caught, you could sue them for damages!


Vince

Bad news Jim and for sure SHOT happens. Jetero had some real problems for a while. We have lost 2 Mower tractors over 16 years, and all the underground copper wiring from the gate to the shelter, that just late last year. We replaced it with aluminum wire and the Electric Company was very very helpful.

We now have up high on the electric pole a night light, along with same on the toliets.

Of course the best is a night watchman with a very good 12 Gage Pump (won't jam like an auto loader can sometimes do) "0" or "00" shot, plus a side-arm and know how to use it.
Some years ago, I owned 80 acres up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for deer hunting. The Canadians were horrible about coming down into MI and trespassing on the
properties. (MI is horrible about protecting personal property, but they do love to tax it.) The road in had some water-holes. I took some 2 X 6 Boards, placed a number of 6" spikes and submerged them, spikes sticking UP. Things got a lot of nicer then.

Such might work for you, with some such presets that can be moved around. Cops are so hamstrung by stupid liberal laws today, that they have no desire to do anything for you, and if they did, they would be in deep stuff.

Best of Luck!

I was just thinking about going after their tires too. Spike strips placed at all possible entry points would not only stop the vandals, but would help you catch them as well. Of course, one would want to check the legality of that before proceeding, lest the one who does it get into trouble. Luckily for you and your club, Texas is very pro-victim and anti-criminal, especially when it comes to trespassing.
For those that don't know, Texas allows a landowner to shoot on sight anyone they catch on their property after dark, no matter what they are doing. It's a holdover from the days when most of us were ranchers and had to deal with cattle rustlers constantly. It comes in handy for keeping people out of your lawn mower shed too.

Jim,

Very bad news. Hard to stop sometimes.

FWIW I once had a business downtown in a less than great location. Had some issues from time to time despite a good security plan. After a few years dealing with persistent problems I had an opportunity to buy a police boat with decals and all... Bought the boat and parked it where easily visible... guess what??? Yep, no more problems... I guess the perpetrators were just not sure about what was going on there anymore.

So with that in mind... I have a thought... Go to the local police or sheriffs dept. Offer to allow the use of your flying field for future FPV training...whether or not they ever intend to do such a thing. If they accept your club's gracious offer...and I expect they will...Well...unless you guys get too demanding about AMA membership BS. Then your club can post signage with a few official looking,well done and placed signs indicating the location as a law enforcement training site... Hmmm...The police might even give you a few decals...

BTW the local police here do use our site for their FPV and other tactical training stuff...We don't bother them with silly AMA membership requirements tho... Don't want to run them off or nothing...

Is there any pattern to the damage, ie, Friday nights, I like the spike strips. Make sure they on on your property. If there is a pattern, have a party and have members there to catch them. Tell the police what you are doing so they are ready to respond when you call. It has to be the same people doing it. Stop one and you stop all. Dennis

Spike strips??? You got to be kidding! Placement of such devices would only be good if the perpetrators drove in areas authorized user wouldn't normally...Invariably an authorized person would inadvertently drive over one... Maybe even the police investigating suspicious activity on the clubs behalf... it is preposterous to think they(the police) would always be aware of such devices... very bad advice IMO.

Lets see the poster said they drive over grown pasture land. Not a place for normal driving. Also if there is a pattern to the events the strips would only be used during those times.
Had the same problem on my farm in the back. Cutting fencing to get in. Used them on my side. Only had to do it once. It's just a idea. Dennis

Good post. You set me straight. I never looked at it that way. Thanks.

So I guess go ahead and put out the spikes and hope the police never go to investigate suspicious activity at the property by following the same off-road path in as the trespassers. But if they did I am sure the "law breakers" would be in big trouble...

Our field happens to have some very deep very wide drainage ditches around the perimiter that are well over grown with tall grass. Amazing how even a bottomed out four wheeler can't get out.

And since the surrounding land is owned by the City, it's a $75 fine for driving there in the first place plus towing fees plus court costs.

I't does appear to me that you still dissagree with my idea. I think. I just don't see a police car in the middle of the night driving thru unmowed pasture and over a ditch just looking for the bad guys, but I could be wrong. Dennis

Look Dennis,

You do know that such "booby traps" are illegal in most places, don't you? Now put a sign indicting such and it probably will be ok...but that defeats the purpose some, don't you think?

I do know that setting deadly traps are illegal. I don't know about passive devices. It would be worth a phone call to the club to find out. I do know in my case I saw where they changed the tire in the pasture and turned around. Never had a problem since. When I told the police they just laughed. Dennis

FWIW I'm pretty sure that even merely "possessing" or "making" tire deflation devices such as "spike strips", as discussed here, is against the law here in Texas... Well unless police or other authorized personnel...

Of course, most police officers will likely use "sympathetic discretion" and not cite you if they discover such a device but in the event something happens and push comes to shove you likely will be held accountable...

BTW all this discussion reminds me of an AMA club that strung a "barrier" across it's runway...How did that turn out again?

Oh, and not sure what a phone call to the club would reveal. Maybe "call the AMA" instead.

I ment for the club to call the police and ask them about the strips. Dennis

If they give the OK, I'd get it in writing...

So,
In Texas, if a feller drives up and raids your tomater patch, you can shoot him dead,
but if you spike his tires so he can't get to the tomaters in the first place, you go to jail.
LOL.

Losing battle IMO. You catch the vandals and nothing will happen to them. They just will come back and totally destroy what ever is left. Locate some property owned by the city or county than your problems will likely go away.

Effective! LOL Texas law forces a decisive conclusion...

Maybe try leaving the gate open and taking down the perimeter cable.
Reverse psychology or whatever.

oops, double post

Seriously, this has to be an "inside job", meaning an ex-member, a barred pilot, someone turned down for membership?  They know too much about what rutting does to a field, about the cameras and their locations, how to remotely enter the property, and when to do their antics.
Take pictures and or plaster castings of the tire prints.  Get your officers in a quiet meeting and see who might have reason to do direct damage to your field.  
Setting out ANY deterent that causes harm/damage will end you up in an expensive law suit and whether you win lose or draw, the attorney fees will eat your money up.  There might be game wardens, utility surveyers, adjoining livestock that are harmed by spikes.  Granted they shouldn't be out there at night but it all boils down to the "what if" scenario.
Put out additional night cameras and don't publicize that effort or location.  You'll catch them on camera and that's all you'll need to go to the police with.  This might be an active member but kids with their Daddy bought 4 wheelers and do donuts anywhere.  They don't specifically target airstrips unless there is some specific vengence in mind.