Stolen in Washington!!!

Izzyreel

Newbie
Joined
Mar 28, 2022
Messages
9
Location
Washington
Hello all Washington pilots. My father was both a helicopter and gyro pilot until a few years ago. He passed last April and this Sportcopter was stolen from his house last week. Please call police if you are approached to buy. It is reported stolen.
Serial #072
Tail# N547PS
Sincerely Israel Stevens
808-783-43776F72D51B-6A6D-4A3B-93B8-5E81EC225798.jpeg
 
I’ll keep an eye out.
 
You have already contacted Sportcopter right?
Jim and his team would certainly help
 
Is the serial number stamped on the frame somewhere? If so, maybe someone can show a picture of where that's located, so any potential buyer can check to see if the SN has been altered, or maybe just covered up. Hope they find the people who stole it.

Rusty
 
Did your father have any pilot friends who may have borrowed the gyro without you knowing? Seems to me someone who steals a gyro must know what it is before going through the effort of taking it. Assume it wasn’t stored outside.

Check out inquiries on people wanting to learn to fly gyros in the Washington area too, but assume someone who stole this would most likely sell the parts. Can not imagine some stealing any aircraft then selling or flying as a whole.

Did you ask around at your Fathers airport?

I didn’t see any Sportcopter parts come up for sale in Barnstormers or the others.
 
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There is a kit # stamped into the SC masts @ the inside bottom, where it is bolted to the keel sections. From what I read yrs. back, every kit had a # assigned/stamped to each one.

This particular Vortex is one of the early production ones, from the late 1990's, like my Lightning was also. I doubt any thief would go to all the trouble to replace the mast section w/ a new one just to avoid that stamped kit # being found.

There are too many through-holes in the double 1"x2" mast sections, some of which use sleeves, such as the folding mast section. To duplicate the fit of the SC mast would take more effort that it is worth to try to sell it as a different machine.

Trying to get the powder coating finish on a replacement mast section to look identical to the production ones would also take a great deal of effort. That effort isn't a strong point of thieves. Someone wanted to turn a valuable looking aircraft into some quick bucks, in my opinion. Chances are high they wanted to get quick money for drugs.

If the rotorblades were taken along w/ the aircraft, then there might be a gyroplane knowledgeable person involved...but if both the gyro & the rotorblade box was on a trailer, it could have been a quick grab w/out knowing anything about gyroplanes.

It was in such pristine condition condition that if a thief would try to sell it, it would stand out (BIG TIME!), not showing any wear or dirt from being flown. There wouldn't be the usual grime lodged in the joints where cluster plates meet the tubing, or where various clamps are attached, that is next to impossible to clean w/out disassembly.

The rotorblades were also pristine Skywheels. There'd be no wear on the leading edge, such as small chips or dings. Same for the Sport Prop. All the hardware nuts & bolts on the hub bar (as well as the rest of the entire machine) would had no marks from using socket or open/closed wrenches.

The machine looked like a showroom model that was assembled w/ care. I believe it was assembled using oversize sockets/wrenches that had tape on the contact surfaces to avoid any marks.

A thief wouldn't know that the Rotax 582 was W-A-Y overdue for a rebuild, not having been used for more than a decade. The engine is over two decades in age. Whomever the thief is, they probably think they can re-sell it for some quick bucks.

If they are a pilot, it'll quickly be known if/when they show up flying w/ that gyro, claiming it is theirs.

An added point: Phil Stevens had told me that due to his stroke/heart attack that he had suffered prior to our last phone call, there were various people coming into his home/shop taking whatever they wanted, such as furniture & tools, right in front of him (!) & he couldn't do a thing about it because of his weakened state.

My gut instinct says the thief lives close by & highly possible that they are one of the previous thieves that stole from him when he was still alive, or, someone those thieves know. Might be someone who came to see the machine using the ruse to possibly buy it, while scoping out the situation.

Another possibility: We know organized crime thieves are very good @ stealing cars, pickups, etc. & immediately putting them into ocean cargo containers that are shortly shipped out of the country. These smugglers have the stolen goods delivered to locations in certain countries where proof of ownership/title is not @ all important in the deal.
 
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I think it most likely a friend or hangar buddy has it from when he was alive and said they could.
If it is thieves, it will be cut up and sold for scrap aluminum and a quick fix.
Hope you solve it.
 
I was thinking maybe a friend took it, but if people are raiding his home/shop and taking stuff then something else might be going on.... Very sad times now with all the crime.
 
There is a kit # stamped into the SC masts @ the inside bottom, where it is bolted to the keel sections. From what I read yrs. back, every kit had a # assigned/stamped to each one.

This particular Vortex is one of the early production ones, from the late 1990's, like my Lightning was also. I doubt any thief would go to all the trouble to replace the mast section w/ a new one just to avoid that stamped kit # being found.

There are too many through-holes in the double 1"x2" mast sections, some of which use sleeves, such as the folding mast section. To duplicate the fit of the SC mast would take more effort that it is worth to try to sell it as a different machine.

Trying to get the powder coating finish on a replacement mast section to look identical to the production ones would also take a great deal of effort. That effort isn't a strong point of thieves. Someone wanted to turn a valuable looking aircraft into some quick bucks, in my opinion. Chances are high they wanted to get quick money for drugs.

If the rotorblades were taken along w/ the aircraft, then there might be a gyroplane knowledgeable person involved...but if both the gyro & the rotorblade box was on a trailer, it could have been a quick grab w/out knowing anything about gyroplanes.

It was in such pristine condition condition that if a thief would try to sell it, it would stand out (BIG TIME!), not showing any wear or dirt from being flown. There wouldn't be the usual grime lodged in the joints where cluster plates meet the tubing, or where various clamps are attached, that is next to impossible to clean w/out disassembly.

The rotorblades were also pristine Skywheels. There'd be no wear on the leading edge, such as small chips or dings. Same for the Sport Prop. All the hardware nuts & bolts on the hub bar (as well as the rest of the entire machine) would had no marks from using socket or open/closed wrenches.

The machine looked like a showroom model that was assembled w/ care. I believe it was assembled using oversize sockets/wrenches that had tape on the contact surfaces to avoid any marks.

A thief wouldn't know that the Rotax 582 was W-A-Y overdue for a rebuild, not having been used for more than a decade. The engine is over two decades in age. Whomever the thief is, they probably think they can re-sell it for some quick bucks.

If they are a pilot, it'll quickly be known if/when they show up flying w/ that gyro, claiming it is theirs.

An added point: Phil Stevens had told me that due to his stroke/heart attack that he had suffered prior to our last phone call, there were various people coming into his home/shop taking whatever they wanted, such as furniture & tools, right in front of him (!) & he couldn't do a thing about it because of his weakened state.

My gut instinct says the thief lives close by & highly possible that they are one of the previous thieves that stole from him when he was still alive, or, someone those thieves know. Might be someone who came to see the machine using the ruse to possibly buy it, while scoping out the situation.

Another possibility: We know organized crime thieves are very good @ stealing cars, pickups, etc. & immediately putting them into ocean cargo containers that are shortly shipped out of the country. These smugglers have the stolen goods delivered to locations in certain countries where proof of ownership/title is not @ all important in the deal.
I agree. Hopefully they are dumb enough to try to sell it to someone that knows what they are looking at and possibly see this post. Sure dad is pissed watching probably his favorite possession get taken a couple days before his kids got back to clean some loose ends with his estate. Thanks for the tips. Will keep checking Barnsrormer Craigslist and Facebook market place
 
Was the gyro outside, Israel?
On a trailer?
Was it up for sale?
Is Valerie your sister?
No she is my auntie. The gyro was barricaded and covered in his shop. Kinda feel like it was someone that knew it was there. It had never been listed. I was going to put it on Barnstormer for him but he ended back in the hospital so we put that on hold.
 
Is the serial number stamped on the frame somewhere? If so, maybe someone can show a picture of where that's located, so any potential buyer can check to see if the SN has been altered, or maybe just covered up. Hope they find the people who stole it.

Rusty
Sportcopter said it should be #072
 
Shows it’s flying from Shaw Crop Service in Hammond, LA (LA13) . Still listed as a 2007 Sportcopter owned by Phillip Stevens in Brinnon, Wa.
 
Shows it’s flying from Shaw Crop Service in Hammond, LA (LA13) . Still listed as a 2007 Sportcopter owned by Phillip Stevens in Brinnon, Wa.
Bob: I see it was registered to him, but that the reg was cancelled in March of 2018.
Where did the Shaw Crop Service info come from?
I don't see that on the "N" Inquiry in the FAA's database.
 
Flightaware does show that N547PS flying on 7 May 2021 in Louisiana.

This is before the theft.
 
Maybe the transponder in Louisiana was just emitting a wrong N-number for a bit last year? Can happen.
 
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