Do big vehicles have ignition keys?

[fortytwo]

@ntcrawler

Other dopers correct me if I'm wrong but I also believe there are lockout pins on the landing gear to prevent retraction which must be removed during flight otherwise you won't be able to retract the gear, thus increasing your air resistance which will have the effect of greatly limiting your speed (and range)

That’s more or less right. The pins, one for each landing gear are fitted between flights and normally removed as part of the pre flight checks and stowed in the flight deck. The aircrew would check these are present to save any embarrassment after take off, with the gear staying down.

A further pin is often fitted too, it fits in the steering jack and would if left in prevent the a/c from being steered along the taxiway. Again, leaving that in is a source of embarrassment.

[ntcrawler]

If you really wanted to take off and steal a jet, there is one other way: go to work for the airlines or airport and get yourself a taxiing license. This license won’t let you fly, but will allow you to get behind the controls and ferry aircraft around the airport, from a maintenance hanger to jetways, plane washing area, etc. Doing so would bypass manyof the difficulties mentioned above. Your only real practical concern would be to somehow make sure you have an appreciable fuel load onboard to allow you to fly to wherever you wanteed to go you have a destination in mind, right?)… By the time anyone had figured out that something was wrong you could conceivable reach a runway and aviation traffic permitting, start your takeoff roll. Of course once you’re airborne you then would have to deal with the military who would no doubt be very mad at you, so your best chances would be to do this in some other country, preferably on some island or third world which would not be able to assemble other aircraft to intercept you in an appreciable amount of time.

[TheLoadedDog]

@LSLGuy

I personaly have only brushed the barest surface of the seamy underside of commercial aviation, but there is a depth of evil there which would amaze folks used to the fairly clean-hands world of 1st world major airlines.

It’d be marvellous if you could share whatever stories you do have. I’ve long been fascinated by tales of rogue pilots disappearing into Africa.

[UncleFred]

Not quite airplane-sized but…I believe that a lot of earth-moving and similar equipment as used by highway construction/maintenance crews, and even some landscaping companies, does not have ignition keys - anyone can start them up. Its been in the news a bit around here as there’s been a lot of theft. This is compounded by the fact that many such machines don’t have identifying numbers (license plates, vehicle ID’s etc) making them harder to identify as being stolen.

[SCSimmons]

@SSG Schwartz

The military vehicles that I have used do not require keys to start them. There is an ignition switch. The steering wheel is usually chained and locked. This would include HMMWV and trucks such as LMTV’s and FMTV’s. That is, if the vehicle has wheels and runs on diesel, it doesn’t need keys to start, but dies require keys to turn the steering wheel.

How To Steal A Military Vehicle

1. Find one that’s already pointed toward your destination …

[Derleth]

@brewha

That’ll end your joy ride real quick.

So, you’re telling me this ain’t like crop-dustin’?

Seriously, great thread everybody. This is part of why I stick around here.