# Keys and fighter jets **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 12, 2007, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-and-fighter-jets/411511 "2007-07-12T17:01:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-and-fighter-jets/411511/21 "2007-07-15T10:04:24Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] Seriously… there’s no keypad, or authorized-pilot cardswipe, for USAF aircraft? That surprises me. [/QUOTE] Why? These airplanes are guarded by people carrying loaded guns, which is pretty secure. You don’t want keypads or cardswipes for combat airplanes because that can slow people down and sometimes you have to get these things up and running as fast as possible. In any case - even if someone DID steal one, unless they knew what they were doing they’d probably kill themselves on take-off. ---
**Author:** ![Snowspeeder.Veteran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@Snowspeeder.Veteran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowspeeder.Veteran)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-and-fighter-jets/411511/22 "2007-07-15T11:09:16Z")
I can’t speak to USAF aircraft, however, US Army helicopters have keys. They look like any other key. ---
**Author:** ![hermann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b487fb/32.png) [@hermann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermann)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-and-fighter-jets/411511/23 "2007-07-15T19:09:34Z")
[QUOTE=IntelSoldier] You don’t need keys for pretty much anything in the military. Even HMMWVs just have a lever that you turn like the cylinder in a car. Tanks and other tracked vehicles are the same way. [/QUOTE] I don’t know how things are being done today, but back when I was in the Army there were chains welded to the vehicle and locked around the steering wheel to prevent unauthorized personnel from taking off in them. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-and-fighter-jets/411511/24 "2007-07-15T22:47:45Z")
My husband is a firefighter for a major aircraft manufacturer. For several months after 9/11 the fire dept had their big trucks (so big, they can’t go out on the street without an escort) parked across the flight line so if someone tried to take an airplane, they’d run into the fire truck. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-and-fighter-jets/411511/25 "2007-07-16T06:02:44Z")
Aside from whatever controls inside the cockpit you need to start a fighter, what about external equipment? Obviously, there’d be variation between different models, but I recall that an accident with an aircraft starter unit onboard the USS _Enterprise_ caused an explosion and fire in 1969; and that the engines of the SR-71s could be started either with compressed air, or a large piston engine mounted in a “start cart” that could be used like a starter motor. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-and-fighter-jets/411511/26 "2007-07-16T23:22:21Z")
[QUOTE=picunurse] My husband is a firefighter for a major aircraft manufacturer. For several months after 9/11 the fire dept had their big trucks (so big, they can’t go out on the street without an escort) parked across the flight line so if someone tried to take an airplane, they’d run into the fire truck. [/QUOTE] Not intending a hijack, but a lot of construction equipment rental places do similar on a daily basis - at the end of the day, they’ll park anything with a “good” ignition key\* to block the gates so anyone bent on stealing a backhoe or anything that travels on a trailer has to get through the fence and move a truck. - Some equipment just has a pushbutton labeled “Engine Start,” rather like airplanes, and some have flimsy locks that will only slow down the honest. In comparison, an F-350 pickup with keyless remote is Fort Knox. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keys-and-fighter-jets/411511.md?page=1)