The big EAA sanctioned event at Sun 'N Fun airport and museum at Lakeland,
Florida is coming up soon. This year's event is the week of April 9th.

So what's that have to do with Security? In previous years, many aircraft
thefts have occurred in the weeks and DAYS prior to Sun 'N Fun. And I'm not
talking about random hits, I mean intentional so the thieves can count on
slow response from insurance reports getting into ACPI's system or lack
thereof.

Everyone concerned about their insurance rates, deductible and damage to
their aircraft should take note. If your plane is based east of the
Mississippi River, you're at risk. Just prior to the '99 Sun 'N Fun event,
aircraft were burglarized in TN, CT and GA. What brings these states all
together is that items from each theft turned up at the Aviation Flea Market
sanctioned by Sun 'N Fun and operated by an EAA chapter.

ACPI was on site to assist the Flea Market Chapter folks in trying to stop
any stolen avionics or parts from being sold at the event. And the first day
we turned up 13 items of counterfeit and stolen Bendix/King items. We also
has a line on the person who brought them in.

Counterfeit you ask? How's that? Well, with the assistance of an associate
who is an expert on Bendix/King and other popular avionics, we noted that the
data plates on some of the equipment didn't look right. The label was black
with silver/white text and the word Bendix/King in blue. They looked good,
the only problem was King never had a label that looked like that.

And when you used a knife to pry up the edge of the label, it was obviously a
piece of photographic film that can be made in any print shop or office store
that offers microfiche service. You simple make a negative of computer
generated text and you have a somewhat official looking Bendix/King data
plate.

Pealing up the edge revealed the blue paint on the item's chassis under the
logo area. Plus the edges of the plate were not exactly square. Nothing a
casual buyer looking for a bargain would notice but to us... stood out like a
F-15 on a ramp full of Cessnas.

True older plates are made of a rubber like material that will curl if you
try to peal it up and pull one, very flexible. The counterfeit plates are
like film negative material, rigid. Newer plates are metalic in color and
will leave the word "VOID" on the item's chassis.

To make a long story short, the 13 items were confiscated by Lakeland PD but
the guy who brought them to the event was not detained and never arrested for
technical reasons. So be warned.

Top data plate is a true Bendix/King plate. Note the edge is curled. Many
data plates form King are somewhat rubberized so if you pull on an end, it
will curl up.
The bottom plate is counterfeit... no curling occurs when you pull on it.
It's film negative material. Also, note the uneven edges. True plates will be
absolutely square or rectangular with straight, clean trimmed edges.