From the photos I have seen I don't think the thieves mess around taking time undoing things. They look to me as if they simply cut and rip through everything, engine mount, pipes, hoses etc. It's just the basic engine they are after.

Shoestring flyer is correct, thieves are in a hurry and take no care with removing anything. They often damage equipment or components so badly the item is substantially reduced in value, or sometimes only fit for parting out.
Battery-powered angle grinders fitted with thin metal-cutting discs, are unfortunately, one of the worst devices ever invented, to assist thieves in defeating security arrangements.

Sadly, another 4 Rotax engines stolen last night. This time from Halwell microlight strip, south Devon.

It's bad enough when Exeter airport are trying to rob your airspace but when someone comes along and robs your engine as well ...

That's our summer's flying around the South Hams scuppered. I'd love to shoot the bast@rds who robbed our engines!

Remote strip security
 

Plenty of 12volt security options available that can floodlight area (led lights) and also sound alarm.
Can be use in conjunction with very cheap (Hidden bird type) recording camera's. For less than £500 you can make quite a comprehensive system running off a leisure batt and solar charger. If the lights do not scare them off the camera's will capture great images.
On the basis that some sort of transport will have been used then a hidden camera on the 'way in / way out' is always a good back up. Another cheap (scare option) is to use a motorbike disc lock with built in alarm. This can be attached to engine and makes a terrible racket that can not be silenced without its special key (less than £30). I use the disc lock system to protect tools and tool boxes when out and about. Difficult to ignore someone carrying a screaming box !!!! Sorry you have been robbed, but 'remoteness' does not keep you safe.

That is dreadful. You have my sympathy, for what it is worth. I quite understand your feeling - to see a well loved aircraft hacked about must be horrible.

Biscuit 74

Sorry to hear of this recent robbery. I cannot really imagine what it must feel like.

Is it mainly 912s being pinched or are the 914s just as targeted?

We have been worrying about security of our Rotax engines and what we might do to prevent similar thefts at our airstrip. We don't have any services (electricity, phone or even water) on site so anything we do will need to be battery powered. We could arrange for solar to recharge a battery when the sun shines. We are also blessed with a very hostile neighbour who lives in the only property on the airfield. Whatever we do, we can't afford to suffer from false alarms creating a noise that this neighbour might complain about.

During our discussions it is clear that we don't really know what we are up against. We don't know enough detail about the previous thefts to know what we might have to protect against. We have some info, mostly gossip and rumour plus a bit on this thread.

Specifically, would any of the previous victims care to share with us details about their site access (gated? Locked at night? Distance to nearest inhabited residence? etc) and then more important stuff like type of hangar (individual ""T or large barn multi occupancy etc), hangar construction (concrete, sectional or solid, steel clad, poly tunnel, open fronted etc) and whether access was gained through aircraft size door, man sized door, window or by cutting through the wall somewhere.

Then, do you think that a previous site reccy was carried out? Was there something to suggest that the intruders had knowledge of the security of the location which would not have been clear to someone turning up after dark? Do you think the thefts took place at night?

Did you have a day when a lot of visitors were on the site, the hangars were left open, the aircraft types/registrations were visible etc?

This information would help all of us to assess our risk factors and where the weaknesses in our security lies.

Lastly, what sort of alarm and response would you recommend? We have reservations about driving 10 or 15 miles to a remote location, in the dead of night, to confont we don't know what. It might be satisfying to collect all the members of a baseball team (with their equipment) and beat 7 shades of effluent out of someone but the repercussions might be bad.

Is good insurance the best/only answer?

Rans.........

Carry a couple of shovels and plant the swine. Nobody knows they are there.
Seriously, though, insurance is the only safeguard. Wretched, isn't it.