Air Travel with RC Equipment? What's the deal now?

[Mike66]

I have 3 different 3s packs, they range from 160-190 grams each. Hard to tell how much of it actually lithium.
The amount of lithium is determined by the capacity of the pack in Watt-hours, not the physical weight of the pack. I do not know if the capacity method is accurate, but the TSA wizards had to start somewhere.

The TSA "determined" that a battery containing 8g of equivalent lithium content was equal of producing 100Wh of energy. As Erich stated, (mAh/1000) x nominal pack volts equals the Wh rating for the pack.

For example, a 3S 2500mAh pack is rated at 28Wh (11.1V times 2.5Ah). A 6S 3000mAh pack is rated at 67Wh, so the limit to the number of 3S 2500mAh or 6S 3000mAh packs you can carry in a commercial plane is determined by the size, and possibly weight, of your bag.

You can also take two larger batteries that have an ELC of up to 25g (300Wh). I do not know of any RC battery that will reach this limit. If they existed, two 6S 13,000mAh packs would still be legal to put in carry-on baggage, but don't show up with a pair of 6S 14,000mAh packs.

[human213]

You will never have a problem geting your transmitter carry on with the following...
I have carried mine to seven countries in europe this summer.

Carry in the case, with several pictures from the manufacturers site, etc. showing what it
is, data, advertisements, and a few pics of you using it. Offer to turn it on if they wish.

The pics are worth much more than a thousand words, and some hovering shots
usually get a big smile. I had two security guys take my email so they could start in the
hobby. The battery vest post was the funniest of all.

best

michael

[Pinecone]

NO CHECKED LIPOS.

All lipos need to be carried on. 3S 2200 packs are as many as you want. But when you get to 6S 5000 you can only carry two.

Tools will need to be checked. Tx SHOULD be OK, YMMV. Get there early and be ready to check it.

[Jason Bell]

Bob,

I think you should be fine with 2 2250s, I carried on 2 6s 5000mah packs from ircha on the plane, I SKATED through security no problem. Radio, TX case, Laptop, G3.5 Tx, 6s packs, I've never gone through security that fast before!

Just be sure to pull the tx out of the tx case, they will most likely swab it, so dont be surprised. I find it comical :)

[double0757]

I wonder why no one makes a vest to carry spare batteries. :shock:

Then for sure they will think youre a suicide bomber.
Those batteries paint like dynamite sticks. They never give me trouble for radio but want to see the batteries.

Bob put one in the heli and two spares, they occacionaly want to see the thing operate. I ask and some times they let me hover right on the terminal, it's preatty cool!

NO CHECKED LIPOS.

All lipos need to be carried on. 3S 2200 packs are as many as you want. But when you get to 6S 5000 you can only carry two.

Tools will need to be checked. Tx SHOULD be OK, YMMV. Get there early and be ready to check it.

Very important to check the tools! They think those are weapons of mass destruction. Transmitter, batteries and heli is all good. Don't forget to bring a heli magazine with you it helps to explaine with pictures, what you're carying.

Enjoy the trip Double O

[lotus7]

Had a NIB x9303 in my carry on bag when returning from Orlando , Fl last year to South Africa . At Orlando Intl I had to take it out of the box , switch it on , flick all switches and move the sticks . At JFK , nobody looked at it or cared .
YMMV

[Pinecone]

If you read the TSA page, under 8 grams equivelent lithium (per pack), there is no limit on the number of packs. Over that limit and you can only carry TWO packs.

IIRC, when the rules came out, it worked out to be over 6S 4500 mAH range.

You can always just UPS or FedEx the packs to your hotel.

[BigStatiK]

are you going to made an instructional video "how to fly on a commercial airline with lipo batteries"?

[Finless]

Well here is what happened.

In my suitcase with my cloths I had 2 Trex 450s slightly disassembled. My X9303, Bantam charger, several charing cords etc, my night rig canopy and glow wire, 2 lipos, and other misc electronics. Seriously my suitcase and laptop bag too me looked like a bomb to someone not knowing what it all was.

Ready for this?

Leave LAX bags went through NO bag inspection! Left Lexington Ky this AM... Same thing NO bag inspection.

I was chatting with a guy about that and he said most airports now have the latest X-ray stuff and explosive sniffing stuff that they don;t need to search bags as mush as they use to when they saw dense objects like lipo's etc.

So next time I fly I am going to be a bit bolder and not worry so much about a bunch of heli stuff packed in a bag!

Bob

[ErichF]

Typical scenario for me when travelling with my 450s...We told ya so! I get the old "open 'er up" and swab treatment maybe 20% of the time. Most of the senior TSA agents have seen helis and equipment packed in bags by now.

[fast400]

OK I read that PDF from the FAA. Spare batteries are OK and must be carried on NOT CHECKED. No more than 2 spares with total of 8 grams of lithium.

Any idea how many grams are in a 3S 2200 ma pack?

Bob


i was going to say the batteries need to be carried on, just for the cabin is pressureized. no explossion hazard.

but i see you have the info already, i should have read fist

[dwesnor]

The cargo bay is pressurized, too. If it wasn't, your saline solution would squirt out, your toothpaste would explode, and the pets down there would have a real hard time.

[Big Fil]

When I went to IRCHA I had my Logo 500 and Logo 600 airframes packed in my luggage. I did however ship my lipos and chargers. I didn't want to chance it with 10S 4200 and 6S 5000 packs. Only time I was stopped was at security in SF. I had my TX in my backpack and they called for an inspection after seeing it on the xray machine. Security guy nicely asks if he may search my bag which I had no problem with. Guy swabs the radio with something real quick and says "you fly helis, oh man I do cars but helis are hard". It was cool that he knew what it was and even wanted to BS a bit about it.

[heli21]

This is what i did Bob. I flew no problem with all tools and parts in the checked baggage and i took My MCx, Furion 450, Jr x9303 carry on From NY to FL. No problem. I took 4 MCX lipo's and 2 3s 2200mah packs. Everything went fine. They might look inside of your bag with the helicopter or not. Just depends on the person.

[subdude17349]

You guys think going through TSA security with heli's is fun? Hah!

Everybody on the planet knows what a model heli looks like.

Try it with a R/C submarine.

Let's see, a 3 foot long flat black cylinder with one pointy end, tail fins and a prop on the other, crammed full of wires, r/c gear, pumps and valves, and batteries. Your other case has an 8 channel tx, batteries, and charger.

Lots of fun watching the expressions of terror and disbelief :YeaBaby:

Jim

[relax1]

No problems these days they will just pull you aside and ask a few silly question to see if your legit. I recently got back from a trip with no issues. Here is how I packed my Trex500. Carry on suitcase with Trex500,three 2500mah 6cells pack,TX,chargers and clothes.
Luis

[wolfdown]

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/bag_check.png

http://xkcd.com/651/

[RC Accessory]

Last July flew to Nebraska for a dealer show. I took with me about 8 lipo's in my laptop bag. All were packaged from 800 mah to 5000 6S. I was pulled to the side, each battery was examined, my carry on luggage was swabbed, and then I was on my way.

Since every TSA person doesn't know all the rules, I had a print out of the wh limit and gram limit and how it was calculated, being prepared to have the discussion. All went fine.

[krayzejava]

Interesting thread, I am about to travel from Orlando back to The Bahamas with 3 new 6s 5000 packs, seems like I'll be okay.

[heli-on]

I just got back from NE and didn't have any issues. When I went through security, I took the lipos (3 2500's and 2 800's) out of my carry-on backpack and put them in a seperate tray to go through x-ray on 2 of the passes through security. I didn't even bother doing that on the last time through and didn't get any special attention.

Just make sure you put each lipo in its own plastic bag. It is required and not a bad idea to prevent anything from accidentally shorting.

I had a T-500 & T-250 in checked baggage and as near as I could tell, it wasn't inspected.

I had my Tx checked, as well. It didn't fare too well on the journey. The TH switch broke off. To top it all off, I didn't even get to fly when I was back there because the weather sucked too bad!

[Pinecone]

Interesting thread, I am about to travel from Orlando back to The Bahamas with 3 new 6s 5000 packs, seems like I'll be okay.

You may have trouble, as the limit is 2 packs over the lithium equivalent limit. And IIRC, that limit works out to be a 6S 4500 pack.

But it MAY be fine.

[krayzejava]

You may have trouble, as the limit is 2 packs over the lithium equivalent limit. And IIRC, that limit works out to be a 6S 4500 pack.

But it MAY be fine.


I thought of this too but I have 3 others traveling with me. Its me, my wife and two sons each is allowed a carry on.

[shynsly]

after seeing the chart on the first page, I'm just glad to see they do allow pacemakers and other implanted medical devices... it would really suck you had to check those. Though you are required to check your personal mobility device... sooo... I guess no midflight segway trips to the bathroom?

[krayzejava]

You may have trouble, as the limit is 2 packs over the lithium equivalent limit. And IIRC, that limit works out to be a 6S 4500 pack.

But it MAY be fine.

UPDATE: I just went through TSA Screening (I am writing this as I wait for my flight) with 3 6s 5000mah packs and 3 3s 850mah packs in three separate carry on's. The all were packed in the original packaging and in LIPO Safe bags. As suspected they pulled me aside and asked me a few questions, took a look at them and then started to ask me about heli's ;) He chatted with me for about 5 minutes and then sent me on my way. Hey, he may be a future Helifreak!