BrentL

Hi all.

I'm moving from South Africa to Australia, and was wondering whether anyone knows if airlines will let you travel with lipos?

Thing is, my household goods are being collected tomorrow to be sea freighted to Aus, but I've been told that the containers get extremely hot inside, averaging around 35 degrees for the duration of the journey. Obviously, this is far from ideal for lipos.

But if I take a risk and try to take them in my hand luggage, the whole lot could be confiscated.

Anyone have any experience with this?

da Rock

A number of them limit where you can carry items that're considered fire risks. The worst limitation of course is they don't let you at all.

Have you noticed a warning on some of them that they constitute a fire risk. I noticed a pack of them in Target the other day with that warning. So if the warnings are showing up on retail packaging, you can be the gummits that tell airlines what they can or can't do (and they tell them about almost everything) are telling airlines about Lithium batteries.

And there is a really high probability that X-rays that show a set of batteries with wires attached are going to trigger somebody or something that won't benefit your travel time.

So call the airlines you're planning to use and ask 'em. Chances are you can pack them checked baggage. Or they'll send something with 'em packed inside that is sent as a cargo shipment.

Speaking of cargo shipment..... Do you have a package delivery company available? Like we have in the US who ship international. It might be worth shipping by one of them. Cargo flights are quick and cool. And might be cheaper than the replacement price of those batteries.

If you're in the military, ask around. Back when I was trying to make the US team, the word was that the AMA was arranging to get fuel shipped on military transport.

voyager_663rd

Why don't you just mail them to yourself/someone you know where you're going (after they're mostly discharged)?

Gringo Flyer

My Feedback: (18)

I have flown with Lipos from the US to South America with no problems. I did put them in checked luggage. It seems like they always open up that piece of luggage to check it out, (It probably looks strange in the xray machine) but they make it.

Here in Argentina we recently had the F3A world championship and people came from all over the world with their planes and probably half or so of those models were electric. All of their packs seemed to make it ok, and those guys brought a lot of lipos!

I would be leary of the crate as well, but if you think about it, how do the lipos come over from China or wherever they are manufactured? I bet they come in on a hot container.

On a side note, I once heard of a guy who put a large canned ham in his crate hoping it would make it in time for Christmas. The crate was detained and he didnt see it for almost a year. When he finally got the crate they found that the ham had exploded inside the hot crate and it had sat there for who knows how long! Moral of the story, dont put a canned ham in your crate

Redback

G'day Brent,

Good news mate! If all else fails we now have Lipos here in Oz

Have a good trip


Terry