Hi guys,

I have been putting this several times on the forums already, and see that some people still need assistance. So, here come the recommendations once again. Hope these are usefull for whoever might consider to attend FJ as well, and this being the last stepstone for a confirmative decision for attending this "hot" event.

Last year, I have been to jet meetings almost every weekend. Several were overseas and I had to take my model and turbine with me.

If you're not well prepared, it'll end up in a very frustrating and expensive experience. Last year, while returning from FJ, British Airways charged me about 1000$ and eight weeks of nail biting to get my plane back to Brussels airport. They held me in Orlando as suddenly it was too heavy, too large, smell like kerosene, "ready to start", had an (empty !) scuba bottle, etcetera etcetera. Things of no importance when I checked in in Brussels. So... don't give stubborn egos a chance ! (Golden Rule #1).

When you book your flight, ask your travel agent for your flight reservation number. Usually this is a six digits code (something like "KMOUF9"). Also ask for the phone number of the airline company. Call them a couple of days in advance, give them your reservation number and explain that your hobby is R/C planes and you like to attend a meeting and have to fly thereto. Tell them that there might be a tiny chance that the box you're bringing at the check-in desk, might be "a little bigger", "a little bit overweight", and that you're unsure if all the goods you're taking with you will be accepted for check-in. Make sure you have a person on the line with some authority. Ask for his name and ask him politely if he can mark this in your file in the computer, and remind him this will also be the case for your return flight(s). Don't forget ! Upon check-in, it will be the first thing they will see on the screen on the desk and there is even a chance they will give you priority check-in as they will see you are struggling with that crate. If the lady at the desk shows some second thoughts, tell them you have an agreement about this with Mr. X.

I packed my jet in a BVM Jet Case (the SpiderJets F-16) and have the wings in my suitcase. The weight of the Jet Case is some 15 kgrs. They will ask you for the dimensions and weight, and if reasonable, they will make no objections to this (added) luggage. If you travel with two persons, even less. (The excess luggage for you is spread over both persons. I did never had to pay for excess luggage if they accepted the Jet Case.)
They will explain you on the phone that acids, fuel, gas, filled compressed air bottles,... are not allowed. Of course you know and you swear them on the head of your mother in law that none of this products will be in the crate. Even more, you anticipate by telling them that you have taken out your Nicad battery packs, the turbine itself, and emptied completely the fuel tanks. Not one drop of fuel is left in there. Carry the turbine and Nicads with you as hand luggage in a plastic bag and store it in the overhead compartment. Nobody will object, to my surprise they did not even ask me anything at the X-ray controls !!!

Connect all fuel and gas lines in the model together, block off everything, prevent any smell of fuel being in there. Some use methanol or pure alcohol to clean the tailpipe first before packing.

Also the transmitter is to be taken with you as hand luggage (much safer).

For pilots coming overseas, there is a more problematic issue : customs upon return. You have to proove that you took it out of the country now you want to get in with it again, or you have to pay import duties, VAT, and all these nice things. The best solution is to go to a customs office in advance and have your model marked somewhere with a lead customs seal. In this case, it is a job you only have to do once instead of filling out documents and documents all the time. Bring also the invoices of all expensive parts (radio and turbine) with you, clearly showing the serial number as proof you bought it back home.
Even more, I make sure I always have with me nice photos of that plane and myself and some easily recognizable local things, stressing the origin of the photo and avoiding two hours of discussion with the customs officer. Of course it would not be logical to go to the Eifel Tower to take pics there but your car with your (national) license plate on the background is excellent.
I even had the first time by accident photos of the huge box and us taken at Brussels Airport just prior to check-in to the US. That was perfect.

If you wish to fill out temporarily export documents instead of having a customs' seal -like I advize to anyone-, remember that you MUST take the model back home, even if you crashed it and it completely has burned out !!!

Never take a jerrycan with you, it will always smell like fuel and will cause trouble. Buy one at K-mart and give it away to a friend afterwards.

By all means, stay polite, friendly and patient. You are "an ignorant hobby tourist doing this for the first time" (despite you do it every weekend ) and you did not know about all the regulations but did your best not to cause trouble to anyone. (Golden Rule #2.) Some airlines are more flexible (Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa,...) than others (British Airways,..).

Last remark. I had the severe impression that since Sept. 11 it has not been more difficult to travel with R/C jets. On the contrary, they want to focus on so many things that they did not have time to check my stuff. Others have confirmed this experience.

Anyway, make it obvious to anyone this is a safe toy you took, and you'll have a very relaxed and well deserved jet weekend.


Good luck !

Nicolas Goddeeris,
SpiderJets.