giannilibrizzi

Hi guys, my name is Gianni Librizzi, and I live in Montreal, Canada.

My question is the following:

I am visiting family in Miami, Florida, as we speek... My uncle gave me a buch of goodies (Thanks alot Ron by the way) including 2 radio systems, a bunch of servos, all the bells and whistles.... I am flying back to Montreal Sathurday and I am wondering if it is ok to bring that stuff in my carry on luggage, to keep it from being damaged? Is it allowed? Any of you already flew with r/c stuff in their carry on????

Thanks alot for your answers, and congrats on the site, it is my source of info whenever I need soething....

Gianni

khodges

My Feedback: (1)

I think you'd be better served if you box it up and ship it ahead of you, via one of the better carriers (UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc). They will less likely lose it than the airlines (you'll have tracking info), and as long as your packaging meets their standards, shouldn't get damaged. The cost is well worth it, IMO, considering you don't have any money in the gear yourself. MIA is a strange place, last time I was through there security was absolute bedlam.

Trying to take that stuff through security as a carry-on might turn into a Charlie Foxtrot, we'd probably see the video on Fox News

daven

My Feedback: (1)

I routinely take my transmitter case as carry on, it has two transmitters and all of my chargers in it. It normally gets a little extra attention, but I have never been told that I can't take it on the plane. I've had the same lady a couple times in the Minneapolis/St Paul airport, and she always says, I remember you.

The only things I have had issues carrying on were motors, since fuel had been through them.

giannilibrizzi

I will not be carrying engines, only electronic stuff (radios, servos, receivers........)

cutaway

Any sort of stuff that looks like wires and electronics will get a very close look. I've had a lot of trouble getting a sport parachute through that was equipped with a Cypres AAD (a computerized automatic reserve deployment system). The problems were so commonplace that Cypres started shipping a card with the X-ray image of the unit that you could show the morons.

Montague

The AMA actually worked with the TSA a while back. In theory, normal RC gear is part of their training.

I've flown back and forth between BWI (near Washington, DC) and PVD (Providence, RI) many times with Transmitters, Lipos, chargers, wiring adapters, etc several times with no trouble. Once one of the guards decided to do a swab-down thing to check for explosive residue, she looked really confused. But even though the TX had exhaust residue on it, it passed. More than once I've gotten the "oh, cool, I have a car myself" type response.

giannilibrizzi

And that was with your stuff in your carry on right? I am really in between.......Really don`t know what to do. I know I have nothing to fear, since I am doing nothing wrong or illegal or nothing like that, I just don`t want to cause any fuss or have stuff confisated you know? Am I being paranoid?

Montague

Yes, it was all in my carry on bag. I just use a metal TX case, and put everything in there. I suspect the metal case might have caused some of the attention. I've also carried a single TX in checked luggage with no problem, and carried a TX and some other bits in a backpack with out any issue.

And no, I never actually said anything to the screeners about what is or isn't in the bag unless they asked.

The screeners see all kinds of stuff come through, and RC gear is pretty common these days, so most people recognize an RC transmitter for what it is, even if they've never seen anything beyond one for a kid's toy.

and modern screening gear seems pretty good at picking out things that look like explosives or whatnot and ignoring random electronics. (though I personally think an awful lot of the screening in airports is just security theater, and not really very good at stopping anyone who really wants to sneak something on the plane, but that's another rant for another time).

Mutt

I always have let all my stuff go in the cargo hold. I have carried rc stuff to rifles on a plane.