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International travel with the TH

Joined
May 3, 2016
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For anyone interested in traveling internationally with their TH, I just got back from a trip to Mexico and everything went well. I did not transport the TH as a carry-on but packed it in a Pelican 1610 case that was also inside a hard-shell piece of luggage (my disguise for the luggage handlers). Inside the 1610 case I used the bottom of the original foam shell from the TH shipping box and some poly foam to cover the top. I protected the gimbal and camera by wrapping those parts in an old t-shirt. For good measure I also printed out a copy of my FAA registration and laid it on top of the TH in case TSA was curious. With the TH being the only thing in the Pelican case, my checked bag came in at 34 lbs.

I transported my transmitter as a carry-on in a plastic handgun case I picked up at Gander Mountain and the lipo batteries were in their protective bags in my carry-on as well. Going through security in the US was no problem, it was the batteries that caused an issue in Mexico. I had 3 guys going round and round about letting the lipo batteries on the plane with me, checking my bag thoroughly for explosives and questioning the large size of the batteries. I think part of the issue too was that the lipo bags had a large “WARNING: Fire Hazard” label on them that caused them some concern. The final two questions the supervisor asked me was what were the batteries for (toy helicopter) and why did I need the bags (to protect the batteries for transport). After a bit longer they decided everything was safe and sent me on my way.

The TH made it safely to Mexico and back. The hard-shell luggage housing the Pelican case took a beating as usual and everything inside was secure. I did not want to take the TH as a carry on as I was not 100% sure it would fit overhead or under a seat and did not want to risk having it thrown below at the last minute or get crushed by someone trying to wedge their carry-on in the bin next to me.

One last thing I did pack based on something I had read on Trip Advisor, I printed out a copy of my original TH sales invoice as proof that the TH was mine and I was bringing it for personal use and not to sell to someone at my destination.

One other thing to note if anyone is planning a trip to Mexico with their TH, it seems all the Mayan ruins and parks are off limits to drones and they will confiscate them on-site. That was a bummer for me as I had hoped to get some footage from those sites, but I got a lot of nice pictures of the beach and ocean and got the test the stability of the TH against the ocean winds.
 
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I've ended up with a Peil 1640 and the Chinese bag, the one with the red strip for about 40$. Th Peli is a monster, and really only if ever I'm going to transport two machines will I end up using it.

My plan now, for carry on which I think will work is, to take the slightly oversize Chinese bag onboard with nothing in the lid, if it won't fit in the overhead bin as is, I'll just whip the foam lid out and put it in separate... simple I hope..
 
I bought the above Samsonite case and traveled from the US to the UK on Virgin Atlantic. Took a large backpack as my "personal item" and my TyphoonH-loaded Samsonite bag as my carry on luggage, packed similarly to in the video. Leaving the US I had TSA pull it aside for inspection, but no hassle and went through fine. I thought about bringing the Samsonite bag as my personal item, along with my normal roller bag as my carry on, since it fits under the seat, but I didn't want to risk it. Thinking about modifying it to have backpack straps, I think the gate agent will be less likely to flag it for gateside checking since sometimes they do that with larger bags on domestic flights.

Curious to hear others experiences. I avoid checking bags whenever possible, especially on domestic flights.
 

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