Anyone ever attempt to transport an instrument on an airplane? I want to carry on but the 5600 case seems a bit big and don't trust the handlers enough to check it. Any recommendations?
In the past I brought the instrument as carry on luggage on airplanes. Just as long as it fit's the required dimensions. Some of the new cases are too large. Also be prepared to open the case for TSA to view. Lithium batteries need attention. I once went through Chicago O'hare with instrument. Left the hotel in a hurry with the Iman, scrabbling his things together. He pad locked the instrument case. Then left the key on the rental car keyring, when we returned it. Luckily I asked him for key before we got in line to TSA security check. We had to break the latch.
Lee
Be sure batteries are charged. New rules that any electronic device needs to be turned on and shown that it works.
> Anyone ever attempt to transport an instrument on an airplane? I want to carry on but the 5600 case seems a bit big and don't trust the handlers enough to check it. Any recommendations?
First thing I thought was: Enough is enough! I have had it with these monkey fighting survey instruments on this Monday through Friday plane! Everybody strap in, I'm about to open some windows!
I edited Samuel L Jackson for the board. 😀
Check the dimensions and carry on if at all possible. If not, I'd put the instrument case in the box it came in (the heavy cardboard box with foam padding), make sure my insurance is paid up, and check it as baggage.
You could leave the box behind, wrap each receiver in a towel , stuff both into your usual carry on or backpack with the cables and data collector loose.
Those receivers are tough, they can take a 2m drop onto concrete, so we are told.
I have used a beer 6 pack cooler and a camera bag before to carry my receivers around. Works great.
Yes we do all the time. We usually ship tripods, etc. to hotel if we are renting a vehicle at airport.
The red Leica boxes have been mistaken before for organ transplant boxes. Several people have asked about them.
We are looking into a special case for our scanner as we ship it around alot lately.
remove any plumb bobs, screw drivers, anything sharp.
watch them close, I had one pick up the instrument and was about to lay it on it's side on the counter
Whatever you do don't call it a gun inside the airport.
I thought that only applied to international flights TO the United States.
You're correct, Cliff
but it may be coming to the US soon.
-JD-
don't use united-
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You're correct, Cliff
> You're correct, Cliff
I can't think of a time, on this forum at least, when this wasn't true
Hardline,
I ship my gear by air quite a bit. The first rule is don't check it at the gate. I ship my gear as air cargo. There it gets put on a pallet and gently placed on the plane. Plus it is damn cheep, it cost me around $100 to send a full set of gear up and down the coast. I just give myself a little extra time on travel days to run the equipment by the cargo facility before my flight and by the time I get a rental it is ready to pick up. I have yet to have a problem and my stuff has flown a lot of places.
The big problem with this approach is that you have to become a TSA known shipper to do it directly. It takes some time and a couple of hundred bucks. Other than that you can use a shipping service.
I have checked my Trimble S6 in its hard case several times, although most trips are GPS only. The longest was to Egypt and back. No damage whatsoever. I had to take my gyro to Peru once, I built a wooden case to hold the metal case, which secured the instrument inside. The wooden case arrived back in the US pretty beat up, but the instrument was fine. When I bought the gyro in Amsterdam, a friend and I carried everything on, that was more trouble than checking it as baggage. It caused a big scene at security at Schiphol, and that was before 9/11.
I have carried laser scanners on a plane twice this summer.
If you can lock your case, do so with Zip Ties. TSA will cut them and inspect, so put a little note inside thanking them for their efforts to protect the world and write a short description of what they are looking at. Then ask them to be gentle as the equipment is very sensitive. A typed note on letterhead will likely help.
Put some scissors or wire cutters in your luggage and check the equipment when you land. If they inspected, they will leave a note.
Reminds me of the time I shipped a HP 3820 Total Station on a plane. I didn't realize that it should have been considered as hazardous materials because of the mercury contained in the instrument. I played dumb and shipped it anyways.
http://www.amerisurv.com/docs/HewlettPackardJournal.pdf
Thanks for posting the link to that journal. I remember when the 3820 came out. I was using a 3800 (edm only, used with a T2) and a 3810 (edm and manual angle reading) at the time.
Surveyors today probably don't appreciate the influence HP had on the industry. EDM's, total station, and as I recall Charlie Trimble and others developed a GPS receiver at HP, but HP was not interested in pursuing it, so they left and formed Trimble.
And there was the HP41, a marvel at the time, especially for surveyors.
I always felt the world was somehow cheated when they sold off the measurement line as Agilent and kept the HP name for the computers. HP back in the old days was a world-class operation that helped define state-of-the-art in any form of measurement.