Airplane travel for P4

[mnewxcv]

my backpack for my p3 fits just about everything I need.

room for 4 batteries, charger, tablet, etc. Only thing I could foresee having and not being able to fit would be range extender.

 

[normr]

Yes make sure you have a great Hardshell type of case because of what just happened to me, we were headed to Augusts, GA thru Atlanta and then yesterday morning and our flight out of Ft Lauderdale was delayed by 2 hours by mechanical problems which meant we would have missed our connecting flight to Augusta, so they put us on another flight that was leaving in a few minutes, when I got to the second gate, I was told I would be able to carry my drone on board and I needed to check it, it was packe in the original package that it came in and inside a canvas tote, I told them it was fragile but they still made me check it cause all the bins were full. Plus that meant it would also get moved to the second flight by baggage handlers, I was not happy, when we got to Augusta and I got it off the baggage carousel I immediately checked everything and it was fine, but I wouldn't want to do that again. I'd love to have a Hardshell case for it right now.

Here is a pic of what I traveled with, big mistake on my part.

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[snowghost]

Good you had the canvas tote bag.

 

[adambfarmer]

So I am about to purchase a P4 and I think that I want to be able to take it on a Airplane. What do you guys use to carry it? Is the included styrofoam case good enough? or do I need to buy a backpack? also do you guys check your drone or take it as a carry on?

Thanks All.

Took mine on a plane a few weeks ago. I talked about it a little in this bag review video.

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[Isaac Pittman]

Took mine on a plane a few weeks ago. I talked about it a little in this bag review video.

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That was a good review! Seems safe enough to take on the plane, and it has tons of room for other thing

 

[Isaac Pittman]

Yes make sure you have a great Hardshell type of case because of what just happened to me, we were headed to Augusts, GA thru Atlanta and then yesterday morning and our flight out of Ft Lauderdale was delayed by 2 hours by mechanical...

Seems like you got pretty lucky with nothing happening to it, but out of curiosity why did you keep it in the box rather than just the Styrofoam case ?

 

[normr]

I wanted to keep the styrofoam case from getting damaged and figured the outer cardboard box would help.

Trust me, it's not a great feeling handing your Phantom over to a baggage handler, a few months ago I had a suitcase damaged by them and I bought a new one to replace it and after 1 flight with that new suitcase, it's gotten beaten up, so I'm thinking this is just wonderful, if they can mess up a suitcase, what chance does my canvas covered box have, but like I mentioned, it survived without damage.



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[normr]

The point of my post was to say that you can never assume your Phantom will fly safely above you in the overhead bins. I don't know what I was thinking. We should always travel with a sturdy case and right now we don't have many choices for the P4.




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[Isaac Pittman]

The point of my post was to say that you can never assume your Phantom will fly safely above you in the overhead bins. I don't know what I was thinking. We should always travel with a sturdy case and right now we don't have many choices for the P4.




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I'm really glad you said that because honestly at first I was going to fly with just the Styrofoam, looks like I will need to get a case before I fly anywhere.

 

[mark.jones.10485]

I'm really happy with the Think Tank Helipak. It's soft sided but carry on legal and has tons of room for extras. I can even fit my dslr with one lens in it. It's on sale now too. Less than $200 from Think Tank.

 

[realsting]

So I am about to purchase a P4 and I think that I want to be able to take it on a Airplane. What do you guys use to carry it? Is the included styrofoam case good enough? or do I need to buy a backpack? also do you guys check your drone or take it as a carry on?

Thanks All.

Just put the styrofoam case inside a carry-on case such as a small one on wheels. That way you will have twice the protection plus maybe a bit of room inside that for clothes or whatever - and the clothes adding even further padding/protection! To me that would be the sensible option.

 

[Isaac Pittman]

Just put the styrofoam case inside a carry-on case such as a small one on wheels. That way you will have twice the protection plus maybe a bit of room inside that for clothes or whatever - and the clothes adding even further padding/protection! To me that would be the sensible option.

Yeah definitely if I don't want to spend money, just hope I can fit everything

 

[John Locke]

I'm really happy with the Think Tank Helipak. It's soft sided but carry on legal and has tons of room for extras. I can even fit my dslr with one lens in it. It's on sale now too. Less than $200 from Think Tank.

I have one of these too, one of the best out there. Tons of room inside, and it's got a hip belt for serious backpacking, along with handles on two sides. However, I've noticed the ProCraft backpack is almost identical in concept, size and utility for less money. The inside is re-configurable, which I like. I don't own one of these but others say it works well.

 

[Michaelangelo]

Traveling with mine now. No case or bag required. Using only the supplied styrofoam case it came with. Works great. And, no you don't have to drain the batteries. TSA didn't even open the case. I believe you can only carry two extra in addition to the one in the phantom itself. I've had no problems at all.

 

[John Locke]

Traveling with mine now. No case or bag required. Using only the supplied styrofoam case it came with. Works great. And, no you don't have to drain the batteries. TSA didn't even open the case. I believe you can only carry two extra in addition to the one in the phantom itself. I've had no problems at all.

There is no quantity limit for personal use Li-Po batteries under 100W. Our P4 batteries are 81W, so there are no limitations on the number you can carry-on when flying. Here's the FAA regulation:

Size limits: Lithium metal (non-rechargeable) batteries are limited to 2 grams of lithium per battery. Lithium ion (rechargeable) batteries are limited to a rating of 100 watt hours (Wh) per battery. These limits allow for nearly all types of lithium batteries used by the average person in their electronic devices. With airline approval, passengers may also carry up to two spare larger lithium ion batteries (101-160 watt hours). This size covers the larger after-market extended-life laptop computer batteries and some larger batteries used in professional audio/visual equipment.

Quantity limits: None for most batteries – but batteries must be for use by the passenger. Batteries carried for further sale or distribution (vendor samples, etc.) are prohibited. There is a limit of two spare batteries per person for the larger lithium ion batteries described above (101-160 watt hours per battery).

Inspire batteries are 129Wh, so if you ever travel with an Inspire you'll need your wife to carry 2 batteries and you can carry 2 more.

 

[Mark C.]

I thought out using the P4 case as an interior and fiberglassing the exterior of it. Making it a hard shell case. Also incorporate a locking hasp of some sort.


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[Mark_T]

There is no quantity limit for personal use Li-Po batteries under 100W. Our P4 batteries are 81W, so there are no limitations on the number you can carry-on when flying. Here's the FAA regulation:

Unfortunately this is no longer true.

Each airline publishes its own rules, the FAA (CAA etc.) and IATA guidelines should be a minimum standard but some are now getting more restrictive.

BA for example only allows 4 spare packs to be carried and right now, AA have a limit of 2.

Personally I think the AA limit is a mistake as they have only published a limit based on a maximum of 160wh which has always been limited to 2, but they have not published anything about the lower limit for packs under 100wh. I have dranw this 'error' to their attention but so far without any useful response.

 

[bhorn1]

No they make a case that qualifies for carry on but props must' be taken off. They are made by Go Professional cases:

 

[Mark_T]

Also forgot to add, the comments about needing to discharge packs probably comes from the recently changed regulations for shipping packs in bulk as freight, these rules don't apply to carry-on.

However, it remains a generally good idea to keep packs at or below 50% when traveling, but it is not currently a requirement.

 

[John Locke]

However, it remains a generally good idea to keep packs at or below 50% when traveling, but it is not currently a requirement.

This is only a good idea if you're not flying on the day you land.