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Have Quad Will Travel?

Started by Hands0n, Friday,June 28, 2013, 09:33:27

Previous topic - Next topic

Hands0n

Its too late for me this time round, and probably would have been a bad idea seeing as I';m not "that good" at the hobby yet.  But as I pack I got to wondering ... do any of you travel with your multi-rotor craft, abroad?

If you do, what are the likely issues and constraints likely to be encountered?  I';m thinking perhaps about restrictions on carrying LiPo on aircraft  :o and stuff like that. 

My thinking is that perhaps next Summer holiday I might take a mini-quad with me, stick a camera on it and video some foreign shores stuff.  But of course, I don';t want to place myself in breach of any officialdom. Particularly abroad!

Thoughts?
--
Danny
"Its better than bad, its good"

Current FCs: Pixhawk, APM 2.6, Naza M V2, Naze32, Flip32+ CC3D, KK2.1.5
Aircraft: miniMax Hex, DJI 550 (clone) TBS Disco, 450 Firefly, 250 Pro, ZMR250, Hubsan X4, Bixler 2

ChrisH

I haven';t yet but may be going to France later in year. I';ll be travelling in car and by ferry so possibly less security. I would imagine a quad with Tx and Lipo';s would have the guys at airport x-ray security running for the exits!  :laugh:

I would guess that there must be an alternative route through where you declare your  case contents!  :hmm:

I asked question about EC Tx frequecies and regs and doesn';t look like a problem for France. Worth checking if you';re planning a trip outside EU!
Chris
Hubsan X4
DJI F450, Naza, GPS, DX8,
Tarot FY680 Naza, GPS, Hero3 Silver, 5.8 FPV with screen
 :england:

Col_M

I flew Easyjet with mine Prague-Bristol-Prague. You have to carry batteries in hand luggage in a way that eliminates the chance of shorting, I just duct taped up the XT60 connectors and put them in a fireproof bag.

Prague to Bristol was fine but the security guys at Bristol x-rayed the hell out of my bag and asked me to open it, they were concerned but were really good about it, they spoke to the security supervisor who OK';d it.

Here';s what the CAA have to say about it - http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=2200&pageid=14501

"Spare lithium metal or lithium ion cells or batteries

When carried by passengers for personal use these must be individually protected so as to prevent short circuits (by placement in original retail packaging or by otherwise insulating terminals, e.g. by taping over exposed terminals or placing each battery in a separate plastic bag or protective pouch) and carried in carry-on baggage only.

Each spare battery must not exceed the following:  lithium ion batteries, a watt-hour rating of not more than 100 Wh."


There shouldn';t be any problem but as always check with your airline beforehand, it may be worth printing out the CAA page above along with your airline policy too.

Of course it goes without saying but take batteries out of your Tx too :)
TBS Discovery : DRQ-250 : Q450 : Blade mQX

JerryCampbell

I drive across the border into and out of Mexico every year and no one cares.
This last winter my quad was hanging on the wall of my bus and no one even noticed.
I don';t fly in airplanes. FPV is close enough for me.
http://crowncoach.clanteam.com
Jerry

Gav

#4
I';ve taken my quads and 250 sized helis to Europe and USA a few times.  Lipos and transmitter went in my hand luggage.  Take out the lipos and tx from your bag like you would a laptop or ipad and pass through the x ray at security.  I got asked about the lipos and tx a few times but never anything OTT.  Think I';ve only ever taken 3 lipos max with me so well below the limit of capacity you can carry on board.
Tape up the connectors too to avoid possible short circuit, then bubble wrap etc but easy enough to open for inspection at security.

There';s no getting away from it though ....you';ll always be thinking OMG hope my lipos dont pop when 30,000 ft  up LOL

watch out with the muppets that want to shuv and crush your bag in the overhead lockers, so they can put in their oversized bags that should of gone in the hold.  Grrrrrr ignorant folk grrrr :P


Good luck

Cheers
Gav

Hands0n

#5
Thanks for the good info. I suspect this time next year I';ll be having the Teslaquad with me :-) Some of this Corfu scenery is stunning.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

--
Danny
"Its better than bad, its good"

Current FCs: Pixhawk, APM 2.6, Naza M V2, Naze32, Flip32+ CC3D, KK2.1.5
Aircraft: miniMax Hex, DJI 550 (clone) TBS Disco, 450 Firefly, 250 Pro, ZMR250, Hubsan X4, Bixler 2

mogwai101

Anticipating travelling with my kit when It is built and I have learnt to use it, I investigated the issue of carrying lipo batteries......it is worrying that I can only carry two (> 100wh<160wh) on any trip....provided I do not have any spares for other equipment.  The US FAA allows 2 batteries of between 8 and 25gm of equiv lithium content with upto 300wh.  Anyone have  a felling if that will become the norm in UK/EU?  The rules say you can only have 2 spares over upto 160wh but   I see posts that many people in USA have travelled with sack loads of batteries with no problem...how do the security folk in UK and EU react?
C

Hands0n

As ever with flying, the risk of going over any allowance is that you will have some or all of your assets confiscated.

I presume that these limits are per person? If so then I would distribute my set of LiPo among my accompanying travellers.  Not that I';d likely take more than four 2200 3S out with me.
--
Danny
"Its better than bad, its good"

Current FCs: Pixhawk, APM 2.6, Naza M V2, Naze32, Flip32+ CC3D, KK2.1.5
Aircraft: miniMax Hex, DJI 550 (clone) TBS Disco, 450 Firefly, 250 Pro, ZMR250, Hubsan X4, Bixler 2

mogwai101

I would do that- distribute- if I was with family....but I generally travel alone and no sensible person would accept to carry a package for an unknown traveller especially when it is small and dense with a few wires sticking out of it.
I will have to manage on two packs per trip and build up a stock.....returning at the end of a contract with six packs will then be the problem!!!
C

robshaw

I';m in France now with my TBS discovery. Its been awesome. Have flown 4 packs per day for the last week. At a wedding tomorrow (may do some flying) then time to head back home to London on Saturday. :-( No issues getting here with all my equipment. :-)
Tunrnigy Talon Tri, TBS Discovery, TBS Discovery PRO, Spnky 250 Mini, EZUHF, EZOSD

Leigh

Before you get too excited about how many packs you can or cannot take on board - you should consider doing the math first :-)

You need to convert your battery milliamp-hour (mAh) rating to watt-hours (Wh).

The energy E(Wh) in watt-hours is equal to the electric charge Q(mAh) in milliampere-hour times the voltage V(V) in volts (V) divided by 1000:

E(Wh) = Q(mAh) × V(V) / 1000

So watt-hour is equal to milliamp-hour times volts divided by 1000:

watt-hours = milliampere-hours × volts / 1000

or

Wh = mAh × V / 1000

A 2200mAh 3S LiPo pack at storage charge (3.8/cell or 11.4V) is only 25Wh

So your > 100wh restriction does not apply.  You would need to be looking to carry more than two 5000mAh 6S packs (22.8V at storage charge == 114Wh) before this even became an issue.  The limit would be something like a 5000mAh 8S pack ;-)

Formula source: http://www.rapidtables.com/convert/electric/mah-to-wh.htm
Aussie on the loose in Belfast.

Hands0n

Thanks Leigh, one thing I';m learning on this forum is that math and the various laws of electronics is a requisite for much discussion. 

So by that calculation carrying 4 x 2200mAh 3S LiPo is not going to be a problem.

I guess that anyone travelling with this stuff should carry around the equation and calculations that you';ve shown so that, at a push, they could be repeated in front of an official who is querying what you';re carrying. Not sure how far that';d get you, they can be very "The computer says no" people.

--
Danny
"Its better than bad, its good"

Current FCs: Pixhawk, APM 2.6, Naza M V2, Naze32, Flip32+ CC3D, KK2.1.5
Aircraft: miniMax Hex, DJI 550 (clone) TBS Disco, 450 Firefly, 250 Pro, ZMR250, Hubsan X4, Bixler 2

mogwai101

That is a helpful reflection Leigh.
You can take many batteries below 100wh.
I guess I will have to leave behind my 12,000mah backup pack for cameras and charging other devices.....but on reflection not so as the voltage output is 5.7 so it is less than 70wh...Yippee!
C

Leigh

To be honest, as long as the XT60 / Deans / balance connectors on the ends of each pack are taped up with insulation tape and they';re each neatly stored in either the carboard box they came in (e.g. nanotechs) or wrapped in bubblewrap in a nice enclosure, the security guys aren';t going to have a f^!£$ing clue what they are.  When they do ask, you say "camera equipment".  They go "oh, ok".  If they ask "is it Lithium?"  you say "Yes, but each pack is under the 100Wh limit prescribed by A, B, C and Nancy Drew when she';s at home.  They';ll go "oh, ok".  Be confident, you aren';t breaking any rules, make sure you make them know you know that, and they';ll leave you alone (if they even ask).
Aussie on the loose in Belfast.

mogwai101

Thanks Leigh
I will do as you say.
My experience at Heathrow is that the security can be awkward and they do not mind if you miss your plane (I think they would actually like that).
The secret to avoid that is to take every thing that may give them an excuse to turn you over out of the bag and put it in one of their trays.
C

Col_M

The thing is you';re highly likely to have your bag searched when carrying lipos whatever you do. They look like blocks of explosive with wires coming out in the x-ray machines, even if the operator knows they are lipos it';s always best to swab them and test in the mass spectrometer.
As long as you have a copy of your airline';s policy to hand and factor in getting stopped there';s no problem, it certainly breaks up the monotony of doing nothing at an airport for hours. :whistling:
TBS Discovery : DRQ-250 : Q450 : Blade mQX

mogwai101

I will make sure I have the airline text available.
I frequently get stopped as I carry a lot of electronic gear so must look like a high risk.
I will allow more time  when carrying the lipos!
The bigger risk will be travelling back to UK from some destinations in Africa where the security are less informed about what they are checking.
It will be interesting....I will post how it goes in due course.
C