Hi all,
I going abroad in 3 weeks. I'm travelling via Qatar airways from Heathrow(UK) - Doha(Qatar) and then joining a connection from there to an onward destination. I recently purchased the following hard case: http://mc-cases.com/product/dji-phantom-3-carry-case/

Aside from my case and my other bags going astray (I really hope not) has anyone else travelled with there Phantom in standard hold luggage? It's going to cost me 100's to travel with it marked as fragile.

It's too large for hand luggage but i appreciate i need to take the batteries with me in my hand luggage after reviewing some quite disturbing articles of various LiPo batteries catching fire in holdals! What about the remote? Is that safe to keep in the case?

I'm desperate to get some footage whilst i'm away but not prepared to risk damaging the Phantom in transit but i understand everything comes with a risk.

Anyone care to share their experiences or suggestions, should the case turn up broken in half is it the airlines fault and should they compensate me?

Jon

Qatar Airways allows hand luggage of 50x37x25cm (20x15x10in) and 7Kg, have you measured the case? I flew with Qatar Airways in April from Manchester>Doha>bangkok with my Phantom 2 in an Ebay special backpack - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Delux-Black-Case-Shoulder-Carry-Backpack-Bag-for-Drone-quadcopter-DJI-Phantom-3- - as hand luggage and had no issues. ( even did internal flights in Thailand with it.

Not sure about cover for baggage damage though..

You can now buy the official DJI Hardshell Backpack for the Phantom 3

Remember to buy extra propellers and one or two spare batteries to keep you flying

www.Phantom-Guide.co.uk - The Ultimate Phantom 3 Resource

sploodge Posted at 2015-6-13 02:43
Qatar Airways allows hand luggage of  50x37x25cm (20x15x10in) and 7Kg, have you measured the case? I ...

Hi Sploodge,

The cases dimensions are outside of the ones you've mentioned and with all accessories + plus the weight of the case it's way over 7kg, more like 16kg...

I guess i could purchase a backpack type of bag for it and take the props off.. I just don't like doing this as the last time i did i ended up over-tightening one and the bearing stripped off inside the prop.

Heres my two cents,  I recently traveled from USA > NED > UK, I have the microraptor case which is quite a bit bigger than yours i think. My original plan was to take it on as hand luggage even though it was way too big it would have still fit into the overhead bins had i made it that far.

I bottled the idea in the end and just carried my phantom onto the plane as hand luggage in its original box (battery intact) and it passed security without a hitch. I checked my microraptor case empty apart from stuffing it full of nice american candy as i had to get it back to the UK somehow.

The journey went fine but i was quite shocked when i went to collect my suitcase and microraptor case! an immense amount of pressure had somehow been sucked out of my microraptor case so much so that all the sides were warped inwards, it was a damn struggle to get it open. It was actually a testament to how strong the case actually is, my guess is that it was near the bottom of the pile of a lot of heavy luggage on the way over.

I cant say whether or not this would have caused any damage to my phantom but im pretty glad I wasn't the one to find out.

What dimensions are your case? some airlines allow for alot more than others - Adam

Ploy Posted at 2015-6-13 03:01
Hi Sploodge,

The cases dimensions are outside of the ones you've mentioned and with all accessor ...

Ah, OK..

Well with the case in cargo it looks lie its quite tough. maybe just secure the gimbal area a little more with foam/bubble wrap.

make sure to take the batteries as hand luggage and mention you have then at security ( better than them just detecting them and then searching )

Adamation Posted at 2015-6-13 03:04
Heres my two cents,  I recently traveled from USA > NED > UK, I have the microraptor case which is q ...

57 x 44 x 22 using my handy tape measure as the site i bought it from does seem to miss that information!

I think i may just have to get over my issue with props and removing them and go for a more 'plane friendly' one such as: Phantom Case

Actually maybe i won't go for that one as it's got 1-star and the review suggests it's pathetic.

Ploy Posted at 2015-6-13 03:19
Actually maybe i won't go for that one as it's got 1-star and the review suggests it's pathetic.

You should have bought this case:


Fits the drone perfectly and leaves plenty of room to all your accessories, and it will never ever break.
It cost $200 and x10 better than all the other custom cases.  The only issue is that you will have to shape the foam to fit your drone in.

Adamation Posted at 2015-6-13 03:04
Heres my two cents,  I recently traveled from USA > NED > UK, I have the microraptor case which is q ...

Doesn't that case have a "release" valve? I have one and it has a release under the right clip. I forget how it works but the instructions that came with the case tells you.

guy.keren@gmail Posted at 2015-6-13 03:23
You should have bought this case:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNnbtvNU-1Q

I think in hindsight i probably should of but thats the hard reality of it. I didn't and am not prepared to buy anymore cases!

I think i'm going to do some shopping around and find a carry on case.

Thanks

venomx15301 Posted at 2015-6-13 03:32
Doesn't that case have a "release" valve? I have one and it has a release under the right clip. I  ...

Ah yeah so it does, thanks for that! - Adam

I bought the Manfrotto case as a carry-on and wrote up a little Phantom review on it here. http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... mp;page=1#pid147741