Hi,

I'm going to SD to pick up my Inspire 1 when it arrives. I have a question regarding flying back home. According to the DJI dealer in Mexico, the best way to travel with the batteries is not to ckeck your baggage, but to have the batteries in the On-board luggage. Is this correct? What's the best way to travel with the batteries? I'm doing a lot of aerial shots through the country and will be traveling by plane most of the time

Here is the official FAA rulings:

https://www.faa.gov/about/office ... s_and_batteries.pdf

Yes, I am planning to travel with my drone too and was hoping to get some clarifications as to what I can and cannot do.
Is it better to take the drone onboard or check it in with my luggage?

The above link pretty much sums up traveling with batteries.  This topic has also been discussed in previous post's to this forum.

The larger capacity battery (TB-48) 129.96 Wh, is considered a Large Lithium Ion Battery, so you can check your Inspire with one of those installed, one other Large Capacity battery would have to be carried on the aircraft.  There is a limit of 2 Large Lithium batteries per passenger.

The regular battery that comes with the Inspire  (TB-47) 99.9 Wh, is a regular Lithium Ion Battery, one can be checked if it is installed in the Inspire just the the Large battery.  Any other spares would have to be carried on the aircraft.  There is no limit to carry on the TB47, you can carry as many as you want.

Sorry if my previous post in another thread misguided anyone.  A careful read of the above linked FAA document (the same guidance as IATA for international travel) reveals that one large battery can be installed in the device, with two more carried as spares for a maximum total of 3, with no limit to the number of smaller batteries.  All can be carried on (although technically the case is a bit larger than airline policy allows).

While the copter can be checked with a single battery of any capacity installed, no spares may be checked.

Limit is per person, so each traveling companion can carry on up to 2 large batteries.

Also, I recommend you print out the FAA document and carry it with you.  Very few TSA folks know the rules.
Here's a link to the IATA document:  IATA Passenger Battery Pamphlet

bump to get real chat back in the chat forum

I have ordered an Inspire 1.  How come I am not able to talk to someone at DJI. Phone number is an answering machine, no individual available...... disappointing !!!:

mol@careways-in Posted at 2015-1-6 00:14
I have ordered an Inspire 1.  How come I am not able to talk to someone at DJI. Phone number is an a ...

Have you ever tried Live Chat or E-mail?
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... &extra=page%3D1

You can take batteries on the flight with you for unlimited amount for TB47 Inspire battery. For TB48 battery, you'd better check with your airline company ahead. According to the regulations of international air transport association (IATA), you could take up to 2 TB48 batteries on board. Hope this answers your questions.

Thanks everyone. It should helped a lot! Now I know how can I travel, and as I am getting the TB47 battery, I shouldn't have any issues.

What about the blades(props) ? any experience with TSA avoiding carry on the UAV

carlosdragonne Posted at 2015-1-7 11:23
Thanks everyone. It should helped a lot! Now I know how can I travel, and as I am getting the TB47 b ...

Likewise! The extra 4 minutes of flight time isn't absolutely critical. I'd probably go ahead and pick up 2 extended batteries and 2 standard batteries, which should be sufficient for a good day out. The next question is : Who actually has them in stock?

Also, are the TB47 batteries safe to ship via USPS/FedEx/UPS?

ghoonk Posted at 2015-1-7 12:42
Likewise! The extra 4 minutes of flight time isn't absolutely critical. I'd probably go ahead and  ...

The thing, as I understand (and I hope someone gets this clear) is that the different batteries affects your firmware. You have to update the drone when you change batteries to let the drone know you are flying with a different type of battery.

Not what I heard. There are firmware updates for batteries, and when you switch batteries, the app will check that the battery firmware is correct, or it will prompt you to update the firmware for batteries which have older firmware.