I have a few trips coming up where I'd like to bring the Inspire with me to destination. Has anyone tried to fly with the craft? Internationally or domestically, do you carry it on or check the baggage underneath?
-Dave

Edit: I will be taking the Inspire with going to LA this Tuesday and then to Guatemala in February, France in June and Mongolia in October.

Domestically in the US on Southwest only.  My wife is a SWA employee.  Lucky me.  So far I have been through TSA 6 times with my Inspire.  Not once have they opened the case.  I will state that most of the time I have TSA Precheck on my security document.  I fly a lot.  But even when I did not have Precheck they did not open the case.  I think that traveling with drones is becoming common place with TSA.
You cannot baggage check the lipos.  Only in the cabin.

Thank you Tahoe_Ed! I appreciate the information. Do you carry the whole case on the plane or check it? I know the batteries for sure have to come on. I have TSA precheck as well.

I'd like to know the answer to Chrstensonphpto's question too...

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-1-17 04:56
Domestically in the US on Southwest only.  My wife is a SWA employee.  Lucky me.  So far I have been ...

It seems the case that comes with the Inspire may be too big for carry-on and too soft for baggage check-in. Ed, did you check yours in and did you have a different case?

Carry on or not?
Is it up to the individual carrier?
Discharge batteries per handbook instructions?
Getting to the airport with little time to sort things out is not how I like to start a vacation!

I'll be leaving tomorrow on plane. Anyone had experience carrying on the drone or checking it?

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-1-17 04:56
Domestically in the US on Southwest only.  My wife is a SWA employee.  Lucky me.  So far I have been ...

Ed, do you take the DJI case on board or do you put it in another luggage and check it in? I'm traveling tomorrow and would like to know this also...

I've checked in my Inspire with the included travel case. No issues. I did, however, get the airline counter to note the 'Glass inside' ;)

I've been flying for years and been lucky enough that the airlines have only lost my luggage once (resulting in it being delivered to me the next day) and none of my luggage has ever suffered major damage (aside from the usual scuffs). Luck of the draw - get a luggage handler who's having a bad day, and anything can happen.

tomswell Posted at 2015-1-18 23:05
Carry on or not?
Is it up to the individual carrier?
Discharge batteries per handbook instructions ...

The Inspire travel case doesn't meet IATA carry-on dimensions so airlines can decline to have it on board and insist that you check it in. The TB47 and TB48 batteries, to my knowledge, cannot be checked in. Passengers are only allowed to carry on a maximum of 2 TB48 batteries and as many TB47s as you can fit into the weight allowance

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-1-17 04:56
Domestically in the US on Southwest only.  My wife is a SWA employee.  Lucky me.  So far I have been ...

Any way we can get confirmation from you Tahoe_Ed as to whether you carried the drone on or put it under the plane?

-Dave

christensonphot Posted at 2015-1-20 07:35
Any way we can get confirmation from you Tahoe_Ed as to whether you carried the drone on or put it ...

I responded to this before.  I always travel with the Inspire with me in the cabin.  It fits in the overhead bin and I travel with 5 of the TB47 lipos.  I could travel with up to 7 that will fit in the case and as many more as I can fit in my backpack that fits under the seat in front of me.  I will be limited to two of the TB48 as they are over 100 watt/hours per battery.  However, that assumes that TSA knows their own rules and actually checks the case.  I will not push it as I normally fly non-revenue and do not want to jeopardize my wife's job.  

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-1-20 09:16
I responded to this before.  I always travel with the Inspire with me in the cabin.  It fits in th ...

ThanK you! Tahoe_Ed Sorry I must have misread your previous post. The information is greatly appreciated!

ghoonk Posted at 2015-1-20 00:04
The Inspire travel case doesn't meet IATA carry-on dimensions so airlines can decline to have it o ...

the battery handbook says "discharge batteries completely before boarding" ?
anyone honoring this ?

tomswell Posted at 2015-1-21 01:05
the battery handbook says "discharge batteries completely before boarding" ?
anyone honoring this  ...

No, I fly with mine fully charged.

Can I carry 2 TB48s along with all my TB47s in my backpack then? And check my Inspire?
Also, is there any way of insuring it in case of theft/damage etc during travel?

Blip Posted at 2015-1-21 06:26
Can I carry 2 TB48s along with all my TB47s in my backpack then? And check my Inspire?
Also, is the ...

For the TB48 you are correct, 2 is the max, and the TB47's are unlimited.  The limits on the airlines liability for checked baggage depends on the carrier.

Good Info I'm off to P-Rico soon and Cali as well and no way this inspire case will fit in the over head.
This may be when I may take the phantom v2+ and leave the big dog home.
Nervous about the inspires case and rigidity as well.
DJI and DSLR need to come up with a hard shell back pack stat.

Yeah I was confused by that too whether the full case actually fit in the overhead compartment. if Tahoe_ed says it works then I trust him.

-Dave

christensonphot Posted at 2015-1-21 08:29
Yeah I was confused by that too whether the full case actually fit in the overhead compartment. if T ...

me as well.

so,will the dji case fit in a 747-400 upper storage compartment ?

I ended up checking the case on my last flight because I had a connecting leg that was a smaller jet. I haven't had the opportunity to carry the case on yet. I'll repost when I bring it to guatemala next month.

christensonphot Posted at 2015-1-27 03:45
I ended up checking the case on my last flight because I had a connecting leg that was a smaller jet ...

Let us know how the case holds up in the storage!

Flew JetBlue from JFK to St. Maarten, and back.

Permitted to board plane and DJI case fit in the overhead bins without issue.

I have flown with other Quadcopters before and checked the Quadcopter.  The only issue I would have is to check the case that it comes with.  I wouldn't trust the airline.  I have flown with hard cases that are on the market and had no issues.  Check with the airlines and checked luggage as to what the restrictions are with Flying with batteries.  I had to carry on my batteries and had no troubles doing so flying Jet Blue out of Newark, NJ.  I would personally recommend the following the Go Professional Case GPC-DJI-INSPIRE.  Some people maybe lucky with carrying it on with the factory case but there are no guarantees with this.  They may tell you when you are about to board that they have to check it and then you are stuck checking it with the case that the Inspire comes in.  Not a risk I would want to take.

I checked mine with the case that comes with it just this week from New York to LA and back. No issues. the case held up fine.

rsghowellnj.gma Posted at 2015-2-4 23:37
I have flown with other Quadcopters before and checked the Quadcopter.  The only issue I would have  ...

Good info thank you. What is the model number of the Pelicase please

That I'm not sure of.  You would have to check with the manufacturer Web Site to see if they would be willing to provide you with this information.  This case maybe a custom case made by Pelican for Go Professional Cases.

You also could try emailing their sales department to see if they would be willing to tell you: Email

I checked out the Pelican Web Site and did not find a case that is equal to the exterior measurements on the Go Professional Case:

Exterior Length 31.52 in
Exterior Width 20.83 in
Exterior Depth 12.50 in

Again, my best guess would be that this is not a Pelican Case or Pelican made this custom for Go Professional Cases.

I had a HPRC 2700 case for my Phantom 2 with foam set up for the P2 system. I did a side by side comparison and believe that it's possible to use the HPRC2700 if you're able to get a custom foam interior set up for it

ghoonk Posted at 2015-2-12 00:35
I had a HPRC 2700 case for my Phantom 2 with foam set up for the P2 system. I did a side by side com ...

cool thanks!

The Peli case model is im2875 and this apparently is big enough for the original DJI case to simply fit completely inside if you wish.  There or photos on the forum that shows this.

GB44 Posted at 2015-2-15 03:54
The Peli case model is im2875 and this apparently is big enough for the original DJI case to simply  ...

I did a search on im2875 and couldn't find it.  I guess I'm blog challenged

Big challenge for me, too, I as evaluate taking this or my phantom to Peru and Colombia in the coming weeks.  Customs can be a headache, I've found.  

rsghowellnj@gma Posted at 2015-2-23 01:48
I did a search on im2875 and couldn't find it.  I guess I'm blog challenged

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/pr ... torm_Trak_Case.htmlPelican Storm IM2875

rsghowellnj@gma Posted at 2015-2-23 01:48
I did a search on im2875 and couldn't find it.  I guess I'm blog challenged

US link:
http://aerialmediapros.com/store ... rm-travel-case.html


UK link :
http://www.samcases.co.uk/peli-s ... FqsMCFQQIwwodET4Ajw

I picked up my im2875 from B&H this weekend.  Very reasonable alternative ($202).  No need to order it with the foam .... picked up http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/pr ... torm_Trak_Case.html which is without the foam.

I'm curious. For $150.00 more , why not just order the Tradecraft Case, complete with cutout foam.   Tradecraft is slightly larger at 25x25x14, and accommodates the Inspire in non travel mode.