fraz

I have had my share of hassles travelling to races and if you plan on going through the US, don't plan on having a nitro car as carry-on. If you do, at least lose the fuel tank, motor and fuel lines and don't bring fuel. You should be able to get away with stashing them in your check in luggage but if you want to be safe, ship 'em. Put all of your other gear in check in and you should be fine. I have had a plane held up before while the sheriff made me remove my fueltank from my car and surrender it. The idiot didn't even bother to say anything about my 500cc fuel bottle that had about 10cc of fuel still in it. If you do try to bring your car and radio on the airplane if you can but make sure the batteries are charged and you can prove to the baggage screeners that it works. I have heard stories of confiscated and trashed motors, cars and more so be careful. I have also spent countless hours on the phone with TSA administrators and different managers of the FAA and airline security. What it comes down to is that it is the responsibility of the individual airlines and they get to make their own rules based on TSA guidelines. Trying to find an absolute answer to this question is nearly impossible so try to follow these guidelines and you _should_ be cool. It never hurts to call or ask.

As for UPS losing your gear, Your chances are better with them then the rate at which airlines lose/damage luggage. I still bring all of my stuff with me because it costs a lot of money to ship/insure that much value just for a race. Not to mention you have to pay for it both directions. Last time I priced it to go only from Cali to Vegas it was something like $140 total. Unless you are sponsored or racing for a manufacturer or something, that's a lot of dough.

Be aware that there are length/height/width limitations and weight limitation for your checked baggage. This is controlled by the individual airlines so check with them before leaving. You can ususally get this info from their web site. They also limit the number of checked bags and some airlines say 1 and some allow 2. Most airlines allow 2 bags and 70 pounds each. Beware of your limitations because if you get stuck at the airport with extras, you'll end up paying a lot of money for "extra baggage". I had an extra golf club I got for a gift once and the airline wanted to charge me $70 to bring it. I left it!!!

I am almost to the point where I will only drive to nitro races and I will fly to electric races jut because it is not such a pain.

kitracer

I flew to Sydney last week from Hong Kong. MECA 4, I had a mtx 3 , the radio and basic tools as carry on, the rest I put them on the luggage. I have no problem with customs but do make sure
no fuel
no battery ( glow plug starter)
no solidering iron
no sharp objects
as carry-on to the plan

good luck

InitialD

kitracer, can you give an example of what type of basic tools you brought as carry on luggage? Most basic tools are sharp objects...

kitracer

hudy glow plug tool

ziggy12345

Dont take ANY tools on carry on. You will definatly have them removed by the jobs worth security bone head.

Check everything in to be sure (except fuel!) NIMH batteries are also not allowed by FAA rules!

unsungzero

Of course you cant take fuel on the airplane .....

this is my experience

Went from Pitt international to LAX. The guys at pitt airport were awsome. You are allowed to have pretty much anything get transported on the airplane (as long ans it isnt in your poss) Yes you can even take you Glock 9mm ! haha. Ok back to the story...
I got there and did the normal rutien(sp) umm.. they serached everything just to make shure. I did have a problem with my r/c stuff though. In Pitt they screen luggage and do a Explosives test ,, they use small pieces of cardboard and cloth abd it picks up any explosive residue something may have left. well Nitro Fuel must have been on there list of explosives cause the alarm went off and they kinda went nuts on me .... I explained what i do (race rc) and told them that the fuel containes nitro methane... The had to cleaqr everything up with there police(sp) but after that no troubles..
When i was on my way home from my vacation and got screened at LAX they had absolutl no problems with the Car or anything .... I guess they deal with allot of racers there.

Its a good idea to take your stuff whith you on the plane. I did have a extra body in one of my suitcases and it was broke

heres a list of what NOT to take in your carry-on

Scissors (they take the!)
Body reamer
Screw drivers
Batteries (NIMh only)

Make shure your transmitter is off the entire time because the freqencies can interfere....

-Matt

eddiethefish

They asked me to open up my carry-on, for while x-raying, they saw a strange device with "trigger". Cops swarmed in, and I had to explain to them what my 3PK was.

TurnNBurn

There was an article in XRC not too long ago about this very subject. Here's a summary:

1) Take ONLY what you need - no sense in bringing your entire workshop to a race. Pick out your essential tools, along with any essential replacement parts you think you might need, and pack them in utility (Plano) boxes so that you're organized. They recommended that you Pack all that stuff and ship it to the Hotel that you will be staying at, since most are willing to make those kind of arrangements.

2) If you want, you can take your car and radio with you in a carry-on, so long as there are NO batteries! Some airports may not let you take them on board no matter what you say it is, so don't take the chance. Nitro guys, don't forget the receiver pack on the car. As for Tx batteries, if you just use Alkaline batteries, you can buy those anywhere once you land.

3) It's best to make arrangements to purchase fuel in town when you arrive. Most carriers have severe restrictions on the transport of fuels (and other potentially explosive materials). Chances are that a LHS is cosponsoring the event, so they'd be more than happy to place fuel/parts orders for out of town racers if you make the arrangements ahead of time. Just don't wait until 3 days before the race.

Hope this helped...