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o.k., I've read threads regarding airport security checks and rigs. I've always wondered "why not put your rig in CHECKED luggage? why insist on carrying it on the plane?"

advantages of checked in luggage:
- less TSA security headaches
- if everyone carried that much belongings on-board an aircraft, there is not enough overhead storage...
- it can be burdensome to keep an eye on the rig during layovers. especially in a toilet stall...

advantages of carry-on luggage:
- knowing the rig gets there
- knowing the rig will not get damaged
- realizing that checking the rig will exceed your checked luggage allowance
- wanting to know EXACTLY where your rig is

people seen quite happy to SHIP gear. generally, the shippers expose parcels to far rougher treatment than the airlines.

the few times I've heard of "lost" luggage, it has been found and forwarded in less than 1/2 day.

soooo...
has anyone had a rig stolen from checked baggage?
has anyone had a rig damaged while in checked baggage?
has a BASE trip been disrupted by a delayed checked bag and rig?

like other things in BASE, I'd prefer making decisions based on facts, not fears. people regularly post about the hassles received trying to carry a rig onto a flight. what are the horror stories from people who check their rigs? are they common?

thanks!

The TSA prefers you take your rig as carry-ons. See http://www.uspa.org/...nt_news/carryons.htm.

The main reasoning is that the TSA requires the owner of the rig to be there when they open the container. If your rig is checked in, it's going to be a lot more hassle to find you.

I have checked in rigs with my other luggage and I've taken them with me as carry-ons, neither has ever posed a problem. BASE-rigs are really no big deal, they're just a backpack with some fabric in them. Taking a backpack with some rope and some bedsheets would raise the same suspicion; none.

I've passed airport security with carry-on base rigs at least twelve times and never even had anybody ask me about it.

Skydiving rigs can be a bigger problem because of the AAD which can show up as a black-box on their X-ray machines. Yet even those have never posed a problem on the six times that I've taken those with me.

has anyone had a rig damaged while in checked baggage?

One problem with checked rigs is how much they get jostled around. You know how gently you treat a packed BASE rig before jumping. Throwing it around can mingle the lines in the tail pocket, and so on. If you repack before jumping, or are just field packed on your way to an object, this isn’t too big a deal.

Another thing is having a hard shell case to put it in. Checking a soft sided gear bag with your rig risks having it on the bottom of the baggage hold with 2000 pounds of other people's luggage bearing down on top of it.

Also in inclement weather checked baggage can sometimes get soaked while sitting on the ramp getting loaded or unloaded.

I've checked rigs the way Moe does it. He shrink wraps the rig in a medium weight plastic bag by sucking the air out with a vacuum cleaner before sealing it. It then goes into something hard sided with a big sticker that says, "Life Support Equipment, Please Handle Gently!" You can get stickers like that at most medical supply stores.

BASE rigs tend to be small and are easy to carry-on; it's the helmet, pads, clamps and all the other claptrap that bulks things up.

Besides, being a licensed aircraft mechanic, if I'm ever called on to crawl into the nose gear well to straighten an Airbus front wheel, I want to be wearing a rig . . .

NickD
BASE 194

Hey Nick..where's my keys. Anyway I say carry on like I mentioned my experience in a previous thread"security check point" .I rather lose my socks and underwear than any rig. I've had gear damaged, lost and maybe that makes me bitter to check in when I really shouldn't have to.

Flying without a parachute nearby is just wrong...

No problems flying with my rig here. Even forgot to remove my huge hook knife on one flight

 
soooo...
has anyone had a rig stolen from checked baggage?
_______________________________________________________________

Yes, on my first trip to Kjerag in 2000 my checked luggage was not delivered in the four days i sat around and tried to trace it. I returned to LAX to find my bags there, but they had been opened and i "lost" a ParaPak, a Fox 220 and a Sony Videocam.
Surprisingly, the airlines listened to my sob story and paid me ~ 80% of the value of the lost gear.
Even more surprisingly, they recovered my gear ~ 8 months later when they busted a theft ring, never did get the camera back though.

_______________________________________________________________
has anyone had a rig damaged while in checked baggage?

No, but i pack my gear as follows
1. pack it for the jump
2. seal it in an OR drybag
3. ship it in a hard shell pelican case

when they recovered my parapak, it was still in the never opened drybag
_______________________________________________________________
has a BASE trip been disrupted by a delayed checked bag and rig?
Oh yeah, sitting in Norway with no gear is no fun.
There are few things more depressing than sitting in the baggage area watching an empty luggage carousel going round-n-round

sigh

Now I ship my gear to my destination via a commercial carrier and insure it for full replacement value.
and i usually carry one on my back

be safe

kleggo

This one: sitting in the baggage area waching etc..., at 11 pm in an african airport, knowing you've put the paper with the adress and phone number of your skydiving friends in the bag you're waiting for... and the DZ in the middle of the african nowhere...

Speak of loneliness?

yep, it sucks.
I spent a couple days on an African train.
after the second night on the train, my backpack had disappeared. it had rested on the rack above my head...
as it took 2 days to get there, you can call the destination REMOTE. I knew no one there.
and yes, my address book was lost in the backpack as well.

I wasn't sure how I'd pay for a room, food, or a trip back to the capitol to sort things out.

Because while you can buy a toothbrush and underwear at the corner store, they don't sell BASE rigs and not having one because the airline lost yours would ruin a jumping vacation.



When that happens they gate check the excess, and on some airlines (smaller commuter flights) it's waiting for you when you get off the plane. Not a big deal.