Can I take my new reg on an airplane?

[squarepants]

Maybe a dumb question, but I really like it, and I dont want to ruin the gauges or whatever by going up in altitude if it will damage it.
This question was sparked by an advertisement I saw for some type of special container for flying. Maybe I'm confused. It wouldn't be the first time.ut:

 

[Big-t-2538]

As long as it is carry on, and not stowed in the non-pressurized luggage compartment, you should have no problem....just be ready to explain to the security monkey that you have a regulator used for diving.

 

[dcostanza]

squarepants

I travel quite a bit and take my regs as carry-ons. Forget what most people consider "essential's" toiletries, spare clothes, traveller checks in their carry-ons... for me its my regs.

The worst that has happened (so far...yes I'm knocking on wood) is I sometimes get held up while they x-ray the bag several times. There was one time it was xrayed 3 times and the person running the machine called over her supervisor but he said it was okay. Most of the time it isn't a problem.

Wouldn't advise putting them in your checked baggage... look out the plane as they are loading it and notice if pieces drop off the conveyor as well as how the baggage is handled.

Best Regards
Don

 

[Grajan]

Just got back from a trip to BVI where we hand carried the regs. The only time the issue was rased was when one of the scanners asked "scuba diver?". Otherwise ignored.

I always hand carry my reg but the 'unpressurised baggage area' is a myth. The aircraft's cylindrical hull is the pressure vessel and everything inside it is at the same pressure. They regularly transport pets down there.

I'm just not willing to trust my regs to the baggage handler that I saw from the plane window seeing how high he could toss the bags to get them off the plane....

 

[FallenMatt]

is there any problem with packing the reg with check-in baggage ?

i am going to fly to Europe in a week time and i was going to pack my basic diving gear in my dive bag and then put it in a duffel bag with some other stuff. Diving gear being regs, backplate, wings, fins, wetsuit, mask.

The reg is mares Axis and with a price tag on it and its simplicity i thought there is really not much risk it wouldn't survive the travel... (packed inside layers of wetsuit and guarded by a stainless steel backplate)

but, should i reconsider getting it carry on ?(it is a damn looong flight and i will have bunch of things with me already like laptop to make the time pass quicker)

Can the low pressure damage a reg ?

 

[Scubaroo]

I had regulators in carry-on rejected by TSA agents when flying from Florida to California. Funny thing was, the week before, when I'd flown from California to Florida, there had been no problem. Unfortunately TSA is yet to compile a comprehensive list of good/bad items, and things like regulators are up to the agent's discretion. We were forced to check our entire carry-on bag as a result.

So you might run into problems with *individual* TSA agents, but I hear of people taking regs in carry-on a lot without problems.

The agent we had claimed they could be used as a weapon if you swung them around your head...

 

[norcaldiver]

ok, Here's what I "think" I know. As stated in a post above, the whole plane is pressurized - pets in cargo- I think it's about the same as being at 8000ft or so I've been told.
I just flew home last week and happened to have my mosquito on. I've heard horror stories about computers getting hosed when they get turned on at altitude - in fact, had a friend tell me it happened to him. I wondered about this and wanted to see just what happened to them and had a quarter in my pocket so I could pull the battery if needed.
I put the mosquito in dive mode for regular air as we were starting the approach. I thought that this would make the computer think we're at sea level when were're theoritically at about 8000ft. As we drop, the computer should start thinking it's diving and regester X fsw. Durring the decent, the computer never regestered that we were going down and, in fact, it turned itself off from inactivity and went back into wristwatch mode just before we landed.
Now this does nothing to state how an anolog guage would act, but I think I've just de-bunked that computer and flying thing.

 

[Diver0001]

squarepants once bubbled...
Maybe a dumb question, but I really like it, and I dont want to ruin the gauges or whatever by going up in altitude if it will damage it.
This question was sparked by an advertisement I saw for some type of special container for flying. Maybe I'm confused. It wouldn't be the first time.ut:

The others covered your questino already but I'll add this:

Carry your regs & computer and other small valuable bits in your cabin baggage to avoid having them stolen. Airline baggage people probably steal more dive gear than all other kinds of dive-gear stealing thieves combined. And the airlines will flatly deny any claims of theft and make you fight them through the courts to get your money back. Sometimes airlines won't even cooperate in filling in police reports because you can't "prove" that you checked it in and they refuse to accept any responsibility for it probably (and this is very cynical but probably true) because if they implicitly admit that it happens then they'll have to do something to stop it and they can't be bothered.

Another issue is that if you're not comfortable throwing something off of the roof of a 10-story building you probably shouldn't put it in checked baggage. Aside from stealing all the nice bit's airline baggage handlers are not decidedly gentle with the rest.

I always transport my dive gear in a non-descript dufflebag that I bought at a sporting goods shop. If you're smart then you'll carry on the small stuff and lock the stuff inside the dufflebag together with a cable-lock like you can buy for your bicycle. Lock the zippers together too and if your airport offers a service to wrap your bag in plastic then do it. Clearly if they want in they'll get in anyway. These measures just make it harder to steal and it does stop the worst of it. Maybe your whole bag will go missing but at least you can prove that you checked *THAT* in.

R..

 

[deanmartin]

I travel every other month with my dive gear. Usually I travel from California to Florida.

I always carry my regulator, dive computer and log book in an Aqualung regulator bag that I carry on the plane. The remainder of my dive gear is in checked bags.

I haven't had any problems getting my carry on luggage or checked bags through TSA. They like to inspect the bags but once they see that it's SCUBA gear, they pass it through.

The only recent problem that I have encountered is the weight limit, 50lbs per bag, that most airlines have instituted.

Regards

 

[bwerb]

Can you carry-on a steel backplate? That oughta make the TSA blink...



Brian