scuba gear - carry on or check-in ??

[Gaucho]

I attended a dinner yesterday evening with a bunch of divers. We had a good sample of our kin (ie. divers) at the table, some expert, others less so. At some point, a discussion [perhaps ?] was started by someone pointing out that when they travel by air they always take dive computers and regulators with them inside the cabin, since checking them in as part of luggage may throw off the calibration of this gear... (??)

Apart from the fact that I understand that the compartments where luggage goes on a commercial airliner are also pressurized (perhaps not to the same exact standards as the pax cabin, but regardless), would carriage in a non pressurized environment harm scuba gear in any way...???

 

[Ladydiver]

Hi Gaucho,

I have never heard of any problems resulting from this and I myself have never run into any trouble BUT, maybe one of our resident travel gurus like Natasha or Doc Vikingo will have some additional information on the possible effects.

Cheers,

 

[scubabunny]

I've often wondered about that. Whether or not the pressure in the cabin interfers with the computer. Has never bothered mine...but I know alot of people that pack the computers and regs in their carry-on. I think most do because they don't trust the airlines to A)deliver their luggage to them at their destination, and B)they remember the "gorilla" commercial..and these are "delicate" instruments that keep you alive underwater...don't want some hairy ape (sorry mario) juming up and down on them!

But, I don't think the computer is registering the pressure changes as long as it is off when you pack it. Water activated computers might be a little harder, if you pack it wet. Stays on forever...or until it drys.

 

[Gaucho]

Figures.... well, unless some of the resident experts tell me otherwise, I guess I will sometimes put the stuff in my suitcase (carry-ons are a drag sometimes). Thanks.

 

[large_diver]

I am traveling in brazil this week, and after watching the baggage handlers load the baggage on the 2 flights I took to get down here, it's a wonder anything fragile makes it through unscathed. From what I observed, it would appear that baggage handler union guidelines tell them to drop the bag from a height of 4 feet onto the loading conveyor. I would never let me reg/computer go through that.

 

[Mario S Caner]

I carry my regs and computers along with me too... but not so that they don't lose calibration. I carry them along to make sure they arrive where they are supposed. The rest of the stuff in the luggage can be replaced/repurchased to do so with my high end dive gear would hurt! (Renting is not an option for me)


Sea you in the Deep Blue!

 

[Rick Murchison]

First of all, the passenger and luggage compartments on commercial airlines are both in the same pressure hull and are therefore pressurized the same - typically a nominal 8000' cabin altitude. There is no difference pressure-wise whether you carry your computer with you or let it ride with the luggage and animals in the cargo hold. (There was a big write-up in a major mag a few years ago that got it completely wrong, and they never published a correction, so there are still a lot of folks out there that believe the pressurization of an airliner is only in the passenger compartment and have screwed up ideas about dive computers and luggage compartments - they are wrong.)
The chief benefit of carrying your computer with you is the increased likelyhood that it'll arrive at your destination.
There *is* a potential problem, though, particularly with models that don't have an "in water" sensor, like many of the earlier models that had to be turned on before entering the water. With these computers, should you turn them on at altitude, they can be fooled into thinking the plane's descent is the beginning of a dive, and you'll find the computer locked into dive mode at about 5'-6' depth when you land... and it requires a complete power-down (battery removal) to fix it.
And while we're on the subject, never open your camera housing and close it again in an airplane at altitude, or you're liable to find out the next time you're able to open it is on the flight home!
Rick

 

[Warhammer]

One thing to add....Some analog depth gauges can be damaged by exposing them to reduced altitudes, so they should be kept in pressure tight boxes when flying. I'm not sure if today's analog gauges suffer from this or not, maybe some of the old salts can answer.

 

[rcohn]

If you'd like to read about the fine service I received when attempting to take my regulator onboard a United Airlines flight, take a look at:

http://www.scubadiving.com/members/divetips.php?s=160

and for a follow up,

http://www.scubadiving.com/talk/read.php?f=1&i=194830&t=194830

Ralph

 

[Mario S Caner]

That's ridiculous. I guess they shouldn't let anyone carry laptops onboard either huh! Heck you could throw one of those clearly across to the other end of the plane and render the pilot unconscious huh!

Peanuts... a trained military man can kill you with a single peanut. LOL! Ludacris I tell ya!

I guess they can't object if you removed the hose and packed it in your luggage. Just carry an allen wrench and extra plugs and that should quite them down.