H55 transportation question (1 Viewer)

[Willard]

In my situation uncle sam is covering weight of my bags up to 3. and I know there is a weight limit per bag which is why I would distribure parts equally between bags. the only issue I see if customs don't like the disassembled parts inside the bags but at the same time I won't be breaking any faa rules. I am ok with loosing 350$ if something happens, but its worth risking that $ in my eyes.

Read my comment on how Baggage handlers are. Worse on heavy bags. Remember normally there is only 1 guy lifting and putting this in place. I never said illegal, just not worth the hassle. I would talk to the cargo department for the airline and get a quote.
Might only be a few hundred, and then no hassle and no disassembly.

Good luck, there is no way I would even attempt this.

 

[crashmonk]

I think you could smuggle all the internals with ease. Best have plenty of bubble wrap and bags to put small parts in.

But the cast iron main case.... that's the kicker here.

Are these any bigger than the 4 speed? I've got one of those sitting in my garage.

 

[Willard]

I think you could smuggle all the internals with ease. Best have plenty of bubble wrap and bags to put small parts in.

But the cast iron main case.... that's the kicker here.

Are these any bigger than the 4 speed? I've got one of those sitting in my garage.

Should be the same size or close enough

 

[4Cruisers]

Some airlines did air-freight shipping in the past - maybe they still do? But, two related stories:

In 1990, I hand-carried an FJ40 PTO winch gearbox on a flight out of Boston years ago (well before 9/11) and after a lot of head-scratching and opening my greasy box, the exasperated check-in guy said 'our X-ray machine won't to through the gears' (pronounced 'geehs' in Boston) and he said 'don't ever bring stuff like that on the plane again, ok'? - but he tagged it and let me carry it on.

Just to add insult to injury, I was told I could not ship the PTO winch driveshaft because it was 'too long' - so I asked about downhill skis, and they said 'those are ok, because they are skis' - so I boxed up the driveshaft in a long cardboard package and told them it was 'skis'. The visible u-joint at one end may have led them to know this wasn't true. My 'skis' also weighed 35 lbs. The driveshaft arrived on the 'ski carousel' at my local airport. I doubt I would try either of these stunts today.

Back in the late '90s I had to hand carry two large aluminum locking cargo boxes for my job. The experimental hardware inside would have raised some eyebrows to say the least, especially nowadays. They weren't too heavy, and I could carry both, one in each hand. The curbside airline baggage attendant saw the padlocks on the cases and politely asked me "You really don't need me to look inside, do you?" I said no, it wasn't necessary, and he let me continue on. Wouldn't be that way these days.

 

[NookShneer]

Say it's DJ or Movie equipment. They won't bat and eye.

Odyssey Cases - ATA Flight Ready Cases, Flight Zone Cases, Turntable Cases, DJ Cases, Road Cases, DJ Gear

 

[Willard]

The problem will be the weight. Most airlines at the weight of the H55 will force Cargo. Rules have changed a lot over the years. No matter what they will weigh it.

 

[wbrigance]

Did it work?!