rig on board a commercial flight?

[groundpounder 0]

I'm flying domestically, has anyone had experience with bringing a rig into the cabin area? Is this allowed, or does it need to be in the cargo hold?

[yoink 321]

Any issues travelling w/ rig?

Carry on or check in?

and so on...

there's been a load about this topic, some more recent than others - try a search for 'rig carry on commercial'

[freeflydrew 0]

uspa.org has a lot of info on it...

http://uspa.org/membership/travel/rigs.htm#tsa

Quote

Problems?
Skydivers encountering problems with screeners should request that the screener's supervisor become involved. Skydivers should insist that the supervisor review " Chapter Section 17.2 of Version 4.0 of the Screening Checkpoint Standard Operating Procedure." Skydivers encountering unsatisfactory treatment should contact USPA at 703-836-3495 ext. 325 or e-mail us. Be ready to provide the airport, date and time of flight, airline and flight number, and names of TSA officials involved.

I do it a lot... I wear it on m,y back and have put it in my carry on bag... Be polite, let them know it's a parachute when you go through security, and if they give you any grief, ask to speak with a supervisor... They're not supposed to open it up unless it fails the swab (explosives) test.

Have a nice trip

[dbattman 0]

Just put it in a bag and put it on the belt. Don't worry about disclosure- if they need to know they'll ask. Keep your mouth shut and you'll be fine.

[chaoskitty 0]

Theres no way in HEYULLL I would let baggage handlers touch my rig. I carry it on my back just like a backpack and never had a problem with it clearing security. Sometimes they ask questions, sometimes they dont. If they ask about the AAD, I usually just say its disconnected instead of having to go through the trouble of explaining how theres no possible way it could fire, particularly since its turned off.

Last time I flew with it was memorial day weekend. The only people who asked me about it were random SWA employees who saw me walking about with it and told me that they would LOVE to skydive.
I should probably get a gear bag small enough to carry on though... just to protect the rig.

You'll be fine.. have fun.

edit: right after I posted this, I read This Thread where the TSA baggage handlers used a needle to poke holes in a packed reserve. So I reiterate.. when I travel, my rig doesnt leave my sight.

[dbattman 0]

I've found that a 21" (or is it 25") rolling pilot case works great. They're cheaper than a gear bag, have wheels for rolling, and look just like every other piece of carry-on luggage out there. It attracts no attention from security and slides through every time.

It works great at protecting it from little kids with snotty, ice-cream smeared sticky hands. Yeech!