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Air travel

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(@causnorign)
Honorable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 554
Topic starter  

Well I'll be goin' to the Florida Keys for 2 weeks, sort of a business trip (military actually). Be the first time I'm flyin' with a guitar. I'll be strummin my 6 string on the front porch swing, to bad the only git I feel safe bringing is my Washburn Rover. I hope I find some kind of internet access because I'm not bringing a computer, otherwise I'm really gonna miss this group.


   
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(@ejwebb)
Trusted Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 52
 

How do you like your Rover?

I am headed to Singapore next week on business and will be gone 9 days. I just started playing about a month ago and can't stand the thought of not playing for that long. I called Yamaha Music in Singapore and they do not know wnywhere to rent instruments there. I considered Renting a rover locally ($10/mo) and taking it with me. Have to check on the carry-on restrictions...

ej


   
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(@causnorign)
Honorable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 554
Topic starter  

The Rover is nice for its size, and is suposed to fit in the overhead compartments on a plane. It takes a bit of time to find a comfortable playing position, I've found that I have to really suck in my gut to be able to play it, maybe after 2 weeks I'll have some six-pack abs :wink: The case is a real nice padded thing that can take a likkin' and keep on tickin'. I bought it when I was first learning to play so I could practice anywhere it was a great buy at $150.


   
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(@egdinger)
Eminent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 19
 

Bringing this back up, does anybody know about traveling on an airplane with regular guitar. Can it be brought on as hand luggage, or do you have to check it? If the latter what kind of case should I use?


   
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(@kent_eh)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1882
 

Bringing this back up, does anybody know about traveling on an airplane with regular guitar. Can it be brought on as hand luggage
That is entirely at the discretion of the airline. Some say the decision can be affected by the phase of the moon :wink:
or do you have to check it? If the latter what kind of case should I use?

A hard-sided flight case
Like this or this

You want:
- something that can keep your guitar from moving inside the case during handling or turbulence
- something that can withstand being dropped several feet off a baggage cart onto a concrete runway
- and something that can survive having something fall on top of it (like a pile of baggage - see previous point).

This may sound like scare tactics, until you spend some time watching baggage handlers doing their job. Then it seems like an understatement.

I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep


   
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(@trguitar)
Famed Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 3709
 

Florida Keys huh? Every time I go to Florida I have to play Marguritaville .. just have to. This past April I had an audience around the patio of my hotel room. Your going to the keys, even more appropriate. I have traveled by car, but took a cheapie the first time. Now I just bring my good acoustic. I don't know what I'll do next time as I plan to fly.

"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --


   
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(@kent_eh)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1882
 

Also, take a look at this GN thread

I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep


   
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(@egdinger)
Eminent Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 19
 

Kent, those links are nice, but I guess I should have mentioned that the guitar I plan on taking is a strat, not an acoustic. would something like http://www.skbcases.com/music/products/proddetail.php?f=&id=234&o=&offset=1&c=82&s=75 , be okay or should it be heavier duty? My guess is heavier, should I be looking for something ATA rated?


   
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(@kent_eh)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1882
 

It depends a bit on the value of the guitar, and how much you'd cry if it got broken.
A $5000 custom special American stat would be worth buying an ATA rated Anvil case. The baggage manglers could drive over one of those and not hurt it.
That SKB case looks like it could prevent a fair bit of damage, and for $99 at MF, it looks like a good deal. I don't know if I'd use it for something ultra-valuable (Jimi's first guitar or something), but for a "regular" guitar I think it would be ok.

I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep


   
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(@causnorign)
Honorable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 554
Topic starter  

Well I'm back from my trip. I carried the rover on going and checked it with the baggage returning. Both the guitar and I returned with no damage, and nobody asked me to play Margaritaville (actually I didn't hear much Jimmy Buffet on the local radio, but they did seem to play plenty of Steve Miller).


   
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(@kent_eh)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 1882
 

How did you have it packed when you checked it in?

I wrapped a newspaper ’round my head
So I looked like I was deep


   
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(@vic-lewis-vl)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 10264
 

I remember watching the baggage handlers load one of my guitars on to a plane coming back from Spain a couple of years ago.....man, the air was BLUE for a couple of minutes there! I wanted to get out on the tarmac and kill them - or at least do some serious GBH. They THREW everything into the hold - Fragile stickers? Don't make me laugh - the more fragile the item, the harder it got thrown. OK they get paid peanuts - and you pay peanuts, you're going to get monkeys working for you. But they should have a little more respect for other people's hard-earned property......

hah, I'd love to be a baggage handler throwing guitars on a plane that's taking baggage handlers on a holiday - let them see how they like it, when their hard-earned cash ends up as a pile of rubble....

*End of Rant*

And no smiley's either - they aren't funny and they aren't big and they are'nt clever.....

Baggage handlers? Come the revolution, they'll be first up against the wall. Last cigarette, blindfold, BANG!

:D :D :D

Vic

"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)


   
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(@chuckster)
Prominent Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 938
 

Baggage handlers? Come the revolution, they'll be first up against the wall. Last cigarette, blindfold, BANG!

Blindfold? You're going soft. :wink:

8)

I've had a lot of sobering thoughts in my time.
It was them that turned me to drink.


   
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(@greybeard)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5840
 

I have a Rimowa case (you know the aluminium things) - that and fragile stickers are like red rags to a bull (I know - they're colour blind). I have a couple of bags with "heavy" stickers on them - the handlers don't even try to throw those around!

If you have any doubts about a case, ask your insurance company (you do have guitar insurance, don't you?). Generally, damaged baggage is replaced - or repaired - by the airline, if the bag was suited to it's purpose (forget checking a €10 gig bag with a custom PRS in it). You must, however, report any damage, before you leave arrivals (going back to an airport 3 days after arriving and saying your bag is knacked is unlikely to get a sympathetic response). So, check your luggage as soon as you take it from the carousel.

One other point - make sure that you have either distinctive address tags or some luggage stickers attached, anything to make your case "unique". It stops mistakes occurring. Someone, recently, walked off with my case. His was similar, but he'd not even bothered to look at the case - mine had a big silver Lufthansa Frequent Traveller address tag and a big orange "Waiting List" band on it and his had no tags at all.

I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
Greybeard's Pages
My Articles & Reviews on GN


   
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(@causnorign)
Honorable Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 554
Topic starter  

How did you have it packed when you checked it in?

I just had it in the case that it came with, which BTW is a very well padded hunk of nylon on the outside and something like styrafoam inside.


   
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