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Flying with Batteries
So… how do you guys handle flying with batteries?
We predominately shoot close to home. OR, if traveling pretty far, we will rent all needed gear on location.
We have a shoot suddenly coming up next week though that is going to bounce us around to several different places, and it would be logistically better for us to travel with our gear. Yeah, it’s a pain in the butt to drag it through airports, but these are minimalist shoots and I can get away without a grip truck full of stuff.
I’m not sure how to handle batteries though… I believe under current rules the big goldmount batteries we use are still verboten for air travel, both for carryon and checked baggage. They far exceed the listed limits for lithium batteries, which seem to be limited to small consumer-type batts.
We have in the past shipped all our gear, just FedExed a bunch of big cases to be held at the destination location and traveled with nothing but my little case of primes (which is small, has a handle, and more valuable than everything else put together so I don’t like to ship it)… but in this instance we might have a place or two where we have to shoot in the morning, fly to the next destination, and then shoot again that evening…. so even overnight shipping doesn’t do me any good.
Aside from trying to find cine houses in each city that can rent me just bricks, I don’t have a whole lot of ideas. I don’t relish the idea of going back to AC like a caveman, but I guess I could.
Any thoughts? This is a gig that has come up very suddenly and I don’t have a lot of advance-planning time.
Wisdom much appreciated….
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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11 Replies
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Where you going?
You’re on a website community with global reach, a big chunk of which is spread across the US.
If you were coming to Phoenix/Scottsdale, I’d meet you and lend you half a dozen of my V-mounts with an AB plate adaptor.
Easier than rental.
In return, I’d expect you to maybe buy me a drink? Basically, I wonder if this is crowd source-able?
Just a thought.New signature under construction and coming soon. Please stand by…
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For the big batteries (101 to 160 watt hours) it is a 2 batteries per person limit, carry on only according to the FAA. However, it always depends on TSA agents at security. They don’t all seem to know the regulations or enforce them the same. I usually carry printed copies of the regs from the FAA website.
It’s always a hassle. I almost always get flagged for inspection no matter if it’s V-mounts or only the BP-U series batteries.
Jeremy Doyle
https://www.jeremydoyle.com -
Can you pay a charter pilot to fly them for you?
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The better question would be, can I pay a charter pilot to fly me?
I hate flying on biz with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns… even more with gear. Makes me wish I’d kept up with my piloting and had a Cessna Mustang in the driveway (MSRP, $2.7 million… so, relatively unlikely).
And Bill… kind of you as always, but sadly nowhere near Phoenix, unless plans change. This hopscotching trip seems to be changing by the minute. Right now we only know Denver and Houston for sure.
This afternoon the client said “We should know soon. Hopefully by tomorrow.” Ummmm…. hopefully by tomorrow? For a trip we’d have to leave on Sunday? I guess I should have told them, “Ok, let us know. We’ll be waiting in the car with the motor running.” Sheesh.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I have had no problem at all flying domestically. I have been averaging two or three round trips a month. I always have a full camera with me on board, either configured if an ENG or in pieces in a camera bag if it’s the C100 or something similar and I ALWAYS have a full Anton Bauer Gold Mount Dionic with me that powers the large camera for 4 hours or the smaller one for days. No one has every queried me or asked if it was lithium and I am prepared to respond “Nicad” if asked.
The reason I do this: There have been many times when the baggage did not make a transfer or they just plain lost it. Although it would arrive on the next flight or next day, I always have enough gear with me that at least I can do b-roll available light and I have a lav and XLR cable. So I would recommend bringing for the overhead the camera and one or two large batts. Another reason I do not check the camera as baggage is that when the TSA folks take it out to inspect they may not put it back correctly. If the battery is attached to a piece of gear they don’t care since the terminals can’t be shorted. The rules are aimed at checked bags but besides the incident below I have never been questioned.
The only time I was questioned is when I had a large battery in my suitcase and it was on top of a bar of soap, so the X-ray machine saw “wires over plastic explosive” and my name was paged and there were cops around my open suitcase at Heathrow. It seems that flights over the oceans get closer baggage inspection for obvious reasons. I just did a cursory search on cameramen forums and no pro seems to be hassled, although the drone guys have drawn renewed attention to lithiums in checked bags:
https://www.dvxuser.com/V6/archive/index.php/t-341574.html
https://www.steadicamforum.com/index.php?showtopic=17916
https://support.usa.canon.com/kb/index?page=content&id=ART105075
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Just to give an update in case anyone is interested…
Just returned home… all gear was checked baggage in big Pelican cases, except the batteries. Myself and a crew member took pancake-sized bricks in carry-ons…
We sailed through six flights in four days with no trouble. Only one of the bags was even looked through once, which took about four seconds and they handed it back to me.
I guess in hindsight I was being concerned about nothing, but better safe than sorry I guess.
I don’t see how those of you who do it tons manage it without going crazy…flying has become soooo un-fun. Even biz class is a miserable experience. Good to be back home.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Welcome home.
Of course you realize that the fact that you stressed about it in advance is the REASON nothing happened,, right?
I think it’s some kinda corollary to Murphy’s Law about how when you have no backup panning in place – THATS when the Gremlins (and the TSA!) decide to come out to play.
Glad it all worked out.
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OK, just as a follow-up to Todd’s hassle-free experience, what is the size of Lithium battery that’s allowed on flights? Isn’t to something like 80’s are OK, but bigger than that are not allowed?
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I think they are small enough for you to swallow before taking off and collecting them later when you check into your hotel?
Ned Miller
Chicago Videographer
http://www.nedmiller.com -
Was this a domestic flight Todd?
We’ve got some flights coming up that are international and the standards are so different in Europe and USA that I’m unsure of whats best….
Co-owner at Pollen Studio
http://www.pollenstudio.co.uk
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