FreeLists / va-bird / [va-bird] Re: spotting scope: carry-on or checked luggage?

[WEalding@xxxxxxx]

I echo Glenn's experience - checked baggage gets thrown around and I won't  
risk delicate optics for that reason.  Also TSA's requirement that you  leave 
your bags unlocked means that I won't pack anything valuable in a checked  bag.
 
I fly a lot and find TSA's little calling cards in my checked bags about a  
third of the time, regardless of whether I've packed a tripod or not.
 
One other experience of interest:  a couple of years ago I had a long  
layover at Newark, so I went and sat at an empty gate.  A flight from  Colombia 
had 
arrived at an adjacent gate, and the checked bags were being  unloaded.  I 
noticed a US Customs agent standing at the conveyor that was  transferring the 
bags from the plane, he was probing with a long metal  probe into all the 
soft-sided luggage.  Knowing the origin of the  flight, I guess he was looking 
for 
drugs, but I'm glad I have a hard sided  case.
 
Wendy  Ealding