I am with Wendy and Glenn
I carry the scope in my carry on -- to reduce the risks both of damage
and loss -- and pack the tripod in the checked luggage. I know some
peole carry the tripod on as well, but that is just not practical for
us, and I suspect may occasionally cause hassles at some airports.
Eric Jeffrey
Falls Church, VA
-----Original Message-----
From: WEalding@xxxxxxx
To: gjkoppel@xxxxxxx; stevejohnson2@xxxxxxxxxxx; va-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Mon, 6 Feb 2006 08:59:08 EST
Subject: [va-bird] Re: spotting scope: carry-on or checked luggage?
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
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