Flying on a plane with my MA ...

[ZoSo1]

I'm flying to FL from RI and want some advice on flying with the batteries . I'm bringing the goggles also . Do I drain the power to all batteries including goggles and controller ? . I just don't want an issue that will hold up me getting on the flight with them . And I don't want to have to give them up at the gate either ..... I believe that if they're powered down to a certain point would be best ? Thank you for any advice .

 

[msinger]

Do I drain the power to all batteries including goggles and controller?

There's no need to drain the batteries before flying. People take lots of devices on board with batteries fully charged (laptops, cell phones, etc.).

 

[Top Hat]

True.....even Lipo bags, it's a good safety precaution but not really required as long as your batts are secured (like in a HSC w/ individual slots).

 

[JATO757]

Wow. Lots of bad advice here. First off, check with the airline you’re flying and determine their LiPo restrictions. With a MA you should be good as most (but not all) Airlines allow LiPos under 100 watt hours (which the MA batteries are). DJI says discharge them to at least 30% before flying with them. I also recommend a LiPo bag if you can get one.

Here’s the thing, I’m an airline pilot and big supporter of the drone industry, but LiPos are nothing to joke about. As someone who’s flown RC’s for years, I’ve seen just how dangerous LiPos can be. One runaway LiPo will ignite other LiPos near it (ie in a camera bag) and on an airplane the results can be devastating. Commercial airplanes have crashed because of LiPo fires, just look up the UPS 747 in Dubai. A large LiPo fire in the cabin is one of the few things that scares me as a pilot.

Long story short, for your own safety, discharge your LiPos to at least 30%, place them in a battery bag, and follow all the rules.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Simmo]

Sir with respect. I cannot find anywhere that DJI recommend a discharge.
Essential Drone Travel Tips - All You Need to Know Taking a Drone on an Airplane

 

[JATO757]

Sir with respect. I cannot find anywhere that DJI recommend a discharge.
Essential Drone Travel Tips - All You Need to Know Taking a Drone on an Airplane

No offense taken. Sparing screenshots, on page 3 of the ‘Mavic Air Intelligent Flight Battery Safety Guidelines’ manual, it states:

“Travel Notice
Before carrying the Intelligent Flight Battery on an airline flight, it must first be fully discharged. This can be done by using your aircraft until the battery is depleted. Only discharge the battery in a fireproof location.”

Also, on page 29 of the ‘Mavic Air User Manual’ it states:

“Before carrying Intelligent Flight Batteries on an airline flight, they must be discharged to 30% or lower. This can be done by flying your Mavic Air outdoors until there is less than 30% charge left or until the Intelligent Flight Battery no longer turns on.”

These statements are directly out of the manuals currently available on DJI’s Mavic Air website.

It’s simply a matter of physics. With the battery fully charged the potential energy is much greater than a low-charge battery. If the battery is short circuited or fails in certain ways, all that potential energy will become heat and likely self-oxidizing fire, which is extremely dangerous on an airplane.

 

[Simmo]

Thankyou.

 

[JATO757]

Thankyou.

Thank you. DJI often posts contradictory information, sometimes within the same manual. Possibly a product of translation? Either way, it can lead to a lot of confusion.

 

[FaceAcheNZ]

Oh my God, i am such a muppet ..... i had visions of you busting out your Mavic Air in the cabin of an aircraft and flying around!!! I'm tired, been a long day *sigh*

 

[Mikep2323]

I've flown on united,american,a d jet blue with my ma in the bag it came in with the batteries in the little pouches in the bag and haven't had any issues at any airports at any tsa lines. I've flown through newark,atlanta,orlanda, miami,dallas ft worth ,and ft lauderdale airport without any issues.

 

[InvisibleName]

I've flown on united,american,a d jet blue with my ma in the bag it came in with the batteries in the little pouches in the bag and haven't had any issues at any airports at any tsa lines. I've flown through newark,atlanta,orlanda, miami,dallas ft worth ,and ft lauderdale airport without any issues.

But with all due respect, the security on internal USA flights can be somewhat lacking at times!

 

[MavicMo]

I fly with my drones all the time.

Some of the things I do are for safety and the others are to let the people (TSA) know what I'm doing.

• I run the batteries down to 30%
• I put electrical tape across the contacts
• I put them in a lipo bag (even though most lipo bags won't really do much)
• I make sure the batteries are secure, meaning not getting banged around
• I carry DJI's specs on the batteries to show they are below the voltage/amps most Airlines allow
• I get to the airport way early, find out where the Post Office is in the Airport just in case for whatever reason they won't let me through TSA with them, I'm not throwin out hundreds of dollars in batteries. I'll ship them home.

In all the flights I've taken I've never had an issue taking my drone(s) with me. Let alone have TSA ever ask me to open my backpack and check my drones....

I'm flying to FL from RI and want some advice on flying with the batteries . I'm bringing the goggles also . Do I drain the power to all batteries including goggles and controller ? . I just don't want an issue that will hold up me getting on the flight with them . And I don't want to have to give them up at the gate either ..... I believe that if they're powered down to a certain point would be best ? Thank you for any advice .

 

[Hayabusa]

Can you leave the battery in the drone or should that be removed?

 

[StokeyBry]

Can you leave the battery in the drone or should that be removed?

Wouldn't see a problem with that

I am flying with my MA tomorrow to Ireland. I have one battery in the drone and the other two in the travel bag with moulded connection protectors, discharged to roughly 30%.
I have left one in the drone because the airlines policy is somewhat unclear.

Lithium battery powered electronic devices Lithium ion batteries for portable (including medical) electronic devices, a Wh rating exceeding 100 Wh but not exceeding 160 Wh. For portable medical electronic devices only, lithium metal batteries with a lithium content exceeding 2 g but not exceeding 8 g.

Spare Lithium batteries Lithium ion batteries for portable (including medical) electronic devices, a Wh rating exceeding 100Wh but not exceeding 160 Wh. For portable medical electronic devices only, lithium metal batteries with a lithium content exceeding 2 g but not exceeding 8 g. Maximum of two spare batteries in carry-on baggage only. These batteries must be individually protected to prevent short circuits.

Portable electronic devices (including medical devices) containing lithium metal or lithium ion cells or batteries such as watches, calculating machines, cameras, cellular phones, laptop computers, camcorders, etc., when carried by passengers or crew for personal use. Batteries must not exceed 2 g for lithium metal batteries and 100 Wh for lithium ion batteries.

All spare batteries, including lithium metal or lithium ion cells or batteries, for such portable electronic devices must be carried in carry-on baggage only. These batteries must be individually protected to prevent short circuit.

Portable electronic devices containing non-spillable batteries, must be 12 V or less and 100 Wh or less. A maximum of 2 spare batteries may be carried.

 

[tcope]

Here is the thing.... You cannot check lipo so they need to be carry on.

TSA won't care about the Mavic or batteries. The _might_ do a swab test and that is all.

The airline won't even know you have the batteries unless you tell them. So there should not be an issue there.

That is how it will go in real life.

Most airlines do have a limit on the wattage of batteries but this should not create an issue unless you have a lot of batteries.

My recommendation... put tape or plastic over the battery connectors just in case someone does look at them. Take everything to the airport and don't worry about it. Thousands of people have taken drones on planes without any issues.

 

[WayneMHK]

..just look up the UPS 747 in Dubai.

Wow. Sure you want to use that example? First, it was a UPS flight, not a commercial flight; second, it was in the cargo bay; and third, there were over 81,000 lithium-type batteries in there. This is quite different than me packing 3 or 4 Mavic Air batteries in my case as carry-on. I understand your concern, and there's no doubt faulty lithium batteries are dangerous and safety preparations should be followed, but people fly with these low-energy DJI intelligent batteries all the time. There has not been one incident that I have heard of. Keep the terminals covered and there shouldn't be an issue.

 

[thebigbaddan]

Came here looking for video of you flying your mavic inside the plane... left here disappointed.

 

[ChrisW81]

TSA has told me that LiPo batteries "Must" be placed in a fire retardant bag; LiPo bags.

Over 100 watt/hr: max quantity in cabin is three(3).
Under 100 watt/hr: As many as you want.
** All batteries regardless of the quantity must be placed in a designated fire retardant bag with compartments or dividers between each battery.**

Note: This is the same info I have received from TSA and have successfully flown from all of the below Airports:
DFW
RSW
PNS
FLL
ORD
MSY

Hope this helps and as a side note, TSA could always change their minds right there onsite but never personally had a problem.

 

[ZoSo1]

Can you leave the battery in the drone or should that be removed?

I put them in a safe battery bag and had no problems . I would not leave it in the drone .

 

[StokeyBry]

My drone passed through security in it's case with a battery no problem, however the two spares in the shoulder bag got flagged up and had to have a manual search. It got the all clear after a bit of swobbing.