Advice on Flying / Plane Trips With A Detector + batteries

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As above - I am travelling with QANTAS and I know it would be best to ring them but with the CEO apologising recently for people being on hold for up to 8 hrs I'm just not so keen on that 🤔



Nope, QANTAS website gives good details on what can and can't be taken as carry on and stowed luggage. My batteries are all good according to their regs 👍


Regardless of what a person on the phone might tell me or the website says, it is the people on the scanners that are the ones that are going to stop me and give me a headache. Hence, why I am asking if anybody has any recent experience of flying with a detector. Was it plain sailing, were their issues, did they listen to reason, were you made to change how things were packed, etc.?


Cheers, N.E.


https://zendure.com/blogs/news/what...anes?msclkid=2cdd5352c68211ec97bde8a64b5465d6
The latest model QED (PL4) has 2 optional "powerbanks" as the power source. One is 10000mAH and the other 15000 mAH. Both are below the limit described in the above link. The other advantage is if you are out detecting and your mobile phone or external detector audio battery goes flat you can use the powerbank to charge it.
 
Bit of an update re: the travel on a plane thing.

Arrived at Tullamarine with the wife and a son. Wife stayed with my checked luggage whilst I tried to make it through security to make sure they would let me though. The main part of the GPX 6000, 2 X coils and the 2 X pieces of the shaft were in backpack with a few other bits and pieces of electronics stuff - batteries and chargers, etc. Total weight - 6.2 kg. Allowed weight is 7 kg.

"Sorry sir, what's in this bag?" asked the x-ray man.

"It is a metal detector and 2 coils." I replied. He waved someone over to check it out.

The lady looked in it and asked if she could unpack it. I happily said she could but it was packed like Tetras blocks and please be careful with it and careful not to lose anything. She looked at it, dropped things, collected up the bits and pieces and then said "no, you can't take this on the plane". I politely asked why not and that I would prefer to take it as carry on as it was expensive and I didn't want it to get broken or lost.

She just said it wasn't something I could take on a plane. I said that I had checked all of the regulations and there was nothing about not taking it on the plane and that everything was adhered to re: storage of batteries, size of the battery, etc. She said she would go and ask someone else which she did.

She came back and said "No, it can't go on" and indicated for me to walk back out to the other side of the security area whilst she carried my bag. As she handed it over I asked what was the actual reason behind the decision and she advised "it is too heavy and if it fell out of the overhead locker it would hurt someone". I politely advised that it was 6.2 kg which is under the allowed weight and people with hard cases that go overhead are likely to do much more damage. She just said "No" and that "it was not their decision, it was the rules from CASA" or some crap excuse. There was no way they were letting me past.

So that is it. It doesn't matter what the QANTAS website or someone over the phone tells you, if the knobs at security don't want to let you through that is the end of it :mad:

Packaged everything up in the checked baggage as best as is possible and sent it underneath the plane. On arrival to Perth I was sitting next to a lady that was on the window seat. She was making noises and shaking her head as we were sitting there waiting to disembark. I asked "Are you watching the baggage handlers?". She said "Yes, and they are just throwing shit everywhere". F*^%ing r--soles.
 
Yep just about exactly the same as my experience. Sure l dazzled them by quoting a few CAR's & CAO's and got thru, but at the end of the day just not worth the angst. I was also lucky that l got a great pilot and was more than happy to help. Apart from that hope the trip was great ?👍
 
Yep just about exactly the same as my experience. Sure l dazzled them by quoting a few CAR's & CAO's and got thru, but at the end of the day just not worth the angst. I was also lucky that l got a great pilot and was more than happy to help. Apart from that hope the trip was great ?👍
Yes, thanks Bogger, the trip was REALLY good. Out bush, good amount of gold, great company, great food. I've almost finished off a trip report. Gold pics are in the show and tell from about a week ago.

Often you build yourself up for a trip like that and you just hope that it ends up being as good as you planned for it to be. It was 🙂
 

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