SingAstro

Yes the tripod cannot bring on board the airplane. I was stopped once when I was transiting at Narita airport and had to go through lots of trouble of getting it wrapped and put on board the airplane; this is to prevent it to be used as a weapon. I wonder how people ever use a tripod as a weapon. hmm. Therefore, if I were to travel with my scope, I would dismantle the tripod and put it in the bag if it is large enough.

You know what the irony is? My travelling companion was carrying a retractable walking stick with a pointed end and they let him right through ..

The security varies from country to country. When I went to Cambodia, they allowed me to carry the tripod onboard. It's better to call and check with the airline first.

Cheers!

i managed to check in the tripod for the 90mm mak no probs.. jz padded the mount... im flying to newark/new york so im pretty sure i wont be hand carrying any tripods! hahaha

like i said i work in the airport baggage handling business and seen the stuff at work! u can put all the fragile stickers you wana put!! the transit from the check-in counter to the plane is still a pretty rough one!! unless your checking in first class.. they will bring ur luggage fm check in straight to xray.. then xray they will hand carry to the area where the handlers transfer to the plane.. but handlers jz chuck everything in anywhere! haha i saw a guy drop a guitar case, golf bags and all those hard cases!

haha but to go back on topic i think i will get the manfrotto and take the mak instead!

jeremy,

Did you hand carry your Megrez into the plane? Didn;'t your Megrez have a case (hard or soft?) too?

Got case, soft. I put the entire case into a Samsonite Oyster as mentioned above. Reason I didn't want to carry on was I already had a large back pack and initially thought I could carry the tripod on. Read the above for how I packed it. To me it looks really tight and snug in there. 2 in 1 Pelican case .. HAHA ...