Solo Traveling Advice

[FlexFanatic]

I take a trip planned to St. Thomas in early September and hopefully I'll be taking my Solo with me. I currently use a Go Professional Case for storing and carrying my Solo and have considered purchasing the Solo backpack (if its every in stock).

So reading the TSA requirements storing lipo batteries with checked in luggage is a no-no so either I'll remove them and check in the GPC or carry everything on with me.

The question is, show I be making sure the batteries are completely discharged and should I also be putting the batteries in a lipo fireproof battery bag? If I discharge the batteries then I cannot prove they are functional because they will not power on.

 

[Lamda]

I take a trip planned to St. Thomas in early September and hopefully I'll be taking my Solo with me. I currently use a Go Professional Case for storing and carrying my Solo and have considered purchasing the Solo backpack (if its every in stock).

So reading the TSA requirements storing lipo batteries with checked in luggage is a no-no so either I'll remove them and check in the GPC or carry everything on with me.

The question is, show I be making sure the batteries are completely discharged and should I also be putting the batteries in a lipo fireproof battery bag? If I discharge the batteries then I cannot prove they are functional because they will not power on.

Hi Flex.

I've flown with my Solo a couple times now since I've had it. I used the cardboard case included with the Solo since nothing was available at the time. I had three batteries in the case. Security just wanted to look at the Solo after x-ray the first time and the second time I went through, he knew what it was and just wanted to swab it for a residue test.

If you want to be absolutely safe, the LiPO Fire bags are best, but the nice thing about these more expensive consumer batteries is that they come encased - unlike the more inexpensive hobby LiPOs which really should be transported in a fireproof case to be safest. LiPO bags are pretty cheap too.

As to the charge level, to be on the safe side, you can transport your batteries charged to 40-50%...similar to how your batteries were shipped brand new. I don't like keeping my LiPOs discharged low for too long.

I like to take my whole kit as carry on except the chargers which I put in my checked luggage. I don't trust my personal photo/electronic gear in checked luggage, even if I had a hard carry case. I might feel differently if I was shooting pro work with several cases of insured equipment - but I'm not. We've had incidents with handlers tossing luggage down 20ft into bins as they rush to make cutoff times.

Not checking your LiPOs and keeping them in carry-on is not only good for safety and security but also better for LiPO longevity. LiPOs don't tolerate rapid temperature and pressure changes well, hence some of the crazy fire incidents you might have seen online.

 

[Earldgrayjr]

It is my understanding that completely discharging these batteries ruins them

 

[Lamda]

It is my understanding that completely discharging these batteries ruins them

Yup. On another forum, others posted that they tested the voltage of the batteries after draining them close to Solo's battery cutoff and it appears that 3DR has calibrated the battery gauge to account for that safety margin, assuming the average consumer wouldn't know that about LiPOs.

 

[FlexFanatic]

Yup. On another forum, others posted that they tested the voltage of the batteries after draining them close to Solo's battery cutoff and it appears that 3DR has calibrated the battery gauge to account for that safety margin, assuming the average consumer wouldn't know that about LiPOs.

Interesting as I run my down to around 25% to 30% for each flight. Maybe I can push them a little more.

 

[Lamda]

Interesting as I run my down to around 25% to 30% for each flight. Maybe I can push them a little more.

There's another thread here where people have flown to about 10% safely. Some have noticed weird, erratic behavior if they let the battery drop to 5% or lower. I haven't had the need to use my battery under the 10% mark.

 

[Ryan]

So is it bad to travel and fly with them fully charged?

 

[Lamda]

So is it bad to travel and fly with them fully charged?

In general, the suggested best practice is to fully charge your batteries just before flying. Longer storage of batteries at full charge capacity may cause the cells to deteriorate or require another use/charge cycle before they perform optimally. There's varying opinion and literature out there if you search for it. Having many batteries and few chargers can cause logistics issues - but I don't feel sorry for you if you've been able to get that many batteries!

Storage of LiPO batteries in general, and especially when not using for 3 months or over, should be done in a cool, temperature-stable, dry location at storage voltage - the value of which is dependent on the type and number on the cells you have in the battery. On a percentage full scale, depending on the source, this can be somewhere between 30-50%. (Voltage decreases as these cell depletes stored energy.) 3DR recommends 50%. You'll also find their other safety and storage recommendations here:

http://3drobotics.com/kb/battery-safety-solo/

From a safety perspective, I haven't found specific "scientific" documentation on why transporting batteries with a lower charge is safer as it's relatively easy to do even if you don't have a hobby charger as the smart batteries have a gauge on them. Granted, I haven't tried very hard to find the "science" behind the safety recommendation. However, logically if we think about batteries as chemical storage of energy - less charge means less stored energy; seems this would be better in a fire/explosion scenario. Less gasoline in a tank in the presence of a spark or fire = potentially less risk?