question: I would think some have to fly to NATs events and take there ship. if yes, what kind of cost is it to put the boat on the airplane with you? Or is it shipped to events another way? want to attend a event in the future, so trying to gather some data.
I flew to Nats last year. I bought a hard case for an 88 key keyboard, was able to fit a Moltke and a big Jap cruiser in it with most of the support stuff. You can't take co2 bottles or capsules on the plane, I mailed those. I also mailed the radios, tools, spares, etc before the event. All in all it was an ok way to do things, though I wouldn't reccomend Delta Airlines
Stephen uses a hard-sided golf club case for his South Carolina. The advantage there is that the airlines typically (though check to be sure before you book a particular flight) don't charge for the bag being oversized, as they might if you had put the ship in a box of the same size. The golf club case is good protection and just counts as one of the checked bags. However, it gets opened EVERY SINGLE TIME by TSA. We always include one of our postcards and a note about what it is, since of course it looks quite odd on the xray.
What exactly is the support equipment that you put in the Golf Bag? I am planning to fly to Nats for 2013.
I've flown to NATS a number of years (2004,2006,2007,2009) using a hard case is the way to go but I would highly recommend shipping support equipment (spares and whatever tools you need, CO2 bottles, batteries) using regular shipping channels. Having done both shipping the equipment is much easier than flying with it. The hard case generally has the boat and radio in it, and as Keri said they always get searched by TSA, which really isnt a big deal and just TSA doing thier job.
The last couple of times I have flown out with the golf case, I included almost everything I needed for the ship. That included radios and bottles. I will sometimes put the superstructure in my clothes luggage, as they are less likely to break it there. For the bottles, I've generally been ok pulling the burst disk out, putting both in a small clear bag, and including a note saying that the removal of the burst disk makes it impossible to hold pressure. Also make sure that the bottle is one of the first things they see when they open the case; they will hunt through the case for them. The ship itself gets wrapped in a lightweight blanket, and I put one of my postcards on top. The biggest ship I've put in a golf case was a Baden. It was a really close fit, but it worked. My usual traveling ship is a South Carolina. TSA is really hard on cage masts. They have turned many of them into miniature cheerleader Pom Poms. I now have mine secure only with magnets so I can stow them somewhere somewhat safe. Stephen Morgret Strike Models
It's close to the NY/CT border, an easy drive from NJ. Of course, I'm driving it from GA, so I may be biased.
Okay, new year, new Nats! Looks like the IRC Nats will be in June at Greenbriar State Park, (near) Hagerstown, MD next year. The voting is not complete but.... we have been wanting to return to this location for years but the park would not allow it. Recently a deligation (Steve Andrews and Tom Tanner) made a visit to the powers that be at Greenbriar and obtained permission to again use the park in the summer. There are some changes: We will set up on the opposite shore (no carry the boats down the hill), Cars can drive up to the location for unloading., and the boaters will be further away for the action, NO shooting on Sunday and boat speed testing late in the afternoon. We plan to try the new arraingement at our fall regional (Oct. 4-6, 2013.) Hotel: Comfort Inn. Hagerstown, MD 301-739-9050 Group: Model Boat Group $69 per.night 10 rooms reserved until Sept 20 (they will release the extra rooms at that time.) Regionals dates Oct 4 through Oct 6. Greenbriar is an excellent location with the lake being shallow enough (except for a new channel from the launch area to the main lake) to walk across.
Ditto. If Nats will be in Hagerstown, I'll make plans to attend. Got the perfect ship for the place. Heh.
