Traveling with Batteries in the Inspire 2

Ryan Carpenter · Mar 22, 2017

Hi all,

Just got an Inspire 2, coming from an Inspire 1. For as long as I had the I1 I never kept batteries stored in the bird. Just felt like a bad idea. But my dilemma now is that I have 6 batteries and only 4 slots in the case. I don't plan on storing them in the bird for really long times but I am curious for ease of travel, leaving 2 connected say for 4-10 hours. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

NickU · Mar 22, 2017

Why not Use the packaging that came with the batteries as padding and store the extras in the spare space at the bottom end of the case? I've a couple if extra sets that I store there along with a couple if lenses.

Brett lickle · Mar 22, 2017

Should I not leave battery's connected in the drone

Ryan Carpenter · Mar 22, 2017

Brett lickle said:
Should I not leave battery's connected in the drone

This was the answer I was looking for.

However, I just learned, according to the FAA, you are not supposed to put batteries in a UA unless ready to fly.

Ryan Carpenter · Mar 22, 2017

NickU said:
Why not Use the packaging that came with the batteries as padding and store the extras in the spare space at the bottom end of the case? I've a couple if extra sets that I store there along with a couple if lenses.

I was thinking that would work, however, I'm storing other things there.

emtea · Mar 23, 2017

I store mine in the aircraft all the time when traveling. At home, the batteries sit in lipo bags but otherwise, I don't see the harm of having it in the aircraft. For flying, IATA regulations and most airlines require you to carry spare lithium batteries on board in your carry-on (i.e. you cannot have spare lithium batteries in your check-in bag) but you can have a lithium baterry in your check-in bag if it's in the equipment, so things like electric toothbrushes, shavers, laptops, ipads, and your drone battery inside your drone can be checked-in. I think the idea is that there are then no exposed terminals and the circuit is complete, which I guess could be safer for some reason unknown to me because I'm not an electrician but anyway...

Ryan Carpenter · Mar 23, 2017

emtea said:
I store mine in the aircraft all the time when traveling. At home, the batteries sit in lipo bags but otherwise, I don't see the harm of having it in the aircraft. For flying, IATA regulations and most airlines require you to carry spare lithium batteries on board in your carry-on (i.e. you cannot have spare lithium batteries in your check-in bag) but you can have a lithium baterry in your check-in bag if it's in the equipment, so things like electric toothbrushes, shavers, laptops, ipads, and your drone battery inside your drone can be checked-in. I think the idea is that there are then no exposed terminals and the circuit is complete, which I guess could be safer for some reason unknown to me because I'm not an electrician but anyway...

Thanks for the reply, I'm gonna try it for a while, seems like we leave batteries in things all the time... Laptops and such. Shouldn't be a problem.

jhardway · Mar 23, 2017

Depending on where you are going to travel the sUAS, if your going to check it then the FAA requires you to carry batteries with you, This way if there is an issue people are right there do deal with it and can be handled with available suppression. If the batteries are below then it is a much bigger problem, and the nature of Lipo's, the issue is about suffocation of the battery and there is not much options at that point.

The FAA says you can only bring two batteries but I have not had much of an issue past, however with that said I would attach a few to the battery hub and take them on that way, this way they are attached and its a one piece unit, I also do not think traveling with them attached would be an issue, and as of the FAA like in laptop if the battery is part of the device then that is how they view laptops and cell phone.

best

The Editor · Mar 23, 2017

jhardway said:
Depending on where you are going to travel the sUAS, if your going to check it then the FAA requires you to carry batteries with you, This way if there is an issue people are right there do deal with it and can be handled with available suppression. If the batteries are below then it is a much bigger problem, and the nature of Lipo's, the issue is about suffocation of the battery and there is not much options at that point.

The FAA says you can only bring two batteries but I have not had much of an issue past, however with that said I would attach a few to the battery hub and take them on that way, this way they are attached and its a one piece unit, I also do not think traveling with them attached would be an issue, and as of the FAA like in laptop if the battery is part of the device then that is how they view laptops and cell phone.

best

No you are not limited on the number of batteries you can carry providing they are under 100Wh (which TB50's are).
You could carry twenty of them on if you wanted to (or more) although you may get some funny looks.

I can't believe this question is still coming up with the amount of times it's been covered on the forum and still people are getting it wrong or giving out incorrect information.

Under 100Wh (or 8 grams of lithium) unlimited number allowable - must be in carry on
101Wh up to a max of 160Wh (greater than 8 grams of lithium) limited to two per passenger - again, must be carry on.
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...fo/media/Airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

jhardway · Mar 23, 2017

The Editor said:
No you are not limited on the number of batteries you can carry providing they are under 100Wh (which TB50's are).
You could carry twenty of them on if you wanted to (or more) although you may get some funny looks.

I can't believe this question is still coming up with the amount of times it's been covered on the forum and still people are getting it wrong or giving out incorrect information.

Under 100Wh (or 8 grams of lithium) unlimited number allowable - must be in carry on
101Wh up to a max of 160Wh (greater than 8 grams of lithium) limited to two per passenger - again, must be carry on.
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...fo/media/Airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

Maybe people get it wrong because this is what they were told in general terms by TSA agents when I was traveling with my Inspire 1, however looking at what you put here the I2 Batteries are fine, however the tb48 batteries for the inspire 1 are over the limit with 129Wh and the TB47 comes in at 99.9Wh.

The Editor · Mar 23, 2017

jhardway said:
Maybe people get it wrong because this is what they were told in general terms by TSA agents when I was traveling with my Inspire 1, however looking at what you put here the I2 Batteries are fine, however the tb48 batteries for the inspire 1 are over the limit with 129Wh and the TB47 comes in at 99.9Wh.

Absolutely - the TB48's would be one of the batteries where you are limited to two per person. Don't forget though if you were say traveling as a family of four you could take 8 TB48's with you.

I have never had an issue when traveling but I do always carry with me both the FAA Battery sheet I linked to as well as the declaration of conformity and MSDS sheets for the batteries I am carrying.

jhardway · Mar 23, 2017

Editor - yes the family does help but also many thanks for your input and pointing out the battery specs, I never took the time to think about it, and just in general because of how powerful the i2 is over the 1 automatically thought the batteries would also be more bring more to it. Over all I would say from the DJI side of things that was well thought out.

Cheers

Ryan Carpenter · Mar 23, 2017

Problem solved... The Inspire won't fit in the case with batteries attached to it. Guess I should have tried that first before posting. :-(

buggyman1 · Mar 24, 2017

Its a pretty easy fix to get them to fit.

buggyman1 · Mar 24, 2017

One more pic.

Ryan Carpenter · Mar 24, 2017

buggyman1 said:
One more pic.View attachment 12895

How did you get such a clean cut? That's awesome, thank you!

buggyman1 · Mar 24, 2017

Box cutter blade. Just trace it out with a sharpie.

Batteryman1952 · Mar 25, 2017

The Editor said:
Absolutely - the TB48's would be one of the batteries where you are limited to two per person. Don't forget though if you were say traveling as a family of four you could take 8 TB48's with you.
I have never had an issue when traveling but I do always carry with me both the FAA Battery sheet I linked to as well as the declaration of conformity and MSDS sheets for the batteries I am carrying.

Everyone...I thought that is would be interesting for the group. Here are 5 18650's (total approx 55Wh) in thermal runaway.

Thatius Dudeson · Mar 25, 2017

Batteryman1952 said:
Everyone...I thought that is would be interesting for the group. Here are 5 18650's (total approx 55Wh) in thermal runaway.

Thank you.... unfortunately probably still lost on some though.

InB4 "still gonna store them in the device" lol...

emtea · Mar 25, 2017

The Editor said:
No you are not limited on the number of batteries you can carry providing they are under 100Wh (which TB50's are).
You could carry twenty of them on if you wanted to (or more) although you may get some funny looks.

I can't believe this question is still coming up with the amount of times it's been covered on the forum and still people are getting it wrong or giving out incorrect information.

Under 100Wh (or 8 grams of lithium) unlimited number allowable - must be in carry on
101Wh up to a max of 160Wh (greater than 8 grams of lithium) limited to two per passenger - again, must be carry on.
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_or...fo/media/Airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf

FYI, some airports/countries will have limits on batteries even <100Wh. I know most airlines that I fly international have limits, it's often 2 per passenger. I was once at Frankfurt airport and although the airline was fine with my batteries, the airport security wouldn't let me past with more than 2 per person no matter what I tried to argue (IATA rules, airline rules, etc...). They flat out said this is the rule at Frankfurt airport, so your mileage may vary. One thing I've found that helps is not stuffing all the batteries together. I used to carry my batteries all in one bag, each in a lipo bag and my home airport actually appreciates this (I show them the batteries, they write my a paper and notify the airline that I have these on-board and it's all great). I've had a lot more trouble at other airports and now what I do is I separate all the batteries into as many bags as I can, I'll toss two in my backpack, two in the rolling carry-on, maybe a couple more in a duty free bag, and stuff one into my coat or something, it seems to get me flagged down a lot less often. To be clear, I am not advocating skirting laws or airline regulations, but this can save you a lot of time/hassle even when you are within the law.