Tools On Airlines

[Jeff Tanner]

>I will be flying with my tuning toolkit in a week. I would prefer
>to take the tool case with me as carry-on luggage. However I
>am not sure how the security people will perceive all the
>unusual tools. I would hate to check it as baggage and never
>see it again. Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect?
>
>Thanks in advance.
>Joel
>
>Joel Nelson - K4JUM                      Piano Technicians are
>North Bennett St School                 Grand and Upright
>Piano Technology Student                   People
>Boston, MA

Hi Joel,
Several years ago on a choir tour to Europe I carried my tuning hammer,
mutes, fork, screwdriver, etc., in my carry-on bag so that I could tune the
Yamaha electric grand we were taking with us.  I should have put it in the
flight case with the piano (and I did just that on the return flight)!  I
thought I would never get the tuning hammer through customs in Atlanta.  I
don't know what they thought it was, but it took several supervisors taking
it apart and inspecting it before I was allowed to board with it.  That was
back in 1985 when there were a couple of airport bombings and that flight
over Lockerby (spelling?), Scotland was blown out of the sky a few days
later (all that happened while we were over there.  But I expect that there
may be even higher security now due to that idiot terrorist we've heard so
much about in the news this year....his name escapes me.

If you've ever tuned in a prison, you can likely expect a similar inspection.

Good luck!
Jeff

Jeff Tanner, Piano Technician
School of Music
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
(803)-777-4392 (phone)
(803)-777-6508 (fax)