38 replies to this topic

[rocky007]

Hello all

I am thinking to buy Celestron StarSense Explorer 150 Tabletop Dobsonian. (Or any other telescope?)

And I want to travel to my country on flight.

Is transporting a telescope through airport difficult?

please help me.

Thanks 

[BlueMoon]

Contact the airline you intend to travel on and see what their requirements and limitations are would be my first step. Once you have that information, it will help in your selection of a suitable telescope and the precautions you'll need to take to transport it.

Edited by BlueMoon, 08 February 2025 - 02:06 PM.

[hyiger]

I've had no issue transporting small telescope as a carry-on (like an 80mm refractor). I definitely don't recommend having it in checked baggage so check with the airline to make sure. I have had issues with my astro cameras  since TSA doesn't know what to make of them when they come through the xray. Once I explain what they are I don't have any issues after that. 

Edited by hyiger, 08 February 2025 - 02:07 PM.

[ShaulaB]

Last December, I flew with a SeeStar S50 that fit easily into the overhead compartment of the AirBus.

 

We put the SeeStar in its case into a duffle bag with a shoulder strap. That made it much easier to carry though the many km walk through the airport.

 

I have used the 150mm tabletop telescope. It is much heavier than the SeeStar and more awkward to carry.

Edited by ShaulaB, 08 February 2025 - 02:18 PM.

[Tony Flanders]

Hello all

I am thinking to buy Celestron StarSense Explorer 150 Tabletop Dobsonian. (Or any other telescope?)

And I want to travel to my country on flight.

That sounds very challenging. The tube is far too big to take as carry-on, and if I take any optics as checked luggage I want them very well padded indeed. A 150-mm f/5 table-top Dob, plus the necessary padding, might well require oversized luggage charges, which are very steep for international flights. Dobs are wonderful scopes in many ways, but you could hardly pick a design that does worse in terms of airline transportation.

 

If you really need to fly with a telescope, I recommend sticking with small refractors. Take the tube in carry-on and check the tripod.

 

The only astro instrument that's genuinely painless to transport by air is hand-held binoculars.

[triplemon]

I never had an issue with any telescope that fits into your (fully size rule compliant) carry on: ST80, obviously homebuilt 6" travel truss dob.

 

I had inspectors look though every single eyepiece, though. Same a with big telephoto lenses. I guess, even the smaller ones still look like Al's proverbial holy grenade !

[zizzapnia]

That particular model will be require a large suitcase or two for the tube and mount that you would have to check. You'd have to break down the mount unless you go oversize luggage.

 

I recently flew on a U.S. domestic flight with a Skywatcher 150P collapsible tube (about 17" long collapsed) in a 24" carry on roller suitcase (overhead compartment) and a Svbony SV225 alt-az mount on a homemade table, which, when broken down, fit with all the other gear including the folding tripod stool shown, in a 26" checked suitcase. That's about as big as I would attempt, but it worked very well. I carried on 15x70 and 10x56 binoculars and my eyepieces (under the seat bags between me and my wife).

 

 

 

[BucketDave]

I've flown several times with my 65mm refractor. It fits nicely in my hand baggage. I imagine an 80mm diameter refractor would be close to the length limit.

I carry a home-made tripod with me - that really confuses the X-ray inspectors. I now a have some pictures on my phone showing :
A) the whole set-up with tripod + mount + telescope + mini-computer.
B) some of my astro pictures.

When the inspector realises what it does, their face lights up and you're good to go!

[SeattleScott]

Hello all
I am thinking to buy Celestron StarSense Explorer 150 Tabletop Dobsonian. (Or any other telescope?)
And I want to travel to my country on flight.
Is transporting a telescope through airport difficult?
please help me.
Thanks

Well you would have to pack it in a checked bag, unless your flight has bigger overhead bins than domestic US flights. You could get a 6” Mak in an overhead bin. And attach a Starsense dock to it (I do this with my 6” Mak).

The problem with checking the luggage is it has to survive the baggage handlers playing catch with it. For a metal manual alt az mount, fine. For a glass mirror, that’s iffy.

[NiteGuy]

A story...many years ago, I used to fly with my 6-inch F4 Dob. It was a superb travel scope, especially for a Dark Sky Destination. Those were the days when they let you put odd things in their storage closet on the plane. The mount was 1/2" plywood pieces that easily unscrewed to take up very little space in a big suitcase (just a bit heavy).

 

Then came the day when the airline said a BIG NO to the closet storage space and, of course, the scope (OTA) wouldn't quite fit in the overhead compartment so they took it off the plane and gave it to baggage. Well, baggage put it in a cardboard box and taped it all up with FRAGILE stickers all over it. Everybody knows that the word 'FRAGILE' is DEATH TO TELESCOPES and GUITARS (watch the hilarious YouTube video and song, UNITED BREAKS GUITARS). At my destination, I picked up the scope from baggage claim and the cardboard box was a total tattered mess. I built the 6-inch F4 like a tank, but when I unwrapped it, the diagonal mirror had sprung out of its holder and was just bouncing around loose inside the tube (it took a VERY, VERY HARD DROP to do that). Miraculously, neither the diagonal or primary got scratched or damaged.

 

These days, I almost never travel with a scope but, if I do, it's my small 80mm APO in a hard case along with a medium-duty tripod and a small gimbal mount for the scope. Hardly worth the effort for anything other than a Total Solar Eclipse.

[sevenofnine]

Welcome to C/N! 

 

You may want to consider a scope that was specifically made to travel like one of the Seestars. Instead of an eyepiece, the image forms on your cell phone's screen. The new S30 looks very travel friendly to me. Good luck! 

 

https://www.highpoin...smart-telescope.

Edited by sevenofnine, 08 February 2025 - 07:23 PM.

[Don W]

In 2005 I took a TV 102i (4”) and TV Gibraltar mount to Australia.

 

1. That scope was made for imaging so it was shorter than the TV 102. An extension tube was used to bring it to visual focus. It was surrounded by clothes and bubble wrap and fit in a suitcase.

 

2. The stock legs of the Gibraltar mount were replaced with shorter, non-adjustable legs that I fabricated. That mount was stuffed into a second suitcase.

 

3. The mount was fitted with digital setting circles and Argo Navis computer.

 

4. A Bag-O-Naglers was stuffed into the Carry-on bag.

 

Miraculously, it all made it to Australia and back undamaged.

DonW

[Dave Mitsky]

I've flown to Bolivia with my 80mm f/5 Orion ShortTube 80 refractor as a carry on and its tripod in my suitcase but that was quite some time ago.

[therealdmt]

I’ve flown with my Skywatcher 72ED in its included case (along with a 1.25" diagonal, 7-21 zoom, 30mm Plossl and a UHC filter), a carbon fiber tripod in its included bag, and a Sparta mount in my backpack, all taken as carry-on.

 

For more aperture, for me, I’d look at an ST-102 or a SkyWatcher 130p collapsible tabletop Dob, either one mounted on my same tripod and Sparta Mount (or some better small mount; I just know the Sparta). The ST-102 might [or certainly for a longer 4" refractor, will] have to have its focuser temporarily taken off so that it can be bagged/cased to fit within limits.
 

A C5 SCT could be another one to consider, as could various other possibilities.

 

The 150mm tabletop Dob though seems too big to me for flying with, although I’ve read a post from at least one member here who’s done it successfully. Another member regularly travels by air with his C6. For me, traveling by air is already hard enough, so I’d be looking at something a bit smaller myself, as above

[gnowellsct]

There are destinations and there are destinations. In some countries customs officials might be happy to relieve you of your telescope by confiscating it on some pretext.

So there are telescopes and there are telescopes. You might want to choose a telescope that won't break the bank and won't require a 5-year wait to replace.

It was a lot of work to get my 5-in refractor, tripod, and mount from New York to New Mexico. I think it would be easier to drive. The refractor optical tube breaks into three pieces so that is what I took as carry-on. The other stuff I packed as best I could and shipped it to my destination via FedEx.

My shipping costs for the trip out and the trip back came to a total of $1,500 round trip.

There is something to be said for just purchasing a C6 or a C8 at your destination. Maybe you could work out a buyback deal with the vendor. But what if you couldn't? It would be cost-effective just to leave the telescope set up in the middle of nowhere and send a note to the nearest astronomy club that if they go to such and such a place there's a free telescope.

In the end I took the Astro - physics refractor because as a "Gran Turismo" travel is in its name. And in the end I thought what the heck do I have this thing for if not to take out to a perfect sky and use it.

So I did. It worked out. But by the time I got old enough to afford this gear and to afford the trip I was getting past the age of having the energy. It's so much easier to take a nap.

2 hours from here by car there is a nice area in the Adirondacks for observing with cabins for rent. It can be bug infested. It can get rained out. When you are rained out you have a nice lake view while you grill. You can take all the Astro gear that fits into your car for free. There's no air ticket. And what you save on shipping the Astro gear covers the cost of renting the cabin. From time to time the sky can be as brilliant as in New Mexico. But you won't see omega centauri.

Greg N

Edited by gnowellsct, 09 February 2025 - 12:28 PM.

[gnowellsct]

Welcome to C/N!

You may want to consider a scope that was specifically made to travel like one of the Seestars. Instead of an eyepiece, the image forms on your cell phone's screen. The new S30 looks very travel friendly to me. Good luck!

https://www.highpoin...smart-telescope.

And if someone stole it they'd be doing you a favor

[Ionthesky]

My good friend and observing buddy flies regularly to India and bought a C5 specifically for this kind of travel.  He's very happy with it!

 

I'll text him.  He may want to weigh in on specifics, and details on his mount, etc.

 

Happy trails!

[gnowellsct]

My good friend and observing buddy flies regularly to India and bought a C5 specifically for this kind of travel. He's very happy with it!

I'll text him. He may want to weigh in on specifics, and details on his mount, etc.

Happy trails!

That sounds about right. I have a friend who took a C8 to Mongolia when he was visiting the in-laws and he just left it there with them.

[Japetus Eye]

I traveled to Colombia a little over two years ago with a Celestron Starsense Explorer LT 70. The aperture is modest but the optical performance seems very decent to me. The tube is relatively long (it's f/10), so I padded it with bubble wrap and put it in a tubular bag with handles of appropriate dimensions for the contents. The intention was to take it with me in the cabin as a "handbag", although its dimensions exceeded the norm. But if they didn't let me and sent it to the hold, I had the peace of mind that it was well padded. At the check-in counter I mentioned that it was a gift telescope, and they didn't put up any obstacles. At the baggage control it went through without any problems, and at boarding time, they didn't say anything to me either, so it finally ended up traveling in the upper compartment of the seats, without incident. My wife carried the eyepieces in her carry-on bag, and the tripod, mount and other elements traveled well protected inside a checked suitcase, among clothes. Everything arrived safe and sound.

[DeepSky Di]

https://astrobackyar...trophotography/

 

Astrrobackyard went to Australia and wrote about their experiences flying with gear. At one point their bags were gate checked and they ended up with telescopes under the seat in front.

[rocky007]

Thank you so much for reply all friends.
I think traveling with big telescope is hard.

Edited by rocky007, 10 February 2025 - 01:29 PM.

[rocky007]

Welcome to C/N!

You may want to consider a scope that was specifically made to travel like one of the Seestars. Instead of an eyepiece, the image forms on your cell phone's screen. The new S30 looks very travel friendly to me. Good luck!

https://www.highpoin...smart-telescope.

Thanks 😀
But I don't want smart telescope.
I want to view planet by eyes
Not like screen.

[triplemon]

Why not get a ST80? It fits easily into carry on luggage, even under the seat. Along with a sturdy photo tripod that goes into the checked luggage.

Its also all pieces you can sell easily within days here in the classifieds, if you don't need them anymore. So not much to loose.

[Diana N]

If you really need to fly with a telescope, I recommend sticking with small refractors. Take the tube in carry-on and check the tripod.

 

The only astro instrument that's genuinely painless to transport by air is hand-held binoculars.

I'd add the OTA of one of the collapsible 5" or 6" tabletop Dobs (like the AWB One Sky) or a Celestron C5 or a 5" Maksutov to that list, but nothing bigger! (For these, though, you need to be absolutely sure you'll have overhead bin space available, as they are all a bit too large to go underneath the seat).

 

Binoculars are definitely the easiest, as they don't weigh a lot and you don't need to check a mount.

Edited by Diana N, 11 February 2025 - 02:40 PM.

[Mikehuerto]

I just got back from Peru. Mainly a family visit, but I wanted to do a bit of a AP, so packed a Samyang 135 F2, a ASI 294MC, a SW GTI Staradventurer and a guide cam and guide scope into a carry on case - all less than 10 kg. I put the tripod and counterweights in my checked in bag. You can see the images I shot on my Astrobin page listed in my signature.   Here's a photo of the set-up. And of course my laptop was in a computer bag, that was included with my carry on allowance. I traveled via total of 4 airports on the outbound, and 4 on the inbound with 4 different airlines. The stop overs includes,  Madrid, Lima and Panama, with absolutely know problems at security and customs. Though I did carry with me the original invoices, just in case there was a problem with customs on return to Spain. Here's a photo of the setup at a friends house in Peru.

 

In the end I never set up guiding and just settled for 60 sec frames. Worked out fine. So next time, I´ll leave the guide cam at home. 

 

Edited by Mikehuerto, 11 February 2025 - 05:48 PM.