[dtengineering]

Two years ago we had a nasty little TSA experience taking VEX robots to the FTC championship in Atlanta.

No problem getting on the plane here in Vancouver, but after transferring in Dallas, the robots, shipped as checked luggage in 18"x18"x18" shipping crates were nowhere to be found. The airline, at first, didn't know where they were, either.

Not good when your matches start the next morning. (And, as one would expect at a FIRST event, we had several offers from other teams at our hotel to help out with spare parts and whatever was needed to rebuild a machine from scratch that night.)

After repeated calls to the airline, they eventually said that it WAS a TSA delay, and they delivered the robots to our hotel at about 3:00am.

One of the brilliant TSA inspectors seemed to have had some problem putting the robot back into the shipping crate, and appeared to have solved the problem by sitting on the lid of the crate. Not sure how else they would have bent the C-channel.

I know all that story does is add to your worries, and doesn't offer any helpful advice on how to avoid the problems, but the end results was a happy one... the teams made the elimination rounds and had a good time. And if you ever do "get stuck" without your batteries, robot, or parts... ask around. Emergency robot rebuilds from donated spare parts are classic FRC examples of GP. Can't see why it wouldn't work the same for FLL or FTC (as it very nearly ended up doing, for us).

Good luck!

Jason