Getting to the 2008 Honolulu Regionals doesn't require breaking the bank

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Alex Cormier

you guys and gals should have a nice 6.5-7 hour flight if it's non stop.

My family did it after i graduated HS. it's an amazing place to take a vacation and i will return some day. try to stay away from babies on the plane as much as possible. that was the only problem of the entire trip for us.

More like 11-12 hours of flight time, plus layover time... that'd be brutal.

It's going to be interesting to see how many teams are left out in the cold...with room for only 35 teams or so, and the massive interest expressed here...If teams don't sign up for it as their first regional, there's no way they're getting in. It might even be tough as a first regional depending on how quick you are.

[Jeff K.]

Originally Posted by Cory

More like 11-12 hours of flight time, plus layover time... that'd be brutal.

It's going to be interesting to see how many teams are left out in the cold...with room for only 35 teams or so, and the massive interest expressed here...If teams don't sign up for it as their first regional, there's no way they're getting in. It might even be tough as a first regional depending on how quick you are.

It was around 6-7 hours from LA, so maybe even up to 14 hours from East Coast. Alex, true that about babies. Thank the inventor of the noise canceling headphone.

I would guess somewhere between 12-20 teams should sprout up around Hawaii.

I can't wait to go back to Hawaii. It's only been 3 days and I already miss it.

The mokulele was fun both ways. Mahalo to Team 368 for being soo epic!!

[KelliV]

I flew ATA to Hawaii, it was a great experience actually. It took around 8-10 hours(I think) from Chicago and we had a layover in Pheonix.

The only thing I would say to watch out for is the hopper jets to the islands. Ours was hours late. We took Mahalo Air, I dont know how bad the others are but I do remember being stuck in the Honolulu Airport for a long time.

[TKM.368]

Originally Posted by Stonefan5271138

The mokulele was fun both ways. Mahalo to Team 368 for being soo epic!!

It was our pleasure and we're glad you folks had a good time. Thanks for coming down and holding all those sessions.

As for all of those planning to make it to the Hawaii Regional, all I can say is I hope you're there right when TIMS comes up for registering because it's looking like there's going to be a lot of disappointed teams who don't make the cut. If you're planning to come to Hawaii, I suggest you have a solid alternate first regional and don't put all your eggs in one basket.

We're looking forward to hosting all those teams that are fortunate enough to get a slot and wish everyone the best of luck!

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by dbeck103

Team 103 is definitely coming and will be on the same flight as 25 - We will be having some strategy sessions on the long flight. We can't wait for this to happen.

Glad that you folks have everything worked out so far. Now all you have to do is get on TIMS the moment it opens.
Best of luck and hope to see you all in Hawaii.

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by TKM.368

It was our pleasure and we're glad you folks had a good time. Thanks for coming down and holding all those sessions.

As for all of those planning to make it to the Hawaii Regional, all I can say is I hope you're there right when TIMS comes up for registering because it's looking like there's going to be a lot of disappointed teams who don't make the cut. If you're planning to come to Hawaii, I suggest you have a solid alternate first regional and don't put all your eggs in one basket.

We're looking forward to hosting all those teams that are fortunate enough to get a slot and wish everyone the best of luck!

I would like to second that. After bringing a bunch of Punahou students there on Monday and Tuesday, they really enjoyed the valuable experience that you folks provided. thanks again and hope to see you all in Hawaii for our regional.

Glenn

[waiakea11]

Of course all said and done, some of the hawaii teams will have to deal with the shipping issues. I know of a couple of teams (like ours) that might be heading to seattle the week before...but yeah...the sooner you book your flights, the better rates you willl get, and as soon as you can sign up, you should.

[Kirk]

Where were you able to find $119 - $149 each way to HNL? The best I can find leaving the West coast is $200-$250 each way from LAX. Leaving the 27th and coming back on the 30th.

[TKM.368]

It will be hard to purchase really cheap fares since they are often last minute. For example, ATA.com had one way fares from LA and Oakland for $124 and $129, respectively. There are a few problems, however, with getting such fares. The prices quoted above were only on sale for four days (Friday-Monday) with travel completed by December 14th (off-peak). The Hawaii Regional is during Spring Break which I suspect is peak season.

[rainy846]

can anyone fill me in one the shipping prices?
Even thought FIRST pay for between Regional shipping fees, we still have to pay for getting it to the first regional and getting back from the last regional.
So can any previous Hawaii teams share some numbers regarding shipping partly across the pacific ocean?

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by rainy846

Even thought FIRST pay for between Regional shipping fees, we still have to pay for getting it to the first regional and getting back from the last regional.

It's the other way around (at least it was for the 2007 season, though there's no guarantee that FedEx will do the same thing next year).

Originally Posted by The 2007 FRC Manual, section 4.9.1. The FedEx Express Freight Donation

FedEx Express Freight will ship your crate to the Regional of your choice. FedEx will then ship it back “home” as the second benefit. You cannot substitute your shipment home for a second Regional shipment.

If your team is registered to compete at the Championship, FedEx Express Freight will also ship your crate to the Championship and back home. NO SUBSTITUTIONS.

[TKM.368]

Originally Posted by rainy846

can anyone fill me in one the shipping prices?
Even thought FIRST pay for between Regional shipping fees, we still have to pay for getting it to the first regional and getting back from the last regional.
So can any previous Hawaii teams share some numbers regarding shipping partly across the pacific ocean?

As a Hawaii team, we are also wondering what shipping costs are going to be since FedEx has always taken our robot from us and brought our robot back to us for free. Now our robot will have to be flown between regionals back to Hawaii at our expense at a price we do not know.

For mainland teams, as I read the 2007 manual in 4.5.8.3

5) U.S. teams not using the donated/free FedEx shipping for your initial event:


Mail a copy of your receipt to FIRST right away so it arrives within 4 days, addressing the envelope as below, using all capital letters. The properly addressed verification must arrive within 4 days.

You could then use the free FedEx shipment TO the Hawaii regional and then FedEx will take it for free from the Hawaii regional either back to your school or else to the Championships. Be careful because FedEx (and possibly other shippers as well) may not be able to get your robot to Hawaii in time if you are competing in a Week 4 event.

Plans are still being worked out regarding what company is going to be storing the robots in Hawaii since the drayage companies on the mainland which do that job do not exist in Hawaii. With that, we cannot determine what cost (if any) there will be to store the robots and get them to the event here. We're hoping that it's a donation from the local companies.

[waiakea2024]

Originally Posted by cire

Is there a danger of the robot not making it to Hawaii / back to the states in time if your doing a regional the week before or after the Hawaii one?

Yes there is. If you have a regional right before, It may not make it back. We were shooting for the Seattle regionals, yet it was a week before competiton. The suggestion would be do not attend a regional right before the Hawaii one. You can try your luck, but no guarentees. Yet, no worries, your robot is definatly going to get here in one piece.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by TKM.368

Be careful because FedEx (and possibly other shippers as well) may not be able to get your robot to Hawaii in time if you are competing in a Week 4 event.

I would say be mroe than careful. Odds are your robot will not get there on time. I believe I remember seeing last year or the year before that robots being shipped to back to back regionals in different timezones only made it on time like 25% of the time or less. This isn't just any regional either... it's an island.

If you are planning on attending a week 4 regional and then Hawaii, if you want your robot to be there when you get there, you will need to pay extra for expedited shipping. In the past, I believe robots are required to be at the drayage facility by Tuesday. So at most you have 3 days time to work with, maybe less if the shipper doesn't pick the robots up Sunday (which they probably don't).

This caused us to have to drop out of the Great Lakes Regional last year, as it was back to back with SVR. We looked into expedited shipping and it was nearly half the cost of the regional, at somewhere around $2000, for nothing but the crate and the robot. Odds are shipping to Hawaii is way more expensive than the continental US as well.

[waialua359]

We are definitely worried about shipping costs as well. Since we are attending the VCU regional, who knows how much its going to be from VCU back to Hawaii, then back to Championships, then back home. NJ to Vegas was $850.00 alone last year, not including the $400 extra we paid per trip for the overweight crate. The problem for Hawaii teams is that all of our tooling has to go in the crate, since its hard to carry on a plane ride, even as check in luggage. We save the check in space for Aloha items for each regional.
I had asked the Hawaii committee planners for assistance as my calculation to participate in the Hawaii regional may cost us an additional $6000 round trip from our 1st regional to championships.
It would be a lot cheaper, if we didn't attend the Hawaii regional.......but, we wouldn't dare do something like that.