2 years ago Delta airlines let our team onto the plane with 3 4’ sections of angle iron and a 1" Diameter wooden stick onto the plane. But confiscated my mothers sewing needles O_o. I don’t advise just showing up with stuff, in case they don’t let you on the plane.
Most of California is warm enoguh, is I would assume Nevada, Arizona, and other states in this area are. And I think that there has to be at least one compatible arena on the West Coast, even if you limit yourself to these three states.
We’ve always checked in 4-5 crates worth of tools and materials without any hassle from the airlines. We even check in our robot transporter and tape the two handles to the base of the cart. For metal extrusion and long stuff like that we usually ship it off with the robot to each event. I wouldn’t recommend attepting to bring anything robot-related onto carry on, although I believe last year on the flight to Pacific Northwest 254 brought their lexan hopper on board. That was entertaining 
thats funny … well thats america
166 ships an extra crate.
You may have seen it at GSR. Us an 151 had the same type of thing. We have the second one that unfolds so it is 10 feet wide. It contains a tool box, a shelf, a vice, a drill press, several shelves and whiteboards. Lot’s of nifty stuff.
That’s how we transport our tools.
Dan,
That is very cool. I did notice a few at GSR that unfolded into mini-workshops. At American School for the Deaf, we have a full woodshop and students to work on building stuff like that. Maybe we can pull it together in time to ship to Atlanta. We really want one anyway.
How tall is yours? The full 70"? I am wondering how much extra $$$ that would be to ship. As a totally rookie team (and with 50 students + mentors) you can imagine we are really scrounging to try and get to Atlanta.
I also want to really thank you and Chop Shop for your compassion in the stands at GSR. The silent applause was just awesome, you cannot imagine how it touched our deaf students and mentors. They normally live in a world of isolation, and for them being a part of a team at that regional was a life-changing experience. They were finally being recognized by the “real” world as belonging. It is hard to explain. But after working on a team with both deaf and hearing students and mentors for build, and having to learn to communicate, and having frustration on both ends, I was so proud to be a part of a team that was recognized for the awesome accomplishments we made. Many lives have been touched and changed through this experience.
I also want to congratulate you on your understanding of our needs in the stands. I heard that there was actually someone who gave our team members a lot of grief on Saturday, because the organizers decided to give us reserved seating (the same we had had the day before) to accomodate for our ASL interpreters, as well as have a clear vision of the screens… so our deaf members could understand what was going on. That was very sad for me, to think that someone could be so selfish as to not understand that people with special needs really do need special accomodations, sometimes. Unfortunately, the deaf have told me that they are often treated this way.
Anyway, a great big, huge THANKS to everyone at GSR for that amazing applause. Even though we got creamed by Buzz and 501 in the quarter-finals, we all came home feeling like huge winners. Our team is really pumped!
That was touching and people can be stupid. And dont feel bad about getting crammed bt buzz everybody did. they had a great bot. Btw congrats on your numerous awards. You guys really deserve it.
Anyway, to get back on topic, team 811 is goig to ship 2 or 3 of the old KOP boxes(the cool interlocking lid ones) straight to the hotel and we are going to pick them up there.
Dan,
did you say that you and 151 built those awsome fold out crates. if so could you possably sent me the specs (if you have them) to GBIT4248@aol.com. much thanks.
to recap, touching moments at GSR, Shiping KOP, and Folding out crates (and i thought build season was over!:ahh:
You may want to check with the airline first to see if they’ll make any accommodations for because of your situation. Last year when flying to ATL, we checked the SOAP burner and another box of SOAP stuff, and then had about 4-5 members carry an additional backpack with the rest of our equipment. Although AirTran had a 1 carry-on per person rule, we had our personal carry-on plus the SOAP stuff, so it’s possible. Be prepared for dirty looks when going through security though…it is rather suspicious having 5 bags full of electronics and tons of wires everywhere. Also, if you do decide to check you tools/equipment, make sure that everything is capable of being opened by TSA, or you may find some things out of place or oddly taped back together.
We also brought on our practice transmissions and the security guard almost arrested one of our students for dangerous materials.
For those whos flying over with all the goodies they need and TSA are really that hasty, The President of United States and the US Government need to issue an order for ALL FIRST to carry safe materials with them without too much trouble from TSA. TSA’s always on assumption of anything simple as a tissue box. . .
By the way, it is ideal to ship another crate with everything in it because its not too expensive to have another crate for long distance traveling teams, heck! they should give them huge discount for doing that. Anyway, you got to figure out whats rock your boat and go with it. 
-Josh S.
John,
How do you do this? You just ship your second crate to the same address as your robot and the drayage people bring you TWO CRATES?
Is that how that works? About how much does it cost to ship your second crate round trip? What service do you use? FedEx or Roadway?
Truer words were never spoken.
10 days before we call Roadway and ship it to the dryage company. The two crates are waiting for us. One of our sponsers donates the freight. I believe it was about $300 each way. You can call Roadway for a current rate.