FM3 in Checked Luggage

Sleestak

Sleestak

Power User
I'm flying cross-country soon and may not be able to take my FM3 onboard as my carry-on. Has anyone had issues when checking their FM3 (or similar)? I intend for it to travel in a flight case, so the question isn't so much about handling; I want to know if people have had problems with their gear being exposed to the pressure / temps of being in a luggage hold.

A little background: I've been a professional guitarist for 40 years (yes, we really had electricity back then), and have flown with my gear for a long time. My tube amps sometimes reacted poorly to being checked as air freight, occasionally needing a retube after long flights. My guitars have been checked in flight cases, and have been fine. While the FM3 and AxeFX III have proven to be incredibly reliable (to the point where I haven't ever needed to use my backup rig), and they're designed with the rigors of the road in mind, they 're essentially computers with groovy interfaces. Any reason I should avoid checking them as airline luggage?
 
Cargo holds are pressurized. Some are climate-controlled, some are not.

Tube amps have delicate glass tubes with even more delicate parts suspended inside. They are susceptible to thermal and mechanical shock in a way that solid-state electronics are not. Many a computer and transistor radio have traveled in airline cargo holds with no issue.

Bottom line: environment is a tiny risk compared to handling. If Spot can survive the trip in his dog carrier, so can your FM3. In its FM3 carrier.
 
I've checked mine a bunch of times. Both international and Domestic. I tend to travel with Pelican cases. A pelican air 1535 for carry-ons and a 1510 for a small checked luggage and a big SKB iseries rolling case for when i need to pack -all- the gear (racks/fm3 etc) that gets checked.

Never had a problem or issue with damage, even after being forced to gate check my fm3 on full flights.

Here's a video I made last year for a trip to the UK bringing an AxeFX3 AND an fm3 internationally.


And a video of just doing a fly date with an FM3


And a fly gig with a travel guitar and the FM3

 
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