this situation is really random as hell then, it can go from painless as possible to as stressing as Tone!'s AV (which is funny as hell by the way)
Yah, unfortunately there isn’t one full proof way of making sure everything goes well. Unless you go through the risky process of having it go with all the other luggage, which isn’t ideal. No wonder all the pros show up stickless, and just borrow that shit :lol:
@T37
I haven’t heard of a situation where nobody was able to take a stick onboard, like I said, they’ll probably just be confused at what it is and spend a bit examining it at the most.
Solution? Checked luggage, or arrive at the airport early (common sense anyways) so you don’t get delayed.
They always stop me to check my stick. Every damn Evo and every other tournament I fly to, they make me take the stick out, then they rub some weird smelling shit on it. At last year’s EVO someone even asked me who the chick on the stick is (well, she’s pretty much just naked, wet, and wearing an apron) and had this curious face when I told him ‘Melty Blood’. Lucky I put all my things into a carry on and just my backpack so I’m good in the end.
:F
a pretty funny story ended with
“… and then they gave me back my namco stick with a big red ‘CLEARED’ stamped on the front of it, right across the buttons. it also looked like it was stepped on.”
i used to fly around a lot with my t5 hori sticks and i only had a problem when i left one of the bottom metal plates attached.
I recommend you be as relaxed as possible when you have it as a carry on. If they are completely clueless just say it’s a “videogame”. Then they kind of get it and scan it like any other item. Now, if your shit is dual modded with a cthulu board or whatever, that might look real suspect on xray. Most single console sticks look fairly simple, but all that dual modding shit might set people off. Those things look complicated as fuck.
I brought my TE stick as carry-on (in the Evo sack, of course) to Evo last year. I got stopped at security so they could take the stick out and examine it from every angle with latex gloves on – only a minor nuisance, but still something to be aware of. I found it funny that after all that nonsense, he didn’t open the cord storage door; I could’ve had anything stashed in there.
I almost always carry one at least one stick. The key to making it smooth is to take it out of the bag and/or alert the TSA people that its there and what it is. Use the words “Arcade Style Video Game Controller” or many of them wont know what the fuck you are talking about.
I did get held up 15 minutes once on the way out of Vegas as they double xray’ed my stick. Get to the airport extra early like you should be anyway and its all good. If you take a stick and want to pack it with your checked bags, pack it securely and pad the shit out of it with clothing or pillows or whatever you have. They will throw that shit around.
As others have said here, the situation is pretty random.
Coming back after a week in Seattle last year, I brought back a Femme Fetale TE inside the box. When I put it through the X-Ray Machine, the guy working stopped it for a quick minute and then let it go through.
Another woman working nearby went to grab it and asked if they should start checking it out. He replied, “No it’s alright, we got a lot of these coming through this weekend”. She then went ahead, unboxed it and put it through some sort of machine (not X-Ray) to possible check for explosives and such. Took about 10-15 minutes, no biggie since the wait to get to that point was over 45 minutes long and I guess better safe than sorry with Airport Security.
I think “Arcade Style Video Game Controller” is a bad thing to say.
Just say “Videogame”. It’s so much simpler and natural sounding…
Bubble wrap is like 3-4 dollars the post office. That’s my solution every year.
I’ve flown to NYC, London and France with my stick in carryon. They’ve always asked to see the stick and asked what it was for but never had any problems.
Even if you check it with your bags, it looks like a bomb on the xray, and they will probably open your suitcase to investigate, and not securley re-wrap it. I checked my xbox last year wrapped in all of my clothes, and when I got to evo, it was on top of my clothes in the suitcase, and the hard drive was cracked.
I feel like carry on is safer for the health of your stick, and like people have been saying, remember to take it out of your bag, and put it on the belt when going through security. Answer the questions that you’re asked about it, and don’t act self righteous or entitled when they stop you. It will probably help if you are with a group of friends who all have sticks, but either way, you should be fine if you don’t act like a dick.
This is a good read for first timers flying to EVO. It’ll be my first time flying to a major tournament so this is really handy info.
Depending on how you packed it theyll want you to take it out of your bag. But from AZ to Philly for NEC i didnt have any problems to or from. Hell even after NEC security was talking with alot of the players due to the huge influx of sticks going through all of a sudden.
I work for the TSA. If you carry your sticks on, you should take them out and put them in a tray before they go through the x-Ray. That way if there’s any questions they can just look at them. At no point should you ever be required to open/take your stick appart. If you put your stick in your checked bag it’s all good. There will be no problem with them. Just wrap/pad them very well.
How about stripping the screws out? Is that to be SOP be the time we’re on our way to Vegas? 
I had my TE stick as carryon and I was delayed for about 5 minutes through the security checkpoint as they kept discussing what to do about this mysterious contraption. I explained to them multiple times that this was a video game controller / arcade stick but they ran the stick 4-5 times through the X-ray machine. A couple extra security guys were also called. Finally they seemed to be satisfied and let me go. :lame:
If you’re taking your stick as a carry-on, just take the screws out so that you can open it at a moment’s notice. Put the screws in your check-in luggage. Just be careful carrying a stick with a loose case.
Follow this advice. Every time I’ve put my stick in my checked luggage, they’ve always left that letter that says they selected my bag for a search. I’ve only flown with my stick like three times and all three times it was selected for the search. Luckily they didn’t take it apart or anything.