Taking Your Tiny Whoop on a Plane

Short answer: yes, you can take your whoop on a plane. The one rule that matters is that spare batteries ride in your carry-on, never in your checked bag.

Holiday trips are coming up, and a tiny whoop is about the easiest drone there is to travel with. It fits in your hand, it flies indoors, and a hotel room or your in-laws' living room turns into a race track. Here's how to get it there without any trouble at the airport.

The rules, in plain English

These come from the FAA (the agency that sets the rules for what can go on a plane) and the TSA (the people at the security line).

• The drone itself is allowed. TSA lets drones through security. They still say to check with your airline, since an airline can set stricter rules.
• Spare batteries go in your carry-on only. Any lithium battery that isn't inside a device counts as a spare. Your stack of whoop packs, your power bank and any lipo you use to run your charger all go in the bag that stays with you.
• If your bag gets checked at the gate, take the batteries out first. This one catches people. When the overhead bins fill up and the crew tags your carry-on, pull out every spare battery and power bank and keep them with you in the cabin.
• Keep the battery contacts covered. The FAA's worry is two battery contacts touching a coin or a key and shorting out. Their accepted fixes include a battery case, a battery sleeve, tape over the contacts, or putting each pack snugly in a small plastic bag.
• Size isn't a problem for whoop packs. The limit is 100 watt-hours per battery. A 550mAh 1S whoop pack is about 2 watt-hours. You'd need about fifty of them taped together to hit the limit.
• No swollen or damaged packs. A puffy, dented or torn battery shouldn't go on a plane at all. Leave it home and recycle it.

How many batteries can I bring?

The FAA doesn't set a number for small batteries like these, as long as they're for your own use and not for resale. Some airlines do set their own limits, especially on power banks, so take a minute on your airline's website before you pack twenty of them. A normal whoop kit of six to twelve packs won't raise any eyebrows.

Packing it all up

• Put the whole kit in your carry-on. Drone, batteries, charger, cable and power bank all in one place. If it's all with you, the gate-check rule can't catch you out.
• Use a hard case. A whoop's frame and props are light and easy to crush, and an overhead bin is not gentle. A hard case keeps the drone from getting squashed and keeps the batteries from rattling around loose.
• Charge to storage before the trip. Storage charge is the halfway point (about 3.8 volts per cell) where a lipo is happiest sitting unused. The airline doesn't require it, but it's easier on your batteries during a few days of travel, and many chargers have a storage setting. We go into this more in One Box for Your Whoop, Your Batteries and Your Charger.
• Bring your goggles in your carry-on too. They're expensive and fragile, and most have a battery inside.

This is the trip our cases were built for. The drone sits in its own fitted bay, every battery clips into its own spot so nothing knocks around loose, and the charger cases carry the charger too. One box goes in your backpack, and your whole session comes with you. Find the case for your drone.

At the security line

TSA may ask you to take the case out of your bag, the same way they do with a laptop. Just open it up and let them look. It helps to know your drone's name and say "it's a small toy-size drone" if anyone asks. The officer has the final say on what goes through, so being friendly and patient goes a long way.

Flying your whoop once you arrive

• Indoors is the easy option. A whoop is made for flying inside, and nobody's rules cover your relative's living room. Just ask the host first, and maybe move the good lamp.
• Outdoors in the US, take the TRUST test. Every recreational drone pilot needs to pass the FAA's free online TRUST test and carry the certificate, whatever the drone weighs.
• Bring a friend if you're in goggles outdoors. When you fly in goggles, the FAA wants a second person standing next to you, watching the drone with their own eyes.
• Leaving the country? Every country has its own drone rules. Look up the rules where you're headed before you fly your whoop there.

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