Hello all on the Mont Blanc Forum.

I am a new member of The Fountain Pen Network, although I have lurked for a bit reading the various threads.

I am hopeful that I might get some advice from those of you experienced with airline travel with a Mont Blanc Meisterstuck Frederic Chopin fountain pen, specifically one using ink cartridges.

I currently use a Meisterstuck Chopin rollerball as my main pen and I really enjoy it. While I may purchase additional FPs in the future my first purchase will be the Chopin fp. At this point I just need to choose the correct nib size.

There are times when my business travel plans are last minute. It’s possible that I might leave home in the morning not knowing that I will be on a plane that evening without having the ability to stop home first.

While I will be buying the Chopin fp regardless of how it travels I would really appreciate some insight on how practical it is to travel with it via the air..

These are my questions:

1-How do these pens travel with cartridges?

In other words:

2-Is it at all possible (or advisable) to leave this pen in my briefcase cartridge in when getting on a plane??
3-Following the old “better safe than sorry” adage and assuming that it is best to remove the cartridge before getting on a plane how easily is a cartridge removed cleanly?
4-Can it be saved to be reinstalled?
5-When removing a cartridge is it necessary (or advisable) to flush the pen clean?

If there are too many precautions required to make last minute air travel with this fp practical I will just be resigned to the fact that it will need to stay home (or in my desk at the office) when I travel on last minute trips. However, as anyone who travels for business knows it’s not always easy to remember to remove things from our briefcases, I’d hate to open my briefcase in-flight to find an inky mess..

I hope this is an appropriate line of questions. I’d just hate to be making mistakes with “live” ink which could ruin a trip and I can’t think of any place I might be able to get advice from those who may have experienced travel with these pens.

Thanks for any information on this topic. I tend to be someone who does extensive research before making a purchase. As a side note; this has been known to drive my wife crazy. She pretty much refuses to shop for high ticket items with me any more

Hi Agatsu...

Welcome to FPN!

You have no worries, atleast in my exerience. I have a Chopin and I have traveled with it extensively. Most of my travel is to Europe and South America so we are talking 8 hour plus flights. I have traveled with the cartridges full and forgotten to remove half empty ones before leaving and have not had an incident. So in my experience no need to remove them.

Of course you should take precautions such as making sure they are stored upright in your briefcase in flight and not use them in flight (although I have heard some folks do).

Hope that answers your questions.

BTW - I have also traveled with convertors without incident on MB and other modern pens. If you do a search here on airtravel you will see many different view points but I believe most agree modern pens for the most part are safe for air travel with some minor precautions.

Good luck!

AJP

Thank you for the reply.

It seems a little bit of caution will always be required when traveling with fountain pens.
I look forward to having the opportunity to take one with me.




This might be hard both to accomplish and to remember

Just did it with my meisterstuck 146 days ago, though it's only a 2-hour flight. I even entered my particulars onto the imigration card. Wrote it withthe same fp! Had not gotten into any mess. The converter was half full at that time. But i kept it upright in my shirt's pocket at all times.

Anyone with different experience?

-delete, double posts-

I don't use cartridges, but I travel with my fountain pens week in and week out. I've never had an issue with any of my pens from any manufacturer, even a vintage P51.

I've even filled my pens using my Visconti travelling inkpot in turbulence over the rocky mountains one evening... not a drop out of place.

D.

I have a 147 Traveler and I take it on trips with me all the time. I put it in my briefcase to get through security and then I put it in my shirt pocket. Just remember to always keep it pointing nib up when on the airplane and you should be o.k., even with a partially full cartridge. As far as flushing the pen between cartridges, I only do that when changing ink colors and then I use the MB flushing cartridge (which can be use over and over).

I travel a lot within Asia and South East Asia with my MB Chopin FP. Never had any problem so far even when the converter was not fully filled. It's a good idea to make sure that you keep the FP upright. Chopin has been my faithful companion. Never let me down.

1-How do these pens travel with cartridges?

In other words:

2-Is it at all possible (or advisable) to leave this pen in my briefcase cartridge in when getting on a plane??
3-Following the old “better safe than sorry� adage and assuming that it is best to remove the cartridge before getting on a plane how easily is a cartridge removed cleanly?
4-Can it be saved to be reinstalled?
5-When removing a cartridge is it necessary (or advisable) to flush the pen clean?

- Not sure, never done that.

- It'd be safer if you didn't do that.
- Pretty easily, but you'll need to get a replacement cartridge.
- That depends. an unsealed cartridge may be filled with ink via a syringe and used multiple times, but I'm not sure about saving one with ink in it that's already been pierced.
- No, not really.

- As the owner of a Chopin, I'd suggest buying a converter for it ASAP - If you're buying the Chopin brand-new, it should come with it's own converter. I'd advise you to use that, instead of a cartridge.

I should add that inky disasters are more prone with older fountain pens. New, c/c-filler fountain pens (like the Chopin) rarely have these ink-pressure problems. Although for safety reasons, it's better to follow these simple rules:

Upon takeoff and landing please keep your tray-table upright and locked, your seat-back in the full-forward position and your fountain pen nib-up (and capped!!). Clipped to your shirt-pocket should be fine.