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Fountain Pens and Airplanes


dr4kds

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I am taking a flight soon and want to take the pens with me. I read about pens leaking from the pressure changes and wondered if it was true, and if so, what do I need to do to prepare them for the flight.

 

Jack

An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar.

The first orders a beer, the second half a beer, the third 1/4 of a beer...

 

The bartender says "You guys are a bunch of jerks!" and draws 2 beers.

 

I can't help it, I like this joke!

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I've taken many flights with FP's in my carry-on bag. Just make sure they're full beforehand (or at least nearly full) and don't be tempted to use them on board just i case!

 

Martin

The Writing Desk

Fountain Pen Specialists since 2000

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I recently flew with a pared down collection - "51" aero flighter; "51" aero; Waterman Expert 2000. All were full prior to departure, all in carry on bag and for safety sake carried in small zip lock bags. Both "51"s leaked some into their caps and required some cleaning in my hotel room before I could use them. The Expert 2000 (full cartridge) was fine.

 

Stories and experiences vary it seems - the safe bet is to keep them in a plastic bag and as full as you can get them prior to departure. My experience was a little frustrating to be honest....

A pen a day keeps the doctor away...

 

Parker "51" flighter; Parker 75 cisele; Conway Stewart Dandy Demonstrator; Aurora 88P chrome; Sailor Sapporo ; Lamy 2000; Lamy 27 double L; Lamy Studio; Pilot Murex; Pilot Sesenta (Red/Grey); Pilot Capless (black carbonesque); Pilot Custom 74 Demonstrator; Pilot Volex; Waterman Expert 2000 (slate blue)

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The standard advice is to carry the pen EITHER completely full OR completely empty. It is safer to ensure the pen is upright, which is easier to ensure if you carry the pen in a pocket, but many people don't do that.

 

The two pens I've found that I'd trust are a Parker 61 (the capillary filling system works really well on planes) or the Namiki Vanishing Point (it's pretty leak resistant, and the trap door keeps any spills inside the pen).

 

Otherwise, with modern pens, it's a bit of a lottery. I've made a lot of flights with no problems, but on some flights I've had Aerometric "51"s -- normally very reliable -- spit into their caps. My flying isn't typical, as I mostly do long sectors, and it's the change in cabin altitude that does most of the damage, which happens as you go up and down. OTOH, I think prolonged vibration wouldn't be the best thing, either.

 

You can use FPs in aeroplanes, but you'd want to be *very* cautious as you open the pen for the first time -- holding the pen with one of those many little paper napkins you accumulate on a flight would be a good idea, as would holding it over the airline's soft furnishings rather than your clothes.

 

I have seen no reports of different results in business rather than cattle-class.

 

Best

 

Michael

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as would holding it over the airline's soft furnishings rather than your clothes.

 

:lol: :lol:

So if you have a lot of ink,

You should get a Yink, I think.

 

- Dr Suess

 

Always looking for pens by Baird-North, Charles Ingersoll, and nibs marked "CHI"

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I don't fly often, when I have flown keeping the pen upright for a few hours before flight and not taking it out of my shirt pocket to use until the ascent has finished has been successful so far. Same for the descent, pocket the pen early and there have been no problems. :)

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I fly a lot and never have had an issue with my two Cross Century II cartridge/converter fountain pens the following:

1. Push the air out of the converter (pen, upside down, empty air until I see some ink in the nib).

2. I store my two Century II fountain pens inside a zip lock bag.

3. I put them into my carry on bag, below the seat in front of me, in the upright possition. :)

4. Once the plane levels off, I do take them out and use them. Never had an issue with them.

 

I have had an issue with needlepoint and rollerballs (disposable type). But never with my two trhustworthy fountain pens. I haven't tried pens that I can't release air from them. (Sac pens, pistons, or anything like that).

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I've flown internationally and cross-country with my FP's for years and never noticed an issue. No special precautions or procedures. They get much rougher treatment in my daily life anyway.

 

Your mileage may vary... ;)

"It's a .... poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word."

-- Andrew Jackson

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I've written many pages in planes using fountain pens. The three rules I follow are very simple, and have worked for me always.

  • Allways fill the pen before departure. If this is not possible, I can always empty the air out (I use coverters or piston fillers, mostly).
  • Use screw-on caps only.
  • Open the pen holding the nib in an upwards position.

Other than that, I carry them in my briefcase, and have never had any leaks.

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  • 2 years later...

It's not just a myth, fountain pens really WILL leak on an airplane if they're not properly stored. The basic rule is - when in doubt - Nib up.

 

Fill the pens, cap them, and put them nib-up in your coat or in your shirt-pocket. If this, for whatever reason, is not possible, or if you do not intend to use the pens during flight, then empty the pens and put them into your carry-on luggage. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you have a penful of ink (be it half full or full-up) lying in a horizontal (or even worse, nib-down) position. This will cause the pen to leak as the air-pressure changes and expands and forces the ink from the pen.

http://www.throughouthistory.com/ - My Blog on History & Antiques

 

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I am taking a flight soon and want to take the pens with me. I read about pens leaking from the pressure changes and wondered if it was true, and if so, what do I need to do to prepare them for the flight.

 

Jack

 

There have been dedicated threads about this before, you might as well want to find them here.

 

Fountain Pen is for people who have a delicate taste in writing

 

Pens Actively In Use

MB 149-f; MB Solitaire SS (FP-ef,BP,MP)

MB (LE) G.B.Shaw (FP-m,BP,MP); MB LeGrand (RB,BP,MP)

Parker Duofold Presidential Esparto sol.SS (FP-f, BP)

Parker Duofold PS SS (FP-f, RB)

Parker Doufold Marbled Green (FP-f,BP,MP)

Parker Duofold Marbled Gray (FP-xf)

S.T. Dupont Orpheo XL Platinum Diamond Head (FP-m)

S.T. Dupont Orpheo XL Platinum/ChinLacquer Black (FP-f)

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My daughter just flew to Korea and on to Japan with a Parker 45 (piston...full) and a Waterman Phileas (cartridge...full). I'd just given her the 45 for her journaling, and she was so happy ("It writes perfectly!") that I forgot. Oh...her first fountain pen.

 

No reported problems. Surprising, but that's the facts.

 

I'll know more when she returns.

 

Of course, she did no writing on the plane...just IPOD-listening.

Washington Nationals 2019: the fight for .500; "stay in the fight"; WON the fight

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My 51s and Waterman Expert always seem to do just fine; the Parker 100 seems to be able to leak even if bone-dry. :D I usually pare down to one or two, empty them out and bring a bottle of ink or the traveling inkwell. If I'm not traveling for work (I used to fly to work on a weekly basis), then I often just leave the fountain pens at home and bring a good cheap ballpoint (Signo 207s are good)--that way, if I leave it a hotel, it's not a crisis.

cfclark

email cfclarktn at gmail dot com Twitter cfclark Facebook PM me

51 Flighter Fetishist

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It's not just a myth, fountain pens really WILL leak on an airplane if they're not properly stored. The basic rule is - when in doubt - Nib up.

 

Fill the pens, cap them, and put them nib-up in your coat or in your shirt-pocket. If this, for whatever reason, is not possible, or if you do not intend to use the pens during flight, then empty the pens and put them into your carry-on luggage. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you have a penful of ink (be it half full or full-up) lying in a horizontal (or even worse, nib-down) position. This will cause the pen to leak as the air-pressure changes and expands and forces the ink from the pen.

The pen could also be placed in a cigar tube, obtainable from a local smoke shop. That way the mess will be contained should the pen lean in flight. If a given pen does not leak after a few flights, then the tube can be dispensed with.

 

Visconti makes some "double reservoir" pens that are supposed to resit leaking on airplanes. The Rotring Initial, now discontinued but occasionally found for sale, should also work.

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Recently I have flown four international flights, and I had a Hero 100 (loaded with Pilot Ink Black) and a Pilot Capless VP (loaded with Diamine Sapphire Blue). I intentionally had them in a leather pen case in my pocket (brrr) stored vertically, and i used both many times on the plane. No problem whatsoever, both when full, when barely used (the Hero) and almost depleted of ink (the Pilot VP), just some hint of a wetter pen. I was lucly? Probably.

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I flew today (San Francisco to Dallas). I bought a Pelikan 250 and a Parker 51 Aero in my pocket. I filled the Pelikan last night, the 51 maybe a week ago. I put them both in a zip lock back but kept them in my pocket, upright. After we got to 35,000 feet I took them out and wrote with them. No problems.

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Some of you mention carrying ink bottles or inkwells. Is this with your carry on or your luggage? I've always thought it was impossible to carry any sort of "liquid" onto the plane with you.

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