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Fountain Pens and Airplanes


dr4kds

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I fly all the time, never gave it a thought and just grabbed the next pen in my rotation on the day I travel and go. I have had them stored horizontal and vertical in my brief case and shirt pocket. I have never had one leak, blob or squirt and I use them all the time in flight writing away. I have used a Lamy 2000, Parker 100, Parker 45, Pilot VP and a Waterman Carene. My favorite for flying is the Lamy. It can pack loads of ink. I have even replaced empty cartridges while in flight. I have never tried to fill the Lamy though. That would be pushing my luck.

Avatar painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825 - 1905) titled La leçon difficile (The difficult lesson)

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Anyone had experience flying with the Rotring Initial? I think I've read it has some sort of anti-leak thing built in specifically for use while flying.

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Just got back from a trip to London. Took my Safari with me and had no problems. Even used it to fill out the little customs card they give you on the plane. It did seem to write a little bit wetter than normal, but that may just have been the cardstock I was writing on.

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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.

 

You can carry any (safe) liquid that you can fit into a quart "Freedom Baggie". ;) I just usually don't bother with my traveling inkwell, since pulling it out would probably generate more questions than I would feel like answering (given that it's a metallic-looking cylinder with a "mysterious" liquid inside).

 

cfclark

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51 Flighter Fetishist

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I carried my first Parker Sonnet on all kinds of plane rides for 12 years and never had any problems at all. I just kept it in a small cosmetic case in my tote bag, and I also often used it mid flight to write in my travel journal. I didn't even know until I encountered this website that I might have a problem. I guess ignorance is bliss.

I subscribe to The Rule of 10 (pens, that is)

1) Parker Sonnet 1st gen 2) Pelikan 200 yellow 3) Parker 51 vac 4) Esterbrook trans J 5) Esterbrook LJ "Bell System Property" 6) Sheaffer Snorkel Valiant fern green 7) Waterman 52.5V 8) Parker 75 cisele 9) open 10) open (I'm hankering for a Doric)

 

<img src="http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/606/letterji9.png" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" />

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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.

 

You can carry any (safe) liquid that you can fit into a quart "Freedom Baggie". ;) I just usually don't bother with my traveling inkwell, since pulling it out would probably generate more questions than I would feel like answering (given that it's a metallic-looking cylinder with a "mysterious" liquid inside).

There's also a limit of 3 oz per container in the US (100 mL/3.4 oz in Canada). Most ink bottles are within this limit, but if you have any of the larger 4.5 oz bottles you'll have to leave them at home. You can have as many containers of this size or smaller as you want, but they must all fit into a single 1 quart/1 litre ziplock bag.

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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.

 

You can carry any (safe) liquid that you can fit into a quart "Freedom Baggie". ;) I just usually don't bother with my traveling inkwell, since pulling it out would probably generate more questions than I would feel like answering (given that it's a metallic-looking cylinder with a "mysterious" liquid inside).

There's also a limit of 3 oz per container in the US (100 mL/3.4 oz in Canada). Most ink bottles are within this limit, but if you have any of the larger 4.5 oz bottles you'll have to leave them at home. You can have as many containers of this size or smaller as you want, but they must all fit into a single 1 quart/1 litre ziplock bag.

 

Oops, I did leave that out--any 3-oz. or smaller container of liquid that can fit in the quart baggie--so you can't bring a quart of ink stuffed into the quart baggie. (I used to fly every week but now it's been six months; how soon I forget.)

cfclark

email cfclarktn at gmail dot com Twitter cfclark Facebook PM me

51 Flighter Fetishist

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I just got back from air travel, carrying 3 fountain pens in my pocket. The Parker 45 with squeeze converter had no problems, nor did the Aldo Domani Sorrento (replaced nib) with nearly-full Waterman Florida Blue cartridge. The Shule 2112 (cheap Chinese pen with aerometric-style squeeze filler) ejected a quantity of ink, but this did not leak out. The Shule has proven difficult to fill completely, & I suspect there was an air bubble trapped in the reservoir.

 

I carried a small bottle of red ink & the same of black, using the Pear Tree Pens sampler bottles, filled using a medicine dropper. Nearly full & with the caps tightened down, they did not leak into the quart baggie — in fact they didn't even seep ink into the cap threads.

Edited by publius
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I have always been flying with fountain pens even using them during flights with no apparent problem. I just stuck the ink botte in my check-in luggage and I use to bring some cartidges also.

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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I think my Meisterstück was fine on my flihts... (inter European)

 

Neither completely full nor empty.

 

I think modern pens with a good capilary system (or how you call it) which can "store" a lot of ink are generally fine.

Writing a dying Art...

Montblanc LeGrand - Vaio SZ - Canon 5D MK II - Omega Speedmaster Professional

See my Website for more links including Art Prints.

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I take no special precautions when flying with FPs, other than to store them nib-up, i.e. no emptying the pens or any such. I've never had a leak either -- and I do use the pens while airborne.

 

I must add that I use cartridges and only fairly "modern" FPs.

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I flew a couple times across the Pacific (12 hours flights) and always had my Hero 616 with me. Never had a problem with leaking. I do store them nib up (usually in my jacket pocket), but I have never intentionally filled it completely before flight.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This may seem like a stupid suggestion, but if you were overly worried about leaks and you weren't planning on using the pen mid-flight, what about slipping it into one of those sealing Tupperware boxes...such as these: Example.

 

The ones that completely seal should be airtight and resistant to pressure changes.

 

Just a thought.

 

theChipmunk

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I don't understand the issue I suppose. If you are worried about ink leaking, make sure the pen is empty. That way, there is no ink to leak!

Currently Inked:

Lamy Safari - Noodlers Zhivago

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  • 7 months later...

I certainly had fountain pens leak on planes, they were not stored nib up and they were several decades old, which might account for it :)

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I don't think age has anything to do with whether a fountain pen will or will not leak, it's a matter of storage.

 

I think it has - but not due to age changes but rather due to design changes that happened over time that make some pens less likely to leak nowadays.

Writing a dying Art...

Montblanc LeGrand - Vaio SZ - Canon 5D MK II - Omega Speedmaster Professional

See my Website for more links including Art Prints.

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I took a Lamy Safari with me to Costa Rica over the Thanksgiving holiday, complete with FPN Van Gogh Starry Night Blue ink in a Lamy cartridge converter. No leaks or issues of any kind, despite both airplane and SUV borne elevation changes. I even lived dangerously and wrote with it on the plane, going up to cruising altitude.

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