Flying With Fountain Pens In Unpressurized Airplanes

[alaskazimm]

One of the concerns with fountain pens that comes up every so often is flying with fountain pens. I thought I would share this recent experience in the hope of allaying some of these concerns.

 

On Monday evening my son broke his ankle and needed to get to the big city to visit the ER. Since there weren’t any flights scheduled until the next day, we called in a favor with a friend who flew us in his Bonanza into Anchorage. Now what makes this flight unique is that this is an unpressurized airplane and we made the flight at 15,000 feet.

 

The pens I took into town are:

Lamy Safari full with Noodler’s 54^th Mass

Esterbrook LJ full with Diamine Oxblood

Pilot CH92 full with Irosizuku Yama-Guri

Pelikan M200 half full with Pelikan Brilliant Black

 

Given that most commercial flights are in pressurized cabins to about 8000 feet, I was curious if the difference in altitude would make a difference in how the pens would behave – especially the half full M200. And . . .

 

The 7000 foot altitude difference had no effect on the pens leaking versus other flights I have taken in pressurized airplanes. The Lamy had a bit of ink around the bottom of the section, and the Pilot had a bit of ink spitting on the nib, but that was really it. The Pelikan was probably the cleanest of all the pens, even half full.

 

So I guess the moral of the story is have no fear when flying with your pens. They can take much more than we usually put them through.

 

My son actually wound up needing surgery on his ankle with two screws being put in. It's been quite the whirlwind week, but he's going to be fine. He's mostly bummed this happened at the front end of summer.

[nibbling]

Glad your son is going to be fine! I find concerns about flying with pens are mostly overrated.

[fly_us]

I took some flights without any knowledge about the this until i learn about this issue much later. Most of my pens are full as i usually fill them before the trip. None of them leak.

 

The only thing i worry about is ink bottles, which is stored in check-in luggage. I usually put them in double ziplock bags and wrap in a towel.

[Buzz_130]

I'm glad your son is ok!

 

Unpressurized at 15,000'? I hope that you and your pilot were following the rules of wearing supplemental oxygen. Depending on the duration of the flight, I'd also be concerned about some of the other physiological effects. I've flown enough HALO, HAHO, free-fall, and airborne drops in addition to aeromedical evacuation flights to be very familiar with the dangers to crew and passengers.

 

I've also had a rapid depressurization while carrying a fountain pen (a Parker 51 Flighter), and my experience is similar to yours. I was wearing my helmet and oxygen mask, took my fountain pen out of my sleeve pocket to take some notes, and I was impressed that it just wrote. When flying, keep the nibs pointed up, don't use them during the climb, and everything will work out just fine.

 

Buzz

[KBeezie]

Nib stored upward, don't do a fresh fill before a flight.

[alaskazimm]

I took some flights without any knowledge about the this until i learn about this issue much later. Most of my pens are full as i usually fill them before the trip. None of them leak.

 

The only thing i worry about is ink bottles, which is stored in check-in luggage. I usually put them in double ziplock bags and wrap in a towel.

 

I also took a bottle of ink along in double ziplocs, and no problem with that either.

 

I'm glad your son is ok!

 

Unpressurized at 15,000'? I hope that you and your pilot were following the rules of wearing supplemental oxygen. Depending on the duration of the flight, I'd also be concerned about some of the other physiological effects. I've flown enough HALO, HAHO, free-fall, and airborne drops in addition to aeromedical evacuation flights to be very familiar with the dangers to crew and passengers.

 

I've also had a rapid depressurization while carrying a fountain pen (a Parker 51 Flighter), and my experience is similar to yours. I was wearing my helmet and oxygen mask, took my fountain pen out of my sleeve pocket to take some notes, and I was impressed that it just wrote. When flying, keep the nibs pointed up, don't use them during the climb, and everything will work out just fine.

 

Buzz

 

Yes, the pilot and I were on oxygen. We were at 15,000' for about an hour of the flight to get over the mountains between us and Anchorage. Those nasal canulas are pretty annoying after a while though.

When I lived in Colorado I used to hike the 14teeners. Spent many enjoyable hours up there. I did live at 8500' at the time; but that was a long time ago and didn't help that night.

 

Nib stored upward, don't do a fresh fill before a flight.

 

That was actually my intention, but during the flight the backpack I had them in fell over so for at least a part of the flight they were sideways. Still no problem.

[Ghost Plane]

Only problems I ever had deployed came from high G pull outs, not pressurization (caveat - lower altitudes under 20k, not the rim of space climb outs of the jet jockeys) When in doubt, a zipper Baggie was my friend. Most flights are no different from riding in a car.

 

I suspect people blame planes when any spillage is the guy cramming half his household goods into the overhead bin on top of the poor pens.

[El Gordo]

Good that your son is going to be fine.

 

I never had the opportunity to fly unpressurized at high altitudes, but recently (actually three flights ago) I abandoned the idea of not traveling with FPs (started to travel FP-free due to an issue a few decades ago, spoiling a brand new leather jacket with permanent black...). So the conclusions with these recent flights (pressurized cabins, always zip-locked, you never know...):

• Parker vector with black Parker cartridge: ink in cap and barrel section
• same with converter and Lierre Sauvage : ink in cap
• same with converter and Karminrot : nothing happened
• Franklin Christoph #29 and blue Piper premium cartridge (nearly empty) : nothing happened

Stored in check-in luggage, intended to be nib up, but of course don't know how they were actually positioned during flight.

 

Next time, had only the FC 29 with we, now with full new cartridge, in cabin, stored flat : nothing happened

 

So my current feeling is that nib/feed design and ink-"wetness" work together. Anyhow see also.

[Jerome Tarshis]

My own experience is that there are perhaps many variables, and one should not expect perfect consistency.

 

I flew for decades with a Parker 51 and never got more than a drop or two of ink on the hood when I opened the pen at the other end of the trip. A few drops on the hood didn't bother me. And most times the pen was dry.

 

The most recent flight with a 51 I got a stain on my shirt. But there is a possible explanatory variable other than altitude: I was wearing a warm Shetland sweater over my shirt. And it occurs to me that the sweater's holding in of my body heat may have created a high enough temperature to expel more ink than usual. It's also possible that turbulence in the air did my shirt an ill turn.

 

To which I would add that on another occasion I got a stained shirt pocket with a 51, also while wearing a sweater, when traveling in a train at sea level.

 

I stopped flying with a Parker 51 in favor of cartridge pens, none of which have leaked so far. Tempting fate, and in a spirit of experiment, I plan to take a Parker 51 on a flight next week, though not under a sweater this time. My shirts and my skin are washable, and knowledge can be worth some small sacrifice to attain.