Can i take magnetic items on a plane?

Question

ive bought emg pickups for my electric guitar, all pickups are magnetic, do i put them in my carry on luggage or my stored luggage?

Answer 1

It should be no problem at all. If it's in your luggage they could be taken.

Headphones and hard drives have magnets too.

The magnetic azimuth detector (MAD) that older compass systems use would have to have a rather large magnetic field to bother them, since the MAD is located in the wingtip, your little magnets in the coil pickups won't do squat. We have a fairly large magnetron on our RADAR system and the MAD is unaffected by it on the C130.

Most newer aircraft have been outfitted with Ring Laser Gyro INUs so the aircraft don't even have MADs installed.

Answer 2

Your pickups should be no problem.

Strong magnets are a problem and are considered hazardous. (They can effect the compass, especially.)

Since the advent of GPS, it's not as critical as it once was, but when I loaded bags for Pan Am, any magnetic items (if accepted) were to be loaded in as far aft a position in the airplane as possible.

Answer 3

they should be okay to bring onto the plane. If you don't want to run into problems, you could leave them in the luggage to go into the hold. Then again, thefts happen with luggage going in the hold...

if it were me, I would leave them into the luggage and just forget about them until I arrive. I would take the risk. These days, thefts happen less often and besides, if they do open mine with malicious intentions, I don't think that will be the first things on their minds to take. They might not even see them.

magnetic items are allowed. Electromagnets, especially the extremely powerful ones, are not in the carry-on baggage.

Answer 4

To answer your question YES you can.  However below is what the rules are.

Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR) Part 173.21(f) strictly forbids the carriage by aircraft of any material which, when packaged, has a measurable magnetic field of more than 0.00525 gauss when measured from any surface of the package at a distance of 15 feet. 49 CFR 175.85(g) states no person may load magnetized material (which might cause an erroneous magnetic compass reading) on an aircraft, in the vicinity of a magnetic compass, or compass master unit, that is a part of the instrument equipment of the aircraft, in a manner that affects its operation. If this requirement cannot be met, a special aircraft swing and compass calibration may be required.

A material is considered to be magnetized when it has a magnetic field strength greater than 0.00525 gauss at a distance of 15 feet from any point on the surface of the package, or which is of such mass that it could affect aircraft instrumentation, particularly magnetic compasses. Such material must be shielded to reduce the readings to a level that is no greater than 0.00525 gauss before being offered for transportation by aircraft.

Certain materials with a magnetic field of less than 0.00525 gauss were previously classified as hazardous materials. Auto fenders, automotive parts, metal stock and other large metal objects which are not intentionally magnetic, but have acquired magnetic properties during their manufacture or because of their orientation with other cargo, fall into thìs category. Although slightly magnetized, such materials pose little or no transportation hazard. Modern aircraft use electronic compasses with magnetic compasses as backups. The sensors for magnetic backup compasses are sufficiently distant from the cargo bays, that a measurable deflection effect on the compass will not be caused by the potential marginal magnetic properties of metal objects such as those mentioned above.

The hazard associated with the carriage of magnetized materials on older types of aircraft, where the magnetic master units are not located outside and away from the cargo compartments, is that a compass deviation as great as 125 degrees could be experienced and cause unacceptable navigation errors which can jeopardize the safety of the transporting aircraft.

Answer 5

Magnetic materials of a certain magnetic strength are Dangerous Goods that have to be specially packaged, marked, labeled, etc. What you have is far, far below that threshold and should be fine even in your carry-on luggage. Your pickups would have to be in almost physical contact with the aircraft's magnetic compass or Flux Detector in order to effect the aircraft's navigation. If all else fails, you can contact the TSA for guidance.

Bit, I've never heard of a Flux Detector (sometimes called Flux Valve or Remote Compass Transmitter) called a MAD before. The only MAD I've ever heard of is the Magnetic Anomoly Detector that sub hunter aircraft like the P-3 use. Is that another military term?