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I'm travelling by air next month, and part of the reason for the trip is to deliver my son's trombones to him. The King 5B is in an Eastman case, and easily qualifies as cabin baggage. The Bach 42BO, on the other hand, lives in an original equipment case that is shaped like (and weighs like) a brick. It seems to me that it would be safe to check the Bach case. Any opinions?

It *should* be OK if you put a couple of rolls of socks in the bell (to spread the forces if it is hit from/dropped onto that end) and tape over the latches. . . I have flown in the past with an old King Bass 'bone in its original brick of a case with no trouble. If there is any part of the trombone that isn't held down tight you can use the socks trick (or bubble wrap) to fill in the gaps and keep the horn from damaging itself by sliding inside the case.

--T. J.

ps, how's the old Blokerized Eb treating you these days?

T. J. Ricer wrote:

ps, how's the old Blokerized Eb treating you these days?

Good. I've just finished the "Blokerized 36J" season and am about to switch back to my King 2341 (sorry, Bloke didn't have to do much to that except clean it). In November, I'll ramp up on Eb for Christmas season - the Besson for concerts and the Buescher helicon for TubaChristmas and the like.

Sadly, the 36J got rained out. It was *perfect* for 4 July music. I'll make up for it by bringing it to DC in January.

As for flying the trombone - we're also bringing quite a supply of clothes, so finding extra padding will be no problem. I'm a bit worried that Delta will shear off the carrying handle - but the case is on it's last legs anyways so...if they trash the case it won't be a problem.

I'm flying because I want to visit him (and my two sisters). If I were going for no other purpose, I would carry a weekend bag that I could carry on. Since Delta loves me, I can instead check two huge suitcases FREE OF CHARGE (actually, I could probably check three, but I don't want to push it). Last time I checked, this was cheaper than UPS.

Delta allows musical instruments in the cabin for no charge, as long as they fit in the overhead (or you can convince the flight attendant to stow them in the closet (if there is one). I usually get upgraded to 1st class - so the flight attendants actually smile at me and try to make me comfortable.

So, the Bach goes under the plane, and the King 5B stays with me. I *might*, in a pinch, gate-check the King. Both will be padded with shirts and stuff that didn't make the 3 bags he took to NYC last month.

Oh yeah - the Bach case is at least 10 years old and has issues with fabric, zippers, etc. For day-to-day use, it will probably be replaced (soon) by something a little easier to tote on the subway.