Flying with a fountain pen...

[sky67]

I must admit that I'm afraid of travelling by air with a full fountain pen. I just don't want to risk the mess of a leaking pen. Does anyone on this board have a positive experience with travelling with a full pen? Does it really work?

I was very annoyed recently when I left my fountain pen home, and took a roller ball instead. Of course, the roller ball leaked, which usually does not happen to me. Fortunately, it was all inside the cap.

If my trip has a long stay, I'll take an empty fountain pen and fill it when I arrive. On short stays, I don't bother taking the pen. I'm considering trying it once, just to break the ice and perhaps create a comfort level with travelling with a full pen.

 

I'm curious how many others share this "fear of leaking" while flying.

 

Steve

[dwmatteson]

I've flown with my pens completely full and completely empty, and experienced leaks in neither case. I've also flown with pens that have designs permitting leak-free flight (e.g., Parker "51" aerometric).

 

Given a choice between flying with a full or an empty pen, I'll take the full pen just for the convenience of not needing to fill after I've landed. As long as I've kept the nibs pointing up in my briefcase, I've had no problems at all.

 

Don M.

[jsonewald]

I can't vote because I don't pay much attention to their fill level. I keep the nibs pointing up, when I remember to, during take off and landing. I haven't had a problem.

[cvasara]

I fly regularly with two or three Targa fountain pens, with converters and with cartridges. I have three with me on this trip, currently in progress. I have never had a leakage problem, but have carried them in a small plastic bag pen holder just in case. They have never leaked, I do try to carry them with the nib up. I got real brave, once, and tried to use one in a plane. I must say, that is not the thing to do when you are 30,000 feet above the planet surface.

It is much more risky leaving one in a hot car, not pretty at all.

But it is just ink, and will clean up. Nothing wrong with a little black ink on ones finger tips.

[klemenv]

On aeroplanes I would use WallStreet with empty small reservoar.

[BillTheEditor]

When I fly, I tend to take one or more Parker 45s for business trips, or one or more Rotring Cores for vacations/family visits. I carry cartridges for these occasions. One cartridge, unpierced, in each pen barrel, and the pens go in my carry-on luggage. Spare cartridges go in the checked luggage. On the trip home, I discard any cartridge that is still partially full. I do this as much to avoid problems with TSA staff who are hazy about the status of fountain pens and cartridges as I do to avoid leaks. I can always throw away an unpierced cartridge and then they have no reason to have a problem with a fountain pen.

 

In the days before the current security concerns, I used to do the same thing, except the spare cartridges went in the carry-on. Once in a while I would fly with a Parker Sonnet or (modern) Duofold and extra ink in a Visconti travelling ink pot. But that was then and this is now. If things ever return to "normal" in my lifetime (not likely) I will go back to my old system.

 

When I can, I drive or take a train.

[bobioden]

I have taken my VP on my last 3 flights and never had any problems. I even used them on the flight. One time it was full, the other times I didn't even look, I just grabbed it and left.

 

Bob

[Dawn]

I have never had a problem with ink leaking on flights, I just grab whatever pens I want to take and off I go.

 

I like Bills method of the empty cartridge in the pen barrel thats a really good idea.

 

Dawn

[phillychuck]

I have travelled with various (Waterman LeMan 100, Pel 200 & 800, Lamy 2000...) partially filled. Sometimes there is a little ink in the cap, but no major problems otherwise.

[sky67]

I'm encouraged. I've always wanted to take my pens full, now I'll definately try it.

In peoples experience, are pens that have an air tight seal around the nib more prone to leaking due to the change in pressure, as opposed to say a Namiki VP or Stipula DaVinci where the pressure may equalize? Thoughts?

 

Steve

[kissing]

I just flew with a Pelikan M150 and a Parker Frontier - both full.

 

No leak problems whatsoever

I don't think any modern fountain pens that use converter or piston or aerometric filling systems would leak.

[FrankB]

I am old fashioned and I always empty my FP's completely when I fly. If I write while in flight, I use a Fisher Space Pen.

[lecorbusier]

I have used both my FC and Namiki Bamboo with converter and cartridges on planes before. No problem.

[Stratuswriter]

I fly for a living. My Pelikan and Mont Blanc have both leaked. My S.T. Dupont, which I believe has a superior nib, has never leaked. However, my traveling pen is a Namiki Vanishingpoint.

 

Pilot does not claim the Vanishingpoint to be a leak proof pen, but the pen's design does resist leaking with altitude changes. I took it to Quito, Ecauador, which is an eleven thousand foot elevation change with no problem. It is also handy in that it only takes one hand to operate.

 

Eliminating as much of the air pocket as possible, by filling the pen, is always the best way to travel if you intend to use the pen while flying. If I intend to write with a pen that could leak, I empty the pen before flight then fill it with ink from my Visconti Traveling Ink Pot once the airplane reaches altitude.

[RyanL27]

I'm hopping on a plane for Seattle on Monday, and you all now have me interested enough to bring a pen with me.

 

I assume no one has had security troubles either? I'd be pretty upset if TSA said I couldn't take my m800 or 51 on the plane.

[Viseguy]

I got real brave, once, and tried to use one in a plane. I must say, that is not the thing to do when you are 30,000 feet above the planet surface.

Why? What happened?

[chemgeek]

I frequently fly as a passenger in commercial airliners and as a pilot in my own light aircraft. Taking a fountain pen, full or otherwise has never been a problem, and I use my pens during flight. There are some simple procedures to follow to prevent leaks, which are based on the fundamental gas laws.

 

1. If possible, store your pen nib up during ascent, so that air, and not ink, is expelled through the nib during this phase of flight.

 

2. Do not use your pen during ascent to cruising altitude. (That would violate rule #1, but it will write a VERY WET line if you do.)

 

3. Uncap your pen, nib up, once altitude is reached. (In case your cap seals very tightly against the nib section.)

 

4. If possible, travel with as full as possible pen to minimize the total volume of expanding air in the ink reservoir.

 

5. Do not worry about using your pen at altitude or during descent.

 

For the physics: an airliner or light aircraft traveling at normal cruise altitudes will have a cabin pressure of about 8000 feet, which is maybe 25% less pressure than sea level atmospheric pressure. That means that any air in your fountain pen is going to expand about 25% in volume during climb to altitude. If the nib is down, a small amount of ink might be expelled, depending on the volume of air in the reservoir. If the nib is up (as in a shirt pocket) air can be harmlessly expelled through the nib and any collateral ink moved around in the nib as the air escapes can be soaked up by the feed. Once at altitude, the pen will work perfectly well and should not be at any increased risk for leaking. On the descent to landing, air will be forced into the nib, so leakage should not be a problem. If you travel with pens that cannot be stored nib up or tightly sealed, then you may want to minimize air in the reservoir before travel. I have rarely, rarely had pens leak during air travel. The main hazard with traveling with FPs now is that you can't take your ink with you easily because of the liquids restrictions, unless you enter the checked baggage lottery. (My luggage seems to frequently get lost on commercial flights.)

 

Cheers.

[MicheleB]

I have flown cross country with many different FP's in all various stages of fill. The only time I have trouble is when they are in my bag under the seat and on their sides and then it's only a few drops in the cap which end up on my fingers cause I always forget to check first.

 

If I keep them nib up I never have a problem no matter what model, vintage or modern, full or partially full.

 

No security issues ever encountered even with more unusual and larger pens such as the OMAS Gentleman Sailor which could "look" like a small pipe bomb, but I won't push it and it will stay off planes henceforth.

[psfred]

No trouble at all with my Parker 51 and Parker 21 on a recent trip.

 

If you are concerned about it, any of the Parker Aerometrics behave perfectly, being designed precisely for airplane travel.

 

Modern passenger planes are all pressurized, so you don't have the 1940s problems of VERY large pressure changes, but as noted, they pressurize to 7000 or 8000 ft equivalent to reduce airframe stress, so there are pressure changes.

 

I would keep any other pen nib up during assent (rule #1) -- this greatly reduces the likelyhood of ink burping out, although on a non-aerometric pen this is not a total assurance no ink will end up in the cap.

 

Peter

[sky67]

The responses on this forum encouraged me to finally take a fountain pen on the plane. I'm happy to report I had no issues, no leaking whatsoever. Of course, I did follow the rules. I do find it difficult to ensure that the pen is always upright if it's in my bag. My briefcase must lay on it's side to fit under the seat. The obvious solution was to just put the pen in my shirt pocket, but most of my shirts do not have a pocket. I just kept the pen with me, and stored it in the seat pocket. It's scary because I realize this is also the best way to lose a nice pen. For future trips I may just plan to wear a shirt with a pocket to keep the pen upright.

 

BTW, the pen is an ST Dupont Orpheo with a fine nib.

 

Steve