Posted by Mary Ann on September 18, 2003 at 09:46:24:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Charges for flying with a tuba?? posted by Kenneth Sloan on September 16, 2003 at 23:24:40:
I think that if the best tuba flight cases out there violate the size rules for airlines....there is something wrong. Like, if I pay close to $1000 for a case that the airlines won't accept, duh.
So maybe it's time for someone to try a new style of design for a flight case, one that isn't based on the "mega padding" line of thought.
If I were desiging a flight case, I would think "suspension." I'd have some kind of restraint system that was elastic enough to hold the body of the horn without dents, and un-elastic enough to keep it from touching the walls of the case. The bell would be surrounded only by air; the suspension system would keep the bell "floating."
Any takers? Engineering schools have contests like this all the time...design a box that will allow you to drop a raw egg from a 2nd story window without breaking the egg. If they can protect an egg, we should be able to protect a tuba. I'm seeing something with damped progressive springs between heavy parts of the tuba and the case wall....
MA