Chairs for heavy city use

[LROBBINS]

Goose,

Check "shock sensors" at McMaster-Carr. There are only two problems with your shock sensor idea: more complex than needed, and the airlines will surely say it's an unverified, and hence to-be-ignored, device.

There are a number of simple, mechanical sensors that, some quite cheap stick on labels for packages. Because they are commercial products with a history, if you ever had to contest an airlines actions they'd probably be taken at face value.

Never thought of this before, but I think I should order some and have them handy for our next trip.

Ciao,
Lenny

[Sully]

Quote; "Could be powered off a flashlight battery pack, so comply with regs requiring the main batteries to be disconnected".
I have never been required to do this. I fact I did see the luggage guy riding in my chair while headed back to the planes storage area. And another riding to the arival gate upon getting to my destination, different occasions though.

[ex-Gooserider]

Lenny, My feeling is that the shock monitor is more to "keep them honest" than as a tool to get them to pay for damages - after all, as long as the chair is drivable and not blatantly broken, they can always claim that it was damaged before you gave it to them, and the shock monitor doesn't prove they did it...

I also think a digital version (and possibly one of the labels - which is what I got the idea from) has the advantage that it would report multiple problems, while the mechanical / label devices just record the first / worst problem... For instance when they bounced Rachi's chair down the stairs, a shock label would just record that it was subjected to a shock - but an electronic recorder would give a step by step record, with time stamp.... If it did come down to legal action, I suspect that a demo and the datasheets on what the sensor could pick up would be pretty convincing....

Sully - My recollection of the regs is that the batteries are supposed to be disconnected - whether that is enforced or not is a seperate question... The theory behind it makes sense to me in that they want to make sure there is no way the chair could get turned on and try to drive itself through the side of the plane while in flight... I've also seen a lot of advice that it is best to remove the joystick, along with any other easily detachable parts, and take them with you as carry ons. If you do this the chair isn't drivable anyway. (It is what I did on my one post-injury plane trip, and all I did was show the gate people how to work the free-wheel levers so they could roll the chair...)

ex-Gooserider

[Deane]

Its the only chair I would consider if I didn't build my own. Build quality of base is good, has drive axle failure issues, and as you say 6.5mph.

The drive axle issues were resolved on the V6 and probably the new rearwheel drive V4. They are using different motors than the ones they used on the X5. I've had my V6 for about a year and a half and haven't had any axle issues.

Deane

[LROBBINS]

Goose,

The requirement to disconnect the batteries was removed from the regs a few years ago (though not all baggage personnel know this). It is, however, necessary to securely turn off the chair - disconnecting a controller cable will suffice.

Ciao,
Lenny

[Sully]

Lenny,

I have seen a false 3 prong charger plug, that will disable the power, just don't forget to release the brakes. I just do not have any problem with the handlers riding it. Provided they do not abuse it, what's the harm? The false plug is always there if they will use it held by a string when it is out, and a small tag to explain its use.

[LROBBINS]

Yep Sully, an XLR plug with a wire from "inhibit" to "ground" will immobilize the chair too, but it won't keep any actuators (tilt, lift, recline) from functioning. On Rachi's the Specialty Controls Remote is in a slip in mount, so I want to take it into the plane with us anyway. As it's the master module in her Dynamic DX setup, once it's removed the chair is truly dead in the water. Ciao, Lenny

[Humpinate]

Something I'd think about building if I had to do a lot of air travel or other where I had to be separated from the chair, is an electronic "tip & tell" equivalent... A recorder that would log any excessive bumps and shocks, turning upside down, sideways, or other abuses of that sort...

It wouldn't be all that difficult, expensive or bulky - I'm thinking an Arduino with a real-time clock module, an SD-card / datalogger, and one of the low cost 3-axis accelerometer units.

Ex-Gooserider, where would you mount it ? Would you hide it, like a Lo-Jack ? Or would it be visible, even painted to stand out, like a black box for Wheelchairs ? Thanks.

[ex-Gooserider]

Something I'd think about building if I had to do a lot of air travel or other where I had to be separated from the chair, is an electronic "tip & tell" equivalent... A recorder that would log any excessive bumps and shocks, turning upside down, sideways, or other abuses of that sort...

It wouldn't be all that difficult, expensive or bulky - I'm thinking an Arduino with a real-time clock module, an SD-card / datalogger, and one of the low cost 3-axis accelerometer units.

Ex-Gooserider, where would you mount it ? Would you hide it, like a Lo-Jack ? Or would it be visible, even painted to stand out, like a black box for Wheelchairs ? Thanks.

In the theme of "keep-em-honest" I would probably do a bit of both... I'd make the actual device hard to find / access - say put it on the underside of the seat, or in the battery compartment. The baggage gorrillas aren't going to have a lot of time to look for it, so keeping it out of plain sight is going to discourage tampering or making it "fall off and get lost".

OTOH, I would put a large sign (possibly in multiple languages if doing international travel) on the chair saying something like "This chair equipped with shock monitoring device - improper handling will be recorded"

In some ways the sign is almost more important than the system to the extent that it keeps the handling appropriate - after all the "ideal" situation is that the chair gets to the other end without any damage and no need to go through any complaint procedures because you rolled off the airplane happy and smiling about how well they treated you and your chair.... While having a shock monitor might help the process if you HAVE to complain, it is still going to be a hassle that you don't need.

ex-Gooserider

[Burgerman]

Buy van. Go by road and sea. Safer...

>>> OTOH, I would put a large sign (possibly in multiple languages if doing international travel) on the chair saying something like "This chair equipped with shock monitoring device - improper handling will be recorded"

They will just look around, see no camera, and kick it or snap something off... It will work like the "fragile" stickers do on the mail! Those get thrown the furthest.

[ex-Gooserider]

Buy van. Go by road and sea. Safer...

>>> OTOH, I would put a large sign (possibly in multiple languages if doing international travel) on the chair saying something like "This chair equipped with shock monitoring device - improper handling will be recorded"

They will just look around, see no camera, and kick it or snap something off... It will work like the "fragile" stickers do on the mail! Those get thrown the furthest.

Granted that it is possible to drive from Europe to North America and back (TRUE - look up plate tectonics and map of Iceland) a lot of the route is severely lacking in pavement.... It is also not easy to find a way to get a vessel that will carry both van and passenger for major ocean crossings...

Given the time, there are reasonable alternatives to air travel in a lot of cases, but for some situations it is still the best solution even with all it's hassles...

Remember that we mostly only hear about the horror stories.... Aside from the uncomfortable airplane seats that even the AB's grumble about, and the indignities of the 'aisle chair' MOST of the flights with chair are relatively painless...

ex-Gooserider