I typically take LOTS of gear with me.

My tripod fits perfectly in my checked bag so I keep that in there (plus it's kinda heavy...Manfrotto). However, if I am traveling to a shoot I often have my Dynalite kit with me which has all kinds of metal, small battery packs, the two flash heads and the light stands. Sometimes I get the white swab check and sometimes they don't bat an eye.
I've never had anyone concern about all of that coming on the plane with me...though there was one TSA agent in LAX that asked if I could shoot his headshots sometime.