If you have an old system flute, 21 inches overall lenght… whick key is supposed to be?’
Eb, F???
???
Hard to say much useful with so little info! Any chance of a pic? FWIW at this stage, most “F” band flutes with short foot are between 19-20 inches overall, depending on whether low or high pitch. Has yours got a short or long foot? If long it could be a HP F, if short, perhaps its an Eb??? Really do need to know/see more to help properly.
ok, sorry. You’re right jemtheflute, very little iformation!
a pic
- french flute
short foot
probably HP, not sure
53 cm totall leght when assembled
I have one of these french things, in D, and when i first see the one above, i thought it was in D. The keys, proportions, all very close. but the fact is : it’s 53 cm long 
thanks a lot for the help!
Hi,
Looks like a F to me. Is it playing? You could always check it with a tuner.
oh, it was an ebay auction!
finally i let it go, but still wondering about its key.
Mmmmm. Definitely an F from the pic, and probably plays at A=440 or just maybe A=435, being French and given the length. Unlikely to be HP at that length, though. Shame it’s missing its C nat key! I didn’t see that one on eBay, but got outbid on another French one last night from a GB source. That was actually stamped “high pitch” but from its length was more likely at 440.
[Digresssion:“High Pitch” meant different things in different countries at different times. If an English flute is stamped “HP” it will be at what we now think of as HP, higher than 440, but French or German ones stamped “HP” may (but not necessarily) be at 440 because they were working at lower pitches there at the time! Similarly, English flutes stamped “LP” may be at 440, but continental ones so stamped may be lower. Confused? Bottom line is you need measurements for a better idea, and even then can’t be certain till you actually get to play a flute: but DO NOT trust the label!]