I know that on the older board there was a posting and thread about flying and carrying whistles through security screening in airports
Has anyone travelled by air since September 12th with whistles in their pockets?
Just curious.
Mark
Mark
Hey Mark,
. . . not in my pockets, but I flew from Virginia to Chicago via Atlanta with a Hoover low F CPVC and a Laughing sop D in my carry-on. No one said a word about them but they scrutinized my lap-top and x-rayed my shoes.
Go figure . . .
Vinny
I was wondering about this too. I plan to fly home for Christmas, and I was planning on taking my Low D with me. I checked the FAA website, and this is what it has to say about carryon items:
Items prohibited from aircraft cabins:
The following items must be placed in, or transported as, checked baggage or risk confiscation.
- Knives of any length, composition or description
- Cutting instruments of any kind and composition, including carpet knives and box cutters (and spare blades), any device with a folding or retractable blade, ice picks, straight razors, metal scissors and metal nail files
- Corkscrews
- Baseball/softball bats
- Golf clubs
- Pool cues
- Ski poles
- Hockey sticks
When in doubt, transport item in checked baggage.
Permitted items:
- Walking canes and umbrellas (once inspected to ensure prohibited items are not concealed)
- Nail clippers
- Safety razors (including disposable razors)
- Syringes (with documented proof of medical need)
- Tweezers
- Eyelash curlers
Not very helpful WRT whistles, I know, but it would seem to be a good idea to check the big ones with your luggage.
Now, who has a good way to pack a Low D so it doesn’t get damaged?
[ This Message was edited by: LittleMy on 2001-10-11 14:44 ]
On 2001-10-11 14:41, LittleMy wrote:
Now, who has a good way to pack a Low D so it doesn’t get damaged?
I’d roll it up in bubblewrap, and pack it snugly in a heavy cardboard map tube or the like, before putting it in my suitcase.
I flew from Vancouver to Montreal on Sept. 15th. I had been on business in Portland that week and had some of my whistles - including a Kerry Pro Low D with me. On my way there I carried them in the plastic ‘Blueprint Case’ that I always use. I carried them on the plane.
Coming back I squeezed them into my bag that got checked in. That Kerry Pro could definitely be used as a weapon and I didn’t want to lose it. They arrived safe and sound.
Cheers 
Gerry
On 2001-10-11 14:41, LittleMy wrote:
Not very helpful WRT whistles, I know, but it would seem to be a good idea to check the big ones with your luggage.
Now, who has a good way to pack a Low D so it doesn’t get damaged?
Littlemy,
I recently travelled from DC to Houston (Aug 20th). One of the things that worked out well, is to pack several of my low whistles in a Blueprint Case.
You can find Blueprint Cases at your local art store or architectural supply store. It a tube of medium weight plastic with caps on both ends. They even come with carring straps that attach to the caps. Mine is made of black plastic and is about 26-28 inches long and 3 inches in diameter. It hold 4 low whistles. I keep each whistle in its own cloth sock/case to cushion the whistles from each other and the case. You can make the same thing out of PVC pipe and PVC end caps (I have one for a favorite soprano D). The PVC case gets pretty heavy which is why I picked up the Blue Print Case.
I put the Case, with its whistles, in my large suitcase and checked them through. It worked fine.
Hope this helps, so you can take your whistles with you and …
Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2001-10-11 16:29 ]
If you want to pack whistles in your carry on, you can try mailing tubes from Office Depot. They sell them in several sizes. They also have bubble wrap with the 1/4" bubbles which takes less space. That should be enough space to put 3 whistles in a 3" diameter tube and only cost a few dollars !
You guys are certainly helpful! Thanks.
I think I may go the cardboard tube route. I just really hate to check my babies… I mean whistles, in my luggage.
Here’s some links for the plastic blueprint case available on-line:
- IceTube from All-in-One supply.
- Artbin](http://shop.store.yahoo.com/artcity-com/abn-at25.html%3EArtbin) Tube from ArtCity online store
I noticed that the basic 25inch Artbin is available for less than 10 dollars.
Hope this helps,
Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2001-10-11 17:53 ]
Although I think the security measures are more strickt in the US than in europe, the same rules apply to cabbinb luggage as posted above.
I just flew from copenhagen to Amsterdam and back a few days ago.
My Overton Low D (quite a solid bat) did not fit into my check-in luggage.
It was in my handluggage, in it’s black cover that comes with Overton whistles.
It was sticking out of my bag (too long).
I asked the personel when checking in. They said, if it’s not sharp it’s no problem.
There was a whole bunch of whistles in the bag, and i could just pass at security, both ways…
I flew from Vancouver to Denver Sept 18. My Feadog d in my carry on bag aroused the interest of the guards, because the whistle looked odd on xray. “Do you have some kind of measuring device in your bag, sir,” was how she put it. They seemed relieved when I pulled it out. I was kinda hoping they’d ask me to play it just to prove it wasn’t a weapon.
They didn’t.
Recent experiences of friends of mine
flying in the USA suggest that
security has a ways to go before
I fly again.
I read this post before I left Oct 26 on a trip from Houston Hobby to Tulsa, Oklahoma. On the way, the x-ray tech said, “Let’s see the sticks.” On the way back on the 31st, on the other hand, they completely unrolled the whistle roll, and a very interested security agent of Indian (East) descent, asked many questions about them. Then, it happened, just like in one of the replies. After asking if I could play them, he said, “Show me.” I murmured something like, “Here?” and pulled out the quietest one in the bag, the Mack Hoover E I won the C&F raffle last year. As I stumbled shakily through Boys of the Town, the security agent beamed at his fellow workers. I hurried away as fast as possible, with a grin on my face.
I was kinda hoping they’d ask me to play it just to prove it wasn’t a weapon.
They didn’t.
Those high G Generations definitely qualify as weapons!
As things now stand, people are
able to get practically anything
on airplanes.
I have travelled by air in the US several times since Sept 11 (the first being on Sept 14, to get home). I generally carry a high-D Water Weasel with me which hasn’t drawn a second glance from the security people, though at various times I have been asked to unpack my carry-on or present my purse to be swabbed with explosive-finding stuff. Of course the Water Weasel is made of PVC pipe, not metal.
I have transported my wooden flute in my suitcase by placing it in its case, then rolling several layers of clothes around it, then placing the roll in the center of the suitcase. The flute travels fine that way, though I would prefer not to check the suitcase that it is in.
I also have an old, hard-sided Samsonite briefcase that I have refitted with foam rubber on the inside to carry flute and whistles and that has worked well in the past.
Haven’t tried carrying a metal whistle through Security since Sept 11th but wouldn’t anticipate a problem with anything short of the heavier one-piece low whistles.
BTW, many airlines count a musical instrument case small enough to fit through the screening station as the one “personal or business carryon item” that most of us are now allowed. So if I brought the case I would have to put my purse inside my other carry-on bag.
My daughter has travelled with her fiddle, but that is another topic entirely!
Adrienne