What's a fipple?

[Katharine]

It's a lot like the starship Enterprise


... except for the warp engines, transporter, phasers, and tribbles. But otherwise very similar.

You get the tribbles (growing) when you don't keep your whistle swabbed out...

It's a lot like the starship Enterprise
... except for the warp engines, transporter, phasers, and tribbles. But otherwise very similar.

The US Enterprise was created in the attempt to giver an ocarina more of a linear whistle/flute-like playing for both hands, holes
being placed along the main engine casings. One engine plays a drone bass note one octave lower, being linked into the ship's main hull space,
while the melody is produced on the other engine, which is more of a pure linear whistle design.
It was invented by a Scotsman who was never satisfied with the design and kept complaining about
being an ocarina player and not a whistle designer. It was a leap forward in musical design and
would have been far more popular in the 1980's if it hadn't been for the sales price and the fact
they only made one and life-size, it's immense and overheats.

Takes a lot of air, too.