Airport Security/Whistle Question

Kar · Post by **Kar** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 12:04 pm

Hi--I'm flying later today and I want to bring my Dixon with me. I'm not checking luggage and I'm worried that airport security might somehow think my whistle is a weapon. On my last flight, my nail clippers were confiscated. Has anyone flown with a whistle lately in their carry-on luggage? If so, was there any trouble?

I can always just take my Meg and then if they confiscate it, I won't be too upset. But I'd like to know if anyone has any experience with this.

blackhawk · Post by **blackhawk** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 12:14 pm

I'd carry it in my hand so it's obvious you're not hiding anything. If they have any questions, play them a tune.

In April I flew to Ireland. Standing in line next to me was an Irishman who's been living in SF for many years. He was flying home for his folks 50th anniversary. He confided in me that he was carrying a Chieftan low D in his duffle bag and wasn't checking his luggage because the airline had lost it on previous occasions. He was worried that they'd confiscate it, same worry as you. I went first thru the metal detector (I wasn't carrying any contraband of any kind). They pulled me off to the side and almost strip searched me, taking off my shoes, belt, looking thru my wallet. The Irishman put his duffle through the x-ray machine. They looked at this shotgun-shaped object and never said a word, while their buddies continued hassling me long after he was gone.

While in Ireland, I bought a Dixon and when coming home, just carried it with me thru the security check. They asked what it was, then had no further questions, both in Shannon and in LAX.

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 12:30 pm

I carried my laughing whistle in a PVC case in my carryon through seattle/tacoma and boise airport early this month and no one said a thing.

ChrisA · Post by **ChrisA** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 12:30 pm

Since September 11th, I've always sent my whistles through checked baggage over the same concern. I've asked, and all anyone can say is 'maybe' - it's going to depend on your screener's whim. A friend had no trouble with an Oak (which is cylindrical, plastic fipple) but the Clarke was considered 'dangerous' (because it was conical, I guess, and so sort of sharp-like... uh... okay, not really, but whatever...)

I don't chance it personally, but you might be okay. And you can theoretically back out of security, go back to the counter, get them to pull your checked luggage from the tarmac and put your whistle in it, and then go back through security... this may cause you to miss your flight, though, I don't know, but I know I'm not letting someone who isn't a police officer 'confiscate' something which isn't illegal with no intention of ever returning it.

(When an officer 'confiscates' an item, you can go to court to prove it's a legal object or legally yours or both and get it back... it's impounded, not taken. When the airport people take something, it is unceremoniously dumped in a bin to be displayed on the evening news before being disposed of, and there is no way to get it back.)

At the San Diego airport - the same one that didn't like the Clarke - someone else in line was stopped from taking a zippo lighter onboard; he didn't let them confiscate it, but made them pull his luggage. Conversely, at the TF Greene (Providence, RI) airport, I was chosen for random search and handed my zippo back from checked luggage, being told it -couldn't- be checked but -had- to be taken onboard! (But you can't take more than one lighter, so if you're a collector, mail your collection to yourself, it's a catch-22 on taking it on the plane with you...)

Not that this last has to do with whistles, but it demonstrates the unpredictable insanity of the current screening process.

--Chris

srt19170 · Post by **srt19170** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 12:33 pm

I've flown quite often with my whistles since 9/11 and have never had a problem. I got stopped for a frisk on a recent flight because (as it turned out) a jumble of nail clippers. (Every time I fly I take the nail clipper out of my pocket and throw it in my laptop bag; they accumulate there forever

I asked the security guard if he had been concerned about the whistles and he said "Oh, I didn't even notice those." And one of my whistles that time was a Silkstone Alloy, which should have shown up quite clearly on the X-ray. So I wouldn't worry about it.

-- Scott

Kar · Post by **Kar** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 1:36 pm

Thanks, everyone. It sounds like I'll have better luck with my harmless plastic Dixon than with my dangerous metal Meg.

Strange world where one has to worry about whistles being considered a weapon...

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 1:48 pm

-Completed a roundtrip recently and had no security
diversions/delays resulting from the towel-
roll of whistles in my briefcase carry-on.
-Whistles: Silkstone alloy D+, Susato VSB-D, Generation Bb brass and Water Weasel Low G (dismantled-2-pc.)
-In other words, whistles made of everything but wood.

-Putting a pointy-ended whistle like the Sweetone/Meg D in checked luggage might be wise, as a screener may feel it has potential like that of box cutters and folding pocket knives passed through prior to September 11th. -I used to pass my swiss army knife directly to the hand-bucket screener to avoid setting off the metal detector, walk through the detector, then collect it from the screener. No more!

_________________

...and a happy shriek ensued!

[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2002-08-20 16:10 ]

[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2002-08-20 16:13 ]

[ This Message was edited by: brianormond on 2002-08-20 17:41 ]

tomcat · Post by **tomcat** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 1:53 pm

Well, I carry whistles through airport security an average of 5-8 times a week! I have a part-time job for an airline as a gate agent and use my breaks to practice. I also travel often with whistles having this last year traveled to Seattle, San Fransico, Salt Lake, Albuquerque, etc. I always carry my whistles. I've carried Chieftains, Brass Hoovers, and various whistles of all kinds. Only once was I ever been questioned. They looked a little hard at my Chieftain A, so I played a little melody . . . and it spite of how I sounded, they let me and the whistles pass! I've never had a problem.

That said, I wouldn't suggest wearing one of Dale's National Whistle Association tee-shirts while going through security. One does not want to tempt fate . . .

Jo C · Post by **Jo C** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 2:29 pm

I flew to San francisco from Heathrow and back again last summer (before 9/11) with my generation d and had no problems.
Jo.

Wandering_Whistler · Post by **Wandering_Whistler** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 3:54 pm

I've always traveled with at least one whistle..usually many.

I've traveled once since 9/11, and my whistles didn't raise any eyebrows. Prior to that, I'd occasionally get asked to play, universally by a female guard (woot woot!). Once, a particularly dimwitted guard in denver wouldn't let me go thru the 'short line' (pocket items only), and instead made me put my whistle through the xray machine, protests of "It's metal..you won't see anything you couldn't see looking down the hollow tube" notwithstanding.

Dewhistle · Post by **Dewhistle** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 4:57 pm

On 2002-08-20 14:14, blackhawk wrote:
I'd carry it in my hand so it's obvious you're not hiding anything. If they have any questions, play them a tune.

I can't help thinking of the typical old movie routine where a celebrity proves his identity by singing his latest hit song.

WyoBadger · Post by **WyoBadger** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 5:51 pm

I've flown with whistles in a carry-on several times both before and after 9-11. Never had a problem. The only "problem" I've ever had was as the senate office building in DC where my brother works. The security guard wanted to see it, and once I showed it to him he laughed and thought it was really cool.

Others might argue with me on this, but it's been my experience that if you're honest and cooperative, police/security/law enforcement people are ALMOST universally pretty nice, reasonable people.

Tom

p.s. Just make sure that before going through security you remove the x-acto blade you affixed on the end of your whistle so it would deflate your airbag and prevent it from forcing your whistle through your brainstem when you rearended someone because you were whistling while driving. Wow, did I get that all in one sentence?

avanutria · Post by **avanutria** » Tue Aug 20, 2002 5:53 pm

Hahah quite the sentence Tom! Hey check your private messages

drdagmar · Post by **drdagmar** » Wed Aug 21, 2002 2:14 am

Hi all, never had any problems there in Europe and we flew just two weeks after the 11/9 with an Overton Low D and G and so on. I was raelly surprised that the security guys did not say a word about the whistles. So I asked one of them if they would see any alloy items and he answered yes, sure. But still did not say a word about the whistles. How easy could one hide a really big blade in an Low D ? And they keep making such a fuss about nailclippers...crazy !!
All the best, Dagmar

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Wed Aug 21, 2002 1:17 pm

Dixon is plastic and should not present a problem. Some time ago I travelled with a whole roll bag of various sized metal whistles (Overtons from high to Low D)and actually did have to play a tune at security. It should be fine with one plastic whistle; imagine me with a bag of varied size metal pipes?