Traditional Chinese Whistle Kites

Whistle kite

The whistle kite is an ancient tradition in Chinese kites - the current name Fengzheng comes from attaching whistles to kites. Very rare in the UK, this one has a variety of whistles and makes a fine wall decoration. Supplied with a cord tail (not shown) for stability in the air and best flown in medium-strong winds; the whistles need quite a strong wind to make a noise. Size is   55 cm x 55 cm (excluding tail) Price £Ask + £10.00 delivery Please note this is too large to send by post so delivery is by courier. Email Airdynamics to order or for more information

As an aside, we used these whistles, or more correctly flutes, in an experiment for the UK television programme the Time Team, in an attempt to reconstruct a 'Draco', an standard used by Roman cavalry. The draco was shaped like a dragons head, and reportedly made an eiry noise.

See: http://www.fectio.org.uk/articles/makedraco3.htm for more information

We did succeed in making a version of the draco which was pretty successful; we combined different whistle sizes which made a convincing wailing sound. Of course this is all quite speculative, so the Romans might have used a completely different method, but this is perhaps the best theory at the moment.