This may be a false alert... but

[Okiewan]

I just heard and felt an explosion... shook my house. Daughter called my wife who is approx 20 miles away ... they felt/heard it there as well.

We are 40 miles from Chicago. I have no idea how far that blast was, but it was big. I really hope it's not related to current events.

SCRATCH THAT!
Just found out it was two planes... (I did hear two), SONIC BOOM... sheez. Never heard one that loud!

 

[Senior KX Rider]

Maybe Rich is mixing up a batch of premium.:)

 

[R White]

sonic booms are the sound of our tax dollars at work and in times of conflict a beautiful noise,unless your the taliban then you've just been over flown:p

 

[MTRIDER]

ehehehh Sleep well osama :p

 

[Okiewan]

beautiful noise

Only if you know what it is!

 

[Strick]

Okie:

Don't you just hate it when those hearing aid batteries start to go -- old guy?:p

 

[holyroller1]

It's now confirmed it was 2 f-16's who escorted an American Airlines plane to O'hare airport that caused the sonic booms. A person tried to break into the cockpit of the passenger jet, but was held at bay by passengers and the crew. The person that tried to enter the cockpit is reportedly mentally handicap.

 

[R White]

I don't mean to give away my age, but when I was in HS. sonic booms were common, then came the noise police, we all know them, sonic booms have a very distinct sound and if your not familiar with them I can understand the concern, especially now, if you live in close proximity to any air field your more than likley to hear them now more than ever :think

 

[Okiewan]

I promise you, hearing aids were not required! Blew some windows out of homes south of here.

 

[ktmboy]

I used to go out to the AFFTC where the f-22 is being tested quite often, and I never did get used to those danged sonic booms. You'd hear 'em every day, and they'd still make you jump!

 

[BigBore]

I just heard and felt an explosion... shook my house

Maybe it was just a Cannondale at a nearby track? :D

 

[txvintage]

I don't mean to give away my age, but when I was in HS. sonic booms were common

Here in Dallas/Ft. worth we have Carswell, used to be an Air Force Base. Had a gazillion B-52s stationed there. They used to fly Real low on approach and take off if you lived near the base in Ft. Worth.

There escort planes whipped up some cool sonic booms on a regular basis. Ahhh, LBJ and the by gone days of youth.......:think

 

[Okiewan]

LBJ :)
Used to have a cabin (uncle's family) at Lake LBJ back in the day... never forget the construction the government did for his place out there.

 

[jamsxr]

I have screamed--cussed and threw many one finger salutes at the *&&^%

--Them pilots would drop onto the deck to sneak up behind me in the dust plume my big truck would trail behind.

It was fifty miles of dirt road into this place above the Nevada Test Site I used too haul from, and they would play their little silly games scaring the Be-geezus out of truck drivers by trying to scrape the tops of our smoke stacks with the belly of their jets! :)

At times that I saw them I would flash my lights at them indicating I launched against them and they would dip their wings.

 

[Okiewan]

Now let's not get into our experiences with aircraft :)
I called close-air from F-4's, A-10's (fav) and Cobra's. The weekend jockey's loved to turn in their fat 727's for the hot-rods, loved to buzz the OP's. Man, I've got stories.

13FoxTrot... ooohhh ahhhh.
(for the non-military: 13F10 (Forward Observer) was my MOS (job).)

 

[Offroadr]

OKie, do you think it was from the F16s they scrambled after the lunatic tried to break into the cockpit this afternoon?

 

[Okiewan]

Yup... they said the sonic boom came when they were going to intercept the plane. Witnesses saw them escort the plane to the ground. Seems they were on the outer limits of their quadrent when the pilot radioed they were being hijacked.

 

[WaltCMoto]

I would guess that most people flying these last few weeks have been a little nervous anyways. Then to be on board for something like this, that would be a bad day. The sonic boom shook our building at work, light fixtures swinging, kind of strange .

 

[longtime]

Jams - never had a problem with local populations myself. Course, most drivers on the I-5 never knew I'd locked on 'em :p. One squadron I knew of, though, had t-shirts printed up after a particularly nasty local homeowner complaint season (at an air base that far pre-dated the new, local suburbs) that said "Hear the noise? Look up. That's the sound of freedom!"

 

[jamsxr]

That's right Lt

---but in the case I was describing--that sound usually meant time to put clean shorts on. :eek: ;)

Spent many days scanning the horizon in them desert valleys north of Tonopah.
Pretty sure it must have been some of the same pilots buzzing me all the time, we had lots of fun.

 

[ktmboy]

I had one of those experiences with a B-1 once out in the middle of nowhere. He was coming in behind me so low I could see him in the mirrors, wings swept back, full bore. It didn't matter that I saw him, 'cause as he passed over my truck it shook so hard I had to stop and check my shorts!:eek:

 

[lawman]

how'd you like to be some sheepherder living in a mud hut & have a few of those babies streak right over yer butt? i'd rather be here than there, terrorists, anthrax, crazy people on planes & buses, & all. flying is still safer than the drive to the airport.

 

[Okiewan]

how'd you like to be some sheepherder living in a mud hut & have a few of those babies streak right over yer butt

No kidding... pretty cool to looking up and seeing two F16's circling over my house. I don't think I'd care to see that if I were an Afghan.

Crap... there was another Sonic Boom... while I'm typing this :scream:

 

[KawieKX125]

Sonic booms are pretty scary. At the last school I went to(in the boonies), a military plane flew over, then all of a sudden, BAMO!!! Everyone was running.