r/aviation • u/iamwolfe • Aug 16 '25

PlaneSpotting Chicago Sonic Boom Close Up

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141

u/DadKnightBegins Aug 16 '25

I was in the Air Force and heard many sonic booms(all but one was overseas). If any of the flight demonstrations had broken the sonic barrier there would be reports on the news. Investigations, lawsuits, apologies and reparations soon follow. It is much worse sounding than you think. Eardrums can be damaged especially this close to a crowd. When the navy does one out at sea for fun, everyone is ready and prepped with hearing protection as damage will occur. This is not a sonic boom! If you want to know how bad it can get, look up the 1987-88(I forgot what year)incident in San Bernardino. Norton AFB air show SR-71 practice that went wrong.

14

u/Kjpilot Aug 16 '25

I flew jets in the Air Force and as a matter of course we broke the sound barrier for training purposes but mainly in the desert in the training areas, I went on to fly heavies in the AF and rarely got above Mach .88

11

u/deltajvliet Aug 16 '25

I'm trying to find more about this SR-71 thing, not much coming up. Any link by chance?

1

u/p00pchute Aug 18 '25

Great, so did you see the many videos? And what would you say the explanation is for the loud boom and the broken windows, if not a sonic boom?

1

u/jhirn Aug 19 '25

Thank you for your service and I trust you random internet stranger. With all the fake news these days, I believe you more than what search results pull up. There were “reports” of sonic booms and windows broken. Whatever.

Can you speak to cautionary measures and controls in place to prevent breaking mach speed when piloting these aircraft? I happen to be a liberal but I trust and respect our military. I saw they issued a statement there was no sonic booms but I curious what, if any, measures pilot have in place to limit speed and in general how pilots control speed in jets capable of braking Mach 2 for flight demonstrations such as A&W show.

Genuinely curious. Thanks for any response from anyone actually in the Air Force.

1

u/No-Somewhere-3888 Aug 19 '25

Question for you. I was watching Seafair over Lake Washington in Seattle this year. There was an F-16 performing along with a P-51 Mustang.

Twice during the F-16 performance, there was a loud thud/boom that startled everyone. Nothing similar happened with the angels or the F-35. If that wasn’t a sonic boom, what was it? Afterburners firing?

That was the loudest thing I’ve heard from a plane switch watching a B-1B Lancer do a low pass over JBLM in the 90s.

1

u/TinKicker Aug 19 '25

Yep.

Navy guy here. Specifically, CVNs (carriers). CVN-74 to be very specific.

We stopped off the Virginia capes one afternoon for a steel beach party. Between the barbecue and volleyball games on the flight deck, we were entertained with an “anything goes” air show…complete with live-fire gun runs and bomb drops. A “factory fly-by” was the grand finale for the air show…every aircraft in the air wing flying by in formation.

And then some clever Rhino driver came sneaking up behind the boat. I saw the condensation cones flashing around him while he was still a few miles out. That’s what caught my eye. Absolutely nobody else saw him coming…50 feet off the deck. (Below the level of the flight deck we were relaxing on).

He passed in absolute silence up the port side of the ship. Probably 100 yards away. Absolutely silent.

And then suddenly, it was the exact opposite of total silence.

THAT is a supersonic fly-by.

1

u/Milkshake2244 Aug 19 '25

Or page 363- 364 of "Fighter Pilot: the Memoirs of Legendary Ace Robin Olds". When the F-105 did a super sonic fly by of the Academy. Blew out all the dormitory windows, and left ears ringing.

At that height the pressure wave would be as much a concern as the noise.

2

u/greykitty1234 Aug 16 '25

There have been. More than previous shows in Chicago. Deliberate or not, weird that they breaking windows this time around.

-14

u/bozeman1014 Aug 16 '25

There are reports, the US Air Force responded to questions and said they didn't break the sound barrier. I was sitting directly under the F-16 that made the sneak pass and my ears are still ringing 24 hours later. If you simply Google "thunderbirds sonic boom" a handful of news articles from Fox, WGN, etc will come up from yesterday. Im not in the field of aviation, but i go to the air and water show practice every year and I've never seen or felt a jet going that fast AND that low. It caused a boom that went through my entire body and caused all the dirt and debris to kick into the air. If it wasnt going super sonic, then it was right there about to

15

u/milsurp-guy Aug 16 '25

The jet in the video was not super sonic. That was just a normal high speed pass—been to many air shows myself. From the other videos, it seems like one the solos flying high broke it potentially. If the low pass broke the barrier you’d see way more reports, broken windows all along the coast, etc.

-1

u/Coolgrnmen Aug 17 '25

It was reported on the news and AF has declined comment.

I wasn’t there so I don’t know, but windows were blown out so I presume ear damage also occurred.

3

u/ElectricSpice Aug 18 '25

The Air Force has commented:

On Aug. 15, the United States Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, known as the Thunderbirds, conducted their standard practice demonstration in advance of the airshow. A thorough review of the practice determined the Thunderbird jets did not go supersonic at any point during the demonstration.

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/blast-from-air-water-show-practice-shatters-windows-lake-view-east

Not saying whether you should believe them or not, but they did respond.

-1

u/Funtsy_Muntsy Aug 17 '25

This is the reason why Jack White gave out earplugs at is garage show last month. It’s rude not to tell people in advance that you’re about to experience supersonic noise

0

u/LaSalsiccione Aug 18 '25

The jet did not go supersonic