Is there a certain altitude that they should be at around neighborhoods? I noticed lately that the USAF has been flying really low and around my area at night time and can sometimes feel a little vibration in the house when jets pass. The base they are coming from is in Belle Chasse, Louisiana and it never use to be this loud when the Navy was there.

yeah man, that would suck for me, id be sporting wood all night.

What you are hearing my friend, is the sound of freedom!

I can't get enough of the sound of fighters flying overhead.

Quoted: yeah man, that would suck for me, id be sporting wood all night.

three new siglines in one night...
and I'm spent.

Not a pilot, but slept in a Holiday Inn last night.  


I think it's the same as for civilian aircraft--no lower than 500 ft except in the landing pattern, and there are speed restrictions for supersonic aircraft, can't break Mach 1 below 30K feet (IIRC).

Could be that they're just noisier than the Navy planes.  My brother was stationed at Belle Chasse, and all they had then were C130s, which are quieter (sort of) than an F-15.

I didn't realize they had already moved units as part of BRAC.  That was quick!

Quoted: What you are hearing my friend, is the sound of freedom! I can't get enough of the sound of fighters flying overhead.

I like the sound also, but between 11:pm and 2:30am just about every night this happens. At first I was like hell yeah, but now its just getting on my nerves.

Quoted: What you are hearing my friend, is the sound of freedom! I can't get enough of the sound of fighters flying overhead.

Obviously you haven't spent much time living on an Air Force base.


I live 20 miles from base and never hear an F-16. I work on them all day...I don't want to hear them when I'm trying to sleep. I'll never live on base again.

Quoted: Not a pilot, but slept in a Holiday Inn last night.   I think it's the same as for civilian aircraft--no lower than 500 ft except in the landing pattern, and there are speed restrictions for supersonic aircraft, can't break Mach 1 below 30K feet (IIRC). Could be that they're just noisier than the Navy planes.  My brother was stationed at Belle Chasse, and all they had then were C130s, which are quieter (sort of) than an F-15. I didn't realize they had already moved units as part of BRAC.  That was quick!

The navy had F18's when they were here, and the Air Force got the F15's at Belle Chasse now.

Quoted: Quoted: Not a pilot, but slept in a Holiday Inn last night.   I think it's the same as for civilian aircraft--no lower than 500 ft except in the landing pattern, and there are speed restrictions for supersonic aircraft, can't break Mach 1 below 30K feet (IIRC). Could be that they're just noisier than the Navy planes.  My brother was stationed at Belle Chasse, and all they had then were C130s, which are quieter (sort of) than an F-15. I didn't realize they had already moved units as part of BRAC.  That was quick! The navy had F18's when they were here, and the Air Force got the F15's at Belle Chasse now.

Cool!  I guess I never heard the Hornets when I visited my brother, but he was in the Herc squadron anyway, so that's all I cared about at the time.

I get B1 Bombers, and C130's flying over my house low enought to where you can't hear them until they pass by, you can almost read the words on the underside of the plane.

If the house isn't being rocked by low-flying aircraft every day, you're not having ANY fun!



Bring it on.   Anything short of breaking my windows is all right by me.


I'd get nervous if a C-5 were to fly by low enough to leave tire tracks on the roof, but otherwise,  I'm totally cool with being in the local AF base's flight pattern.


CJ

Well you actually answered your own question...

The Navy has Aviators....


And well the Air Force... My grandmother could land a plane on 12,000ft of runway...

I grew up in a Cheyenne ANG practice area.  No fighters, but C-130s and helicopters were cool to watch.  

It is even better to fly to Cheyenne, when the tower tells you to disregard the C-130 doing short fields on the taxiways.  

Quoted: Well you actually answered your own question... The Navy has Aviators.... And well the Air Force... My grandmother could land a plane on 12,000ft of runway...

Yeah, but the Navy only flies slow jets like the Hornet.  I guess they couldn't handle the speed of a real jet anymore.  

Quoted: Quoted: Well you actually answered your own question... The Navy has Aviators.... And well the Air Force... My grandmother could land a plane on 12,000ft of runway... Yeah, but the Navy only flies slow jets like the Hornet.  I guess they couldn't handle the speed of a real jet anymore.

I still think landing on an aircraft carrier is more impressive. Fuckin aviators knew it too... damn long haired bastards.

Quoted: What you are hearing my friend, is the sound of freedom! I can't get enough of the sound of fighters flying overhead.

+1

Small price to pay for it I might add

The Air Force jets are much more powerful,  and quite possibly louder, than the slower training models that the navy is allowed to practice with.

I used to sleep through F-111s by using earplugs

This thread reminds me of:

Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near  the Arizona Air Force base wrote his local paper complaining about a group of  F-16s that "disturbed" his/her day at the mall.  When that individual  read the response from Lt. Col. Scott Pleus, commander of the 63rd Fighter  Squadron, it must have stung quite a bit.  At least we hope it did.

"Here's the 'question of the day' for Luke Air  Force Base," the whining civilian wrote.  "Whom do we thank for the morning  air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16  jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at  approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom  Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress  the cashiers at Mervyns' early-bird special?  Any response would be  appreciated."

The swift reply came as follows in a letter to the  same newspaper:

Regarding A WAKE-UP CALL FROM LUKE'S JETS (Letters,  Thursday): On June 15, 2005, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly-timed four-ship flyby  of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the  grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques.

Capt. Fresques, 26, of Clarkdale, AZ, who was  previously stationed at Luke AFB, was assigned to  the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. at the time of his death.  Also killed with Capt. Fresques in the May 30, 2005 crash of an Iraqi Air  Force plane on a training mission in eastern Diyha Province were: Maj. William Downs, Capt. Derek Dargel and S/Sgt. Casey Crate.

At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends  gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband,  son and friend.  

Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby,  and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the rifle salute, the  playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I  gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and  all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they  have endured.

A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the  Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom.  We are  professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the  letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate  respects.

The letter writer asks, "Whom do we have to thank  for the morning air show?"  The 58th Fighter Wing will forward your  thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and "thank" them for you, for  it was in the captain's honor that my pilots flew the most honorable mission of  their lives.

    Lt. Col. Scott Pleus
    CO 63rd Fighter Squadron
    Luke Air Force Base, Arizona

Quoted: The Air Force jets are much more powerful,  and quite possibly louder, than the slower training models that the navy is allowed to practice with. I used to sleep through F-111s by using earplugs

I live about 15 miles from the base though, shouldn't they be at a high altitude instead flying low this far away from the base?

Probably unless they are just practicing certain things. Usually they are climbing to a predetermined authorized altitude, and heading. If the base is near a city, then these details have been figured out and agreed to for a while.You might just be inline with the runway. I am about 6 or 7 miles from the Indy airport, and in their approach. Civilian airliners are much quieter though.

honestly, I'd love to listen to the jets all the time...we get EA-6's through here quite a bit, they like to play touch and go down at the airport and I'm on one of the approaches to the airport here, it ain't real fun till the windows shake and you can feel them coming over

To answer your original question, I have no idea.  The military does not play by the same rules that I do as a civilian pilot.  There is likely a rule somewhere in the USAF manuals, but it will probably take some work on your part to get some noise abatement.  

It probably falls under the same 'rules' that lets them scream by Guardsman's pass doing 3 or 400 kts, below 10,000.




C'mon, we all know the FARs are mostly just suggestions....

I grew up on an air base in Germany, during the cold war.  The flight line was maybe a couple hundred yards from our house.  We had several cracked windows over the years.  And my teachers would have to stop mid lecture while the F-16's were taking off.  And I miss it.  I miss the hum of the engines at night.  I miss the sonic booms.  I do recall the Germans getting pissy when the jets cruised down the Mosel, going under the bridges.  That's pretty damn low.  Now watching the C-130's taking off for Desert Shield on a runway for F-16's was scary.  Alot of trees were clipped.  

Quoted: To answer your original question, I have no idea.  The military does not play by the same rules that I do as a civilian pilot.  There is likely a rule somewhere in the USAF manuals, but it will probably take some work on your part to get some noise abatement.

I was talking with my neighbor a few minutes ago on the phone about this and he has pretty good explanations why they are flying low lately. I can see his point.

1. Waterford 3 Nuclear plant is right across the river from us.
2. we have two major oil refineries and many chemical plants around us
3. With the death of Saddam Hussein, the Military may be taking extra precautions in the area.

They're practicing for the next levee-bombing mission.

Quoted: This thread reminds me of: Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near  the Arizona Air Force base wrote his local paper complaining about a group of  F-16s that "disturbed" his/her day at the mall.  When that individual  read the response from Lt. Col. Scott Pleus, commander of the 63rd Fighter  Squadron, it must have stung quite a bit.  At least we hope it did. "Here's the 'question of the day' for Luke Air  Force Base," the whining civilian wrote.  "Whom do we thank for the morning  air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16  jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at  approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom  Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress  the cashiers at Mervyns' early-bird special?  Any response would be  appreciated." The swift reply came as follows in a letter to the  same newspaper: Regarding A WAKE-UP CALL FROM LUKE'S JETS (Letters,  Thursday): On June 15, 2005, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly-timed four-ship flyby  of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the  grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt. Fresques, 26, of Clarkdale, AZ, who was  previously stationed at Luke AFB, was assigned to  the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. at the time of his death.  Also killed with Capt. Fresques in the May 30, 2005 crash of an Iraqi Air  Force plane on a training mission in eastern Diyha Province were: Maj. William Downs, Capt. Derek Dargel and S/Sgt. Casey Crate. At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends  gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband,  son and friend.   Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby,  and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the rifle salute, the  playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I  gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and  all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they  have endured. A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the  Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom.  We are  professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the  letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate  respects. The letter writer asks, "Whom do we have to thank  for the morning air show?"  The 58th Fighter Wing will forward your  thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and "thank" them for you, for  it was in the captain's honor that my pilots flew the most honorable mission of  their lives.     Lt. Col. Scott Pleus     CO 63rd Fighter Squadron     Luke Air Force Base, Arizona

I remember when that happened.

Personally I love the sounds of jets. When I would stay at my grandparents in Great Falls,  We went to church on base, which must have been right under the flight path of the kC-135s taking off, it was funny that the Priest would have to pause while the whole church shook, and you couldn't hear a thing.

Quoted: Quoted: To answer your original question, I have no idea.  The military does not play by the same rules that I do as a civilian pilot.  There is likely a rule somewhere in the USAF manuals, but it will probably take some work on your part to get some noise abatement.   I was talking with my neighbor a few minutes ago on the phone about this and he has pretty good explanations why they are flying low lately. I can see his point. 1. Waterford 3 Nuclear plant is right across the river from us. 2. we have two major oil refineries and many chemical plants around us 3. With the death of Saddam Hussein, the Military may be taking extra precautions in the area.

How would flying low in high performance jets fix any of these problems?  

It doesn't, but it might have helped him sleep better. Now he is back to the earplugs- which work awesome. Deep sleep.

Thats what freedom sounds like!

Unfortunately, I live near a transportation wing, so all I get to see/hear (close enough to shake my house) are C130s.  Now if they had some A-10s at the base, that would be too cool.  

I had my own private air show one morning however.  I was dead asleep and was awakened by what sounded like an incoming strafing run over my wooded lot.  I got up, ran outside, and for the next ten minutes watched with sheer delight as a P-40 (in town for an airshow) practiced his whole routine right over my head.  God almighty, I felt like a little kid screaming and smiling as this thing plunged to the earth, pulled out at low altitude, gained speed and did a couple of rolls...all to climb and do it all over.  

It wasn't long after that I had to read Baa Baa Black Sheep over again...just for Pappy.  

What you're hearing now is nothing! "Back in the day" when DC-8s,707s Convair 880s and BAC 1-11s were flying,the takeoff could be heard 20-30 miles away,as a cracking thunder. I miss those days.

Quoted: This thread reminds me of: Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near  the Arizona Air Force base wrote his local paper complaining about a group of  F-16s that "disturbed" his/her day at the mall.  When that individual  read the response from Lt. Col. Scott Pleus, commander of the 63rd Fighter  Squadron, it must have stung quite a bit.  At least we hope it did. "Here's the 'question of the day' for Luke Air  Force Base," the whining civilian wrote.  "Whom do we thank for the morning  air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16  jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at  approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom  Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress  the cashiers at Mervyns' early-bird special?  Any response would be  appreciated." The swift reply came as follows in a letter to the  same newspaper: Regarding A WAKE-UP CALL FROM LUKE'S JETS (Letters,  Thursday): On June 15, 2005, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly-timed four-ship flyby  of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the  grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt. Fresques, 26, of Clarkdale, AZ, who was  previously stationed at Luke AFB, was assigned to  the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field, Fla. at the time of his death.  Also killed with Capt. Fresques in the May 30, 2005 crash of an Iraqi Air  Force plane on a training mission in eastern Diyha Province were: Maj. William Downs, Capt. Derek Dargel and S/Sgt. Casey Crate. At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends  gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband,  son and friend.   Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby,  and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the rifle salute, the  playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I  gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and  all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they  have endured. A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the  Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom.  We are  professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the  letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate  respects. The letter writer asks, "Whom do we have to thank  for the morning air show?"  The 58th Fighter Wing will forward your  thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and "thank" them for you, for  it was in the captain's honor that my pilots flew the most honorable mission of  their lives.     Lt. Col. Scott Pleus     CO 63rd Fighter Squadron     Luke Air Force Base, Arizona

pwned

I live under the flight path of C-5's, when they take off they commonly fly overhead.

My youngest 2 kids get just as excited about airplanes (aka urmurrs or arplans) as me.

One day in MD we were lucky enough to be at a community park as a formation of 4 '16's flew directly overhead, heading towards DC or PG Co.  Might've been for an event.

-Jeff

I used to live on the O3 level of the USS Theodore Roseveelt (a Nimitz class aircraft carrier) right under the 3 wire of the trap. Birds would come in all night at full burnner. Sounds like a train crashing and I slept like a baby!




Jim

Quoted: To answer your original question, I have no idea.  The military does not play by the same rules that I do as a civilian pilot.  There is likely a rule somewhere in the USAF manuals, but it will probably take some work on your part to get some noise abatement.

Unless it's a time of war or unless the military aircraft is operating in a MOA (military operating area) military aircraft do fall under all FAA rules and regulations while operating in the US.

Certain aircraft (like the SR-71) can't always follow certain set procedures because of the type of aircraft, that's why there are waivers.

Last summer my wife and I were heading from Olympia to Spokane Washington. We stopped somewhere along the way so she could take pictures. We were standing along side the highway when out of the ground came two EA-6 Intruders.

It startled the shit out of us. There was a unseen canyon in the near distance that was not viewable from our position. These two were followed buy four more over a period of approximately five minutes. She got some great shots.

At home, we live in the country, and have C-130's flying low over the house a couple of times a week. Same with Black hawks. We have a retired Air force general in our church who told us the aircraft are using ground/terrain avoidance radar.

He also said we are in a flyway. They are pretty low as we have some 90-100 foot firs that move from the prop wash. Pretty cool to watch them though.

Spending a lot of my youth in the area of Carswell AFB (now JRB Ft. Worth) I've seen it a few times.

Most amazing one was in 90s near Lake Worth Middle School* - a pair of F-14 Tomcats were dogfighting, doing some pretty hellacious maneuvers. This went on for several minutes, they got down around 300ft a few times.

(*Fun Fact - Lake Worth Middle School is subterranean, built as such because when it was designed the noise from the B-36 bombers built at Convair and based at Carswell was causing so many class interruptions at Lake Worth Schools).

Another time I was driving down Camp Bowie Boulevard in Ft. Worth with my mother. I looked up down the road and was surprised to see two F-15s well under 1000ft (I'd guess 600) headed my way, following the path of Camp Bowie - I simply said "arms in!" (we had the windows down, Mom was hanging her arm out the window). My mother couldn't figure out what I was talking about and I just said "ARMS IN" and bumped her window up a bit to explain what I was doing - got the windows sealed just as they went over, they were close enough to give the truck a pretty good shake. I'm sure I overreacted a bit, but seeing two F-15 bearing down on you from just past Whataburger can do that.

Further into North Texas you see a lot of trainer and fighter activity from Sheppard AFB. I was at the shop of a guy I worked for one day, moving a trailer with my truck when I saw three jets (T-38s IIRC) bearing down on me at around 200ft. I found this to be rather odd. They buzzed the shop, cruised around overhead for a bit , then split. When I told my boss (a retired PJ) about it he mentioned that was one of his instructor buddies from Sheppard who'd promised to do a fly over when he had a chance - boss was sorry he'd missed it.

Another thing we heard in that area a lot were jets going supersonic. I've heard people say that USAF jets either can't go supersonic over CONUS, or can't do it over populated areas, but the zoomies from Sheppard seemed pretty fond of going Mach 1+ plus out around Lake Bridgeport, TX. Lots of folks out there often confused the sonic boom with explosive blasts from the rock quarries in the area.

My favorite, though, was probably when I was a little kid - my grandfather had a house that sat right in the glide path for Carswell during the SAC days - to a five year old those B-52s low and loud were every bit as awe inspiring as the fist of God. I never could figure out why they bothered everyone so much.

Quoted: Quoted: The Air Force jets are much more powerful,  and quite possibly louder, than the slower training models that the navy is allowed to practice with. I used to sleep through F-111s by using earplugs I live about 15 miles from the base though, shouldn't they be at a high altitude instead flying low this far away from the base?

If you look around you can find out if you are lucky enough to live in a Military Operating Area (MOA).  If so, there is a blanket waiver for altitude and noise abatement restrictions.  There may be a low level training route that runs close to your place, which is why you hear them when they are training.  There are millions of people that live in MOAs in the US, if somebody drops an external fuel tank in your yard or breaks your windows with a sonic boom, contact the base and they will reimburse you.  Otherwise you might have needed to research the issue before you moved into a house that is located within an MOA that has probably been there for 50+ years.  

Quoted: This thread reminds me of:

Talk about pwnage .

Quoted: I used to live on the O3 level of the USS Theodore Roseveelt (a Nimitz class aircraft carrier) right under the 3 wire of the trap. Birds would come in all night at full burnner. Sounds like a train crashing and I slept like a baby! Jim

I always could sleep well at night when I was on the NIMITZ. I wasn't on the O3 level though. My berthing was on the 3rd deck, but the catapult steam pipes were about 4 feet from my head. Sweet lullaby.

Quoted: The Air Force jets are much more powerful,  and quite possibly louder, than the slower training models that the navy is allowed to practice with. I used to sleep through F-111s by using earplugs

I've always wondered about your avatar....  Were you at one time attached to my previous squadron?  That's our -53 in the pic.

Quoted: Spending a lot of my youth in the area of Carswell AFB (now JRB Ft. Worth) I've seen it a few times. Most amazing one was in 90s near Lake Worth Middle School* - a pair of F-14 Tomcats were dogfighting, doing some pretty hellacious maneuvers. This went on for several minutes, they got down around 300ft a few times. (*Fun Fact - Lake Worth Middle School is subterranean, built as such because when it was designed the noise from the B-36 bombers built at Convair and based at Carswell was causing so many class interruptions at Lake Worth Schools). Another time I was driving down Camp Bowie Boulevard in Ft. Worth with my mother. I looked up down the road and was surprised to see two F-15s well under 1000ft (I'd guess 600) headed my way, following the path of Camp Bowie - I simply said "arms in!" (we had the windows down, Mom was hanging her arm out the window). My mother couldn't figure out what I was talking about and I just said "ARMS IN" and bumped her window up a bit to explain what I was doing - got the windows sealed just as they went over, they were close enough to give the truck a pretty good shake. I'm sure I overreacted a bit, but seeing two F-15 bearing down on you from just past Whataburger can do that. Further into North Texas you see a lot of trainer and fighter activity from Sheppard AFB. I was at the shop of a guy I worked for one day, moving a trailer with my truck when I saw three jets (T-38s IIRC) bearing down on me at around 200ft. I found this to be rather odd. They buzzed the shop, cruised around overhead for a bit , then split. When I told my boss (a retired PJ) about it he mentioned that was one of his instructor buddies from Sheppard who'd promised to do a fly over when he had a chance - boss was sorry he'd missed it. Another thing we heard in that area a lot were jets going supersonic. I've heard people say that USAF jets either can't go supersonic over CONUS, or can't do it over populated areas, but the zoomies from Sheppard seemed pretty fond of going Mach 1+ plus out around Lake Bridgeport, TX. Lots of folks out there often confused the sonic boom with explosive blasts from the rock quarries in the area. My favorite, though, was probably when I was a little kid - my grandfather had a house that sat right in the glide path for Carswell during the SAC days - to a five year old those B-52s low and loud were every bit as awe inspiring as the fist of God. I never could figure out why they bothered everyone so much.

There are still F-16s coming and going all day long here.  I love it!  Saw a C-130 and even an F-18 today too.

True story:

20 years ago US Forces Europe was running the major exercise known as REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany).  I was in the deployed V Corps Headquarters stashed in the woods near a small German town.  I suppose the sound of our many generators was disturbing some sleep in the little German hamlet.  A local German TV reporter was interview a few US officers about the exercise.

Reporter:  There are some reports from the town residents that your generators are keeping them awake at night.  What can you tell us about this problem?

Crusty Army Warrant Officer:  Well..... our generators do make some noise.  I hear tell that Russian generators are much louder than ours.  Which would they prefer to listen to?

Army Public Info Officer:  But... but...but....