I just moved to a small acerage in very rural south-central Missouri. About 11:00 in the morning I heard a very loud boom. I looked up and saw what looked to be a fast moving aircraft.

I thought that planes weren't supposed to exceed Mach 1 while over the continental U.S. Any aviation experts know anything about this?

They are generally restricted to higher altitudes or to MOAs, but not prohibited over the entire continent

Oh how I love the booms! Every once in a while here where I live in VA, we get a zoomie doing what zoomies do best. Every time I hear one, I go out to see it, but alas, he's probably in the next state already.

Back in the 80's we'd get them at least 1-3 times a week (sometimes multiple jets) and it was so cool watching and listening. In Iraq, I would tend to stop what I was doing (if not mission critical) to watch the USAF go screaming by in awe. Always wished I could be the pilot!

Very rural South-Central Missouri.....could it be some Revenuers blowing up a still?

There is a Military Operating Area in the general location you describe (Truman MOA). There might have been an inadvertent super sonic episode while the aircraft were maneuvering.

Whiteman AFB T-38's use Truman extensively for training. You may see a B-2 using the MOA as well.

Whiteman AFB is in that area.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...teman_Air_Force_Base

One of my favorite things living in Klammath Falls, OR was every 4th of July the F15 flying down the lake (about 25 miles long) and going vertical at the south end to start the celebration. Everyone could feel the sonic boom.

Second best thing was parking at the end of Kingsley Field watching them do touch and go's.

Cheers~

Heard them all the time as a child in kindergarten; Texas.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:
Heard them all the time as a child in kindergarten; Texas.

All those re-fried bean burritos



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quote:

Originally posted by Sgt Neutron:

Whiteman AFB T-38's use Truman extensively for training. You may see a B-2 using the MOA as well.

Probably this. I've heard one once here in Springfield and have seen multiple B-2s heading West/North.

My first thought if I hear a sonic boom always is "go get that SOB".

I'm very familiar with the Air Force bases in the region. The plane was traveling northeast to southwest, so I thought it might have been from Scott AFB.

It was pretty cool and I'm looking forward to hearing more in the future.

I did see a flight of B-2s taking off from Whiteman a couple years ago while I was driving to KC. That was awesome.

My favorite though was watching A-10 practice on the impact range at Ft. Leonard Wood. The sound of that Gatling Gun is like nothing else.

When I was in small town Iowa (flyover country) grade school in the 50's we would often get sonic booms. Generally the teacher was more startled than the students but one time a very large window in our classroom shattered when there were multiple booms back to back. Several of my classmates needed to go and check themselves in the restroom.

When the shuttle was still flying we'd get them all the time, usually very early AM wake up calls


kaaaaaaaaaabooooooooooooom!

The sound of freedom

I grew up near Fairchild AFB and Geiger Field in the Spokane area and when the F102s' and F106's were scrambling in afterburner over our house, 2 to 4 at a time, they would break the sound barrier and it would be the coolest thing a kid could experience.

Jim

Not sure of all the participants but used to lay on the beach between Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven. And watch the contrails and listen to the booms out over North Sea back during the eighties. Better than TV.

The last one I heard was the SR-71 passing over my house on its final record breaking flight as it was being delivered to the Air & Space Museum.

quote:

Originally posted by zoom6zoom:
The last one I heard was the SR-71 passing over my house on its final record breaking flight as it was being delivered to the Air & Space Museum.

As I recall, that was the last one I heard as well. I was at the start of the run, LA, CA.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
When the shuttle was still flying we'd get them all the time, usually very early AM wake up calls


kaaaaaaaaaabooooooooooooom!

Whenever I heard one, I knew I had three minutes to turn on the TV to catch a shuttle landing.

We used to get them up here back when the Concorde was flying. Occasionally they would fail to transition to subsonic far enough over the ocean and we'd feel the effects.

I remember on time it happened as I was walking between buildings in high school, I thought the IA building blew up!