Two HUGE explosions just now... anyone else hear them?

I was stuck in the Hatchery at work which is basically the basement and didn't hear anything. But I went into the office around 2:00 and people were asking if I heard it. They talked about it afterward on The Men's Room on KISW.

 

I was in NE Tacoma at a friends house, it was very, very loud. There is a church across the street from his house, people came running outside thinking that something had crashed onto the roof!

 

Obama was on the ground in LA yesterday within 5 miles of my house, and traffic was gridlocked for HOURS.

bad week for the Secret Service, I guess...managed to piss off huge chunks of LA and the whole Pacific Northwest

 

I don't know about LA, but they still love him around here.

 

I was amazed at the frequency and depth of the anger I saw yesterday, but that's what creating a five hour traffic jam will get ya

it will blow over, I'm sure.

 

I wonder what the command is from flight control to go full throttle in a F-15?

 

"Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby."

"Affirmative, Ghost Rider, you are cleared for maximum Mach."

 

I wonder if . . . In the UK, it's . . .

Male; "Right-o. Shall we have a go, then?"

Female cockney accent; "Have at it, Sailor."

 

The news reported sonic booms from Longveiw to Puget Sound. Sound I wonder if any passenger jets were diverted out of the path of the F-15s and off the VOR path or if they just took a direct path over the mountains.
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I would have thought the same idea however no boom here along the foothils?

 

I would think that they took it easy until they got away from Portland before gettin' on the gas. I would think that they would have exceeded 700+ miles per hour over Vancouver or Ridgefield, not all the way near Olympia where they would have had to have been to be heard from Longview to Seattle.

 

I remember hearing the " booms" quite often as a kid, I thought they were cool!

But I also loved Tank gunnery too! Sitting on the tank next to the one firing and having it allmost lift your cvc off your head and feeling the concusion and blast of heat from it was quite the rush! Makes me tingle just thinking of it!

Cheers!

 

Seriously? I get to this thread this late and nobody's made the "O-BOOM-A" joke yet?

 

I would guess they were low level, VFR. The squadron CO was in the Oregonian commenting that they don't usually take off, go immediately into afterburner, and head out over Vancouver.

 

HA Steve, then you'll get a joy out of this! Popped up last night while I was streaming music. http://kmps.radio.com/2010/08/17/boom-been-there-heard-that-get-the-t-shirt/

 

I live on Fox Island on high bank waterfront looking east and south. I hear lots of shelling from Fort Lewis and a few years ago that were shooting the really big gun. On a cloudy day that would rattle the windows pretty good. Yesterdays boom was off the charts.
5 to 6 time the magnitude. Both booms moved the house and I was down stairs which is half buried in the ground, windows closed, AC on. I thought a semi hit the house or a propane tank blew up. I shoot some big guns and heard some loud explosions but that is one you will never forget. Very surprised there were not more broken windows. Cats were freaked out for hours. For an earthquake I would have guessed over 8.

 

I would be really surprised if this would have been the case. I don't think NORAD would scramble two fighter jets and expect them to be considerate to noise if there was a credible threat to the President.

So I wonder at what distance from take off they break the sound barrier, and what was the top speed they hit en route? They are capable of mach 2.5 (1875 mph) (conservatively), but how long and what distance is covered before they reach it?

 

The squadron CO specifically said in the Oregonian that they try to be considerate of noise, except in this circumstance.

As for the distance from takeoff before they break the sound barrier, I'm guessing maybe 90 seconds? Gear and flaps up, burner on, away you go!

 

The ST headlines should read;

Obama spends 3 million dollars chasing beaver.

 

They took off to the West and turned North about halfway between the Hwy 30 and Veronia. Assuming a hot TO, they were through the barrier in under 2 minutes. That also correlates to why the first sonic booms were heard in the Longview area. What a ride!

 

Flew in/out of Portland this afternoon and saw the F15's at the Air National Gaurd post. They had 4 in individual hangers, right out near the runway, 3 or 4 more standing by...several had their canopies up, ready to go...even the ones uncovered out in the sun.

 

Remembered this MythBusters episode. Sonic Boom Sound Off
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc4jw_3RE4E

They really didn't start feeling the concussion till they got closer to 2000'. So much going over the mountains.