Re: holly molly scary stuff jet just flew over hou
Fun part of being an old fart is that you have a lot of history from which to recall:
1). There is a small air museum not far fom us. For many years guests at the house would "Oooo and Ahhh" and we'd just say, "Oh, that? That's just the B-17 that lives down the road..." as it buzzed the house on its way to land.
2). Same air museum has shows. Quite a few years ago they had a special flyover, and the plane used my house (then the only one around) for a reference point for turns and maneuvers. What plane? Oh, it was only an F117, flying at less than 1000'. And yes, he did waggle the wings as I waved.
3). In the 80's a plane flew in at Rochester, and blew an engine on takeoff, so my housemate and I went out to take a look at it while it was there. It took a few days to get the new engine in, but we timed in just right and got to talk to the pilot. Who was he? Paul Tibbets, flying Fifi, the last flying B29. If you don't know who Paul Tibbets is, shame on you for being so bad at history.
4). Went to Montreal for an F1 race years ago. The plane doing a fly-by seemed to be moving pretty slow. Took forever to get there and then just kinda hung in the sky as it flew over. But I had heard they only look like they fly so slow 'cause they are so big. It's true, they are pretty big, and with full flaps and wheels down, they sure look like they're crawling. Cast a mighty big shadow, though. It was a C5A.
5). It ain't the engine or the prop that's loud on an AT6 Texan. The prop tips are almost supersonic. Nasty loud in the air and on the ground? Woof!
6). Go to the National Air & Space Museum. Now. Put down what you're doing and go. Go! Tell 'em I said it was OK to miss work or school. It's worth it. They have a Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo capsule. And, as I told my wife, no, they are not models. They are the real McCoy. Yes, they are a little used looking...
7). Oh, and yes, years ago they did used to fly jets out over Lake Ontario fast enough to create a sonic boom. They pretty much stopped that 20 or more years ago. Maybe too many broken dishes... Still used to happen once in a while for a few years after that, but I wager that doing it would have put a piece of paper in the file of the pilot.