I am starting a special blog on Mondays about our sweet little town of Manchester.
Since this is our first time living here and neither one of us have visited much of Tennessee… I thought it would be fun to blog all the things we are learning about our town and state.
I think I will start with one of the things I learned on the second week of unpacking.
The Sonic Boom
Wikipedia says… “A sonic boom is the sound associated with the shock waves created by the supersonic flight of an aircraft. Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, sounding much like an explosion.”
I was standing on a stool and a friend from church was helping me decorate the house. All of sudden, I hear what I think sounds like a cannon going off a few streets over. The house rattled a little and I was taken back.
“What was that???” I asked my friend and she says very calmly… “Oh that’s the sonic boom and…”
BOOM AGAIN
My friend finishes her statement… “And there are usually two.”
Apparently our town hears the sound of a sonic boom frequently. At first, it kind of scared me, but now I think it is kind of cool.
We live very close to Arnold Air Force Base and they put out a statement on their website explaining why some towns in Tennessee will hear a sonic boom.
“Arnold Engineering Development Center is the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world. Although no aircraft are stationed at AEDC, the potential for low-flying aircraft, noise or sonic booms does exist.
The 118th Airlift Wing, located in Nashville, Tenn., regularly performs low-altitude flying training missions with its aircraft, the C-130 Hercules. In addition, the unit occasionally uses AEDC’s runway.
Other aircraft potentially causing aircraft noise or sonic booms include the F-22 Raptor and the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
The F-22 is the Air Force’s newest fighter aircraft. Since the Lockheed-Martin Corporation develops the aircraft, they must ensure each aircraft undergoes a rigorous flight test program. These tests, which include two supersonic flights, originate from Lockheed-Martin’s aircraft manufacturing plant in Marietta, Ga. The supersonic run is flown east to west and results in the aircraft breaking the speed of sound, causing a “sonic boom” on one stretch of the test route. The sonic boom occurs only once, but the sound is dragged from the beginning of the run to the end and is heard throughout Middle Tennessee. To minimize the effect of the “boom” the aircraft flies at a minimum of 43,000 feet or higher, which is over 8 miles up. During every F-22 flight test mission, an F-16 — assigned to Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Ga. — chases the aircraft to monitor its performance. Therefore, there are two sonic booms.
So, come see the Parkison Family and we guarantee you a “Booming” time!
Until next Monday…