At about 1230, there was a sonic boom over the NE coast, then lots of aircraft noise.

Is there something going on? Suspicious aircraft activity? Putin winding NATO up?

There is nothing in the news.

I gather the Sunderland air show isn’t on this weekend?

NE coast near Lossiemouth or one further south? Nothing around here (just north of Aberdeen)

Been a wee bit of activity around Leuchars the last couple of weeks,not today though.

NE coast of Ingerland

Saw a couple of F15s on Monday, travelling very slowly, along the NE coast. They past Lossiemouth but didn’t land as far as we could tell. The latest predator drone arrived later or around the same time.

QRA, most likely. Normal ops wouldn’t break the sound barrier.

No Typhoons on ADSB but doesn’t mean they’re not out there. RAF Coningsby to North Sea probably goes past Sunderland so my money’s in Pootin.

There’ll be a news item later unless we’ve all been vapourised.

Will hbe on the news later, unlikely anyone will have been vap……

Yeah heard that.  Could be just exercises again.

It may have been me celebrating fixing the electrics on the tow bar which means I will bike this weekend!

Interesting fact that I didn’t know untill recently.

You don’t get a sonic boom singular, it’s a constant wave moving with the jet like the wake of a boat. You hear it whenever that point passes over you.

Which is why they’re allowed to do it over water but you can’t fly Concorde over America to LA as everyone under the flight path would have heard the Boom, not just those directly under it when it hit Mach1.

Gavin Williamson being sent home by ACME Rocket-Sled™?

Yup it was an exercise.

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news/defence/sonic-boom-heard-on-northumberland-coast-during-military-exercise-3384069?fbclid=IwAR0VQR98oY4WqSvuViXEdl-6YEhqTo6sBNeMV0jIdLZfHAt_tprhoOY_BVs

Which is why they’re allowed to do it over water but you can’t fly Concorde over America to LA as everyone under the flight path would have heard the Boom, not just those directly under it when it hit Mach1.

It’s been mentioned on here a few times, but Concorde’s sonic boom was regularly heard on both sides of the Bristol Channel BITD. Being over water doesn’t make any difference if it’s close enough to the coast.

Yeah it’s an exercise, started earlier in the month but today was their first “big” day of flying. New temporary danger area for them to play in which spans a large chunk of the North Sea (and inland NE England/SE Scotland)

Spacemen 3 reunion?

Did somebody say Concorde? JFK-LHR, April 2003, happy days. Mach 2 = double sonic booms. With a nice Chateau Meursault.

Wonder if those Chinooks low and loud over the Moorfoots and Lammermuirs last night were part of the same exercise?
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And I miss Concord. I was a student in Reading, so on the flight path to Heathrow. Barely noticed any other plane but twice a day Concord would come over, loud and conversation stopped for half a minute. No one minded because it’s Concord, never got tired of watching it.

Chinooks and Apaches used to be a regular sight when I lived on the beach in the northeast. Evil looking things.

The A10s were my favourite when I was wee, always very low when they came over the house. Used to go and watch them at the bombing range at Wainfleet.
By the age of 5 I could tell A10s, Harriers, Vulcans, Jaguars and Tornados by the noise they made as they approached, Jaguars and Tornadoes did sound pretty similar though, but very different from the others.
I remember watching some F14s or F15s taking off, we were close enough to feel the ground shake even at several hundred yards away.
I miss the cold war.
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My parents still live quite close to Conningsby, often get the Lancaster coming over quite low and I still get to see the Red Arrows practicing if I head north of Lincoln on a ride

We regularly have Chinooks and Apaches flying reasonably low over our house even though (to my knowledge) we’re nowhere near any bases, we must live under some kind of flight path. Would love to know where they come from/go to.

Took my lad to his football match on Monday night and had two Apaches fly over in close formation shortly followed by two Chinooks also in close formation. The game all but stopped whilst everyone watched them fly over. Great stuff.