Do You Look Up?

Whenever you’re outside and you hear the drone of an airplane do stop and look up?

Living in NW Atlanta offers a lot of opportunities to airplane gaze. Whenever I hear the rumble of a radial and eagerly look to the sky my wife gives that look like she just met one of my old girlfriends. I still watch the northbound traffic climbing to altitude coming out of ATL. I enjoy the bi-weekly low level flyovers of the reserves in their C-130s out of Dobbins. The amount of GA traffic has certainly decreased since 9/11 and just never really came back. Most it today seems to be corporate jets. I miss the bug smashers.

I was up in Wisconsin last week, and yes it was cold and it did snow, and heard the putt-putt of a Champ. Low and slow hopefully enjoying the view of dairy country. Have to admit I was a bit jealous. My tree planting efforts stopped until he disappeared behind the tree line. Didn’t really see him but you could hear the deep rumble of a military fighter most likely burning bunches of kerosene in the Volks MOA, lucky dog.

So....Do you look up?

Every time Airmutt, since I was a kid, every time !
Bob, still a kid at 73

Doesn't everybody?

I live a short 2 miles from Midway Airport. After a while the jet engines become white noise you don't even hear anymmore - but a chopper or a prop plane will have me scanning the skies for it. In truth I look up at the jets too, especially when in my SUV at 55th & Cicero or Central and they're close enough to touch while landing.

Certainly I look up, and around. Yesterday morning I heard a radial engine, and after searching I found a southbound biplane silhouetted about half or 3/4 mile east of me. It was hard to be sure, but it was either a Stearman, an N3N or a Waco. We're about 6 miles NE of Rocky Mountain Metro (it's still Jeffco to me) and about 3 miles SSE of Erie Municipal, near I-25 north of Denver, and get a fair chunk of GA traffic (now somewhat reduced) every day. I've even seen formations (RVs, T-6s, etc.) go by when there's an airshow or fly-in.

My Father was an airplane guy, not a pilot but as a mechanic inn WW2. When I was a youngster growing up in Ohio I was always looking up . We lived near Warren , Ohio on a line between Cleveland and Pittsburgh and there was always traffic . Youngstown airport was also an Air Force base which was near by and there was always noise . F-102, C-119, DC-3, small aircraft were always in the air . I remember a B-47 was really low over the house and I could see both crew members. Also Akron, Ohio wasn't that far away and the blimps would come over and could see the ropes hanging from them. I was always LOOKING UP !

I look up every time. Since our house is inside the pattern for Dobbins ARB, I see all sorts of stuff go overhead - military and GA.

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I remember a B-47 was really low over the house and I could see both crew members.

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Actually, a B-47 had three crew members. You could see the pilot and co-pilot through the canopy, but the bombardier/navigator was in the nose in front of the pilot (a bit lower, of course), and only had a pair of tiny windows to look outside (one on each side). A cutaway of the RB-47H is on conceptbunny.com, where you can also see the three "ravens" replacing a bomb bay with their ECM stations. Note the pod hanging off the right side of the fuselage about midship. This Wikipedia article also shows a cutaway of the RB-47H and its 6 crew.

It's said that only pilots and children look at the sky.....

The pattern for my home airport is to west, and I actually live in a house just outside the downwind leg. My home office has a bay window facing that way, and on busy days, there's a parade of airplanes going by. A scanner and a pair of binoculars come in handy, but it's kind of a hassle having to swap my reading glasses for normal glasses every couple of minutes.....

My house is on a ~400 foot hill, so I'm seeing side details of the planes, as well. Oh, and if the airport is landing to the south, they're coming right overhead as they enter on the 45.

Ron Wanttaja

I open my phone and see what’s near me on Flightradar24. No need to look up anymore.
Wish they could show military planes though.

I can not turn away for I must see but in case of an falling object I do prepare to take cover...

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I only look up if it sounds like a piston engine. Jets and turboprops, meh.

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Originally Posted by Scooper

I only look up if it sounds like a piston engine. Jets and turboprops, meh.

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Same here, except when they're real low, and we get to see that pretty often out here in the country.
Bob

According to my Mom, I started looking up when I was still in her arms. That was 65 years ago and I'm still doing it.

Yes, and I scan the sky for traffic while driving the car!

Since before I could talk. I grew up under the flight pattern for STL and when the early McDonnell jets went over I'd point and go "Zizzzz."

I haven't stopped looking but don't make airplane noises any more - at least not when there are others around;-)

When I drive from the west coast to Oshkosh I normally see on average only about two airplanes. Most often agplanes.

I think I'd make an exception to my not looking up at jets if I heard these guys flying overhead. It's an awesome testament to inter-service cooperation. This was a couple of days ago over NYC when the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds teamed up to pay tribute to health care professionals and first responders.

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What a beautiful and unusual shot, Stan. Thanks for sharing that.

I always look up.

But so does my dog.

OK Mr. Randy, you have done it now! I fly helicopter air ambulance and my track puts me directly over Midway (that's where the controllers want us) and your location frequently on trips from my base in South Bend to Loyola hospital. I'll now do my best to make some extra chopper noise when I fly over Cicero!

Ah ha! There is justice in the world for those really bad groaners. Randy, ya better bring your A game in 2021 cuz you be a marked man:eek:

Then I've doubtless seen or heard your heli from time to time. I live close enough that late in the evening I can hear the air cargo jets reverse engines on landing..... over the normal 'hood gunfire of course - lol

I don't normally look up at jets, but one time I did. There was a POTUS TFR over the area and a Cessna entered the zone. An F-15 flew right overhead, supersonic, to intercept.

I looked up at the "boom," but as I was inside a windowless building, it didn't help.....

Ron Wanttaja