Every year, the same thing happens. On a Thursday, I’m at the studio. I’m being productive, of course… definitely not playing ping pong… when I hear a loud roar shake the entire building. After a few seconds of confusion, it hits me: It’s Chicago Air and Water Show time.
The Chicago Air and Water Show is held on a Saturday and Sunday every summer. The great thing is, even if you forgot about it, or never knew it was happening in the first place, it’s almost impossible to not realize it’s about to happen. Two days before the show, the pilots start their practice runs. The flight paths tend to cover a huge area of the city, so if you’re ears are open, you’re also going to be briefly confused before realizing it’s that time of year again.
It’s a huge event for the city. Miles of lakefront become packed with tourists and locals. It’s the best place to see the show, as the pilots perform stunts and very close fly bys over the lake. But this is a sound guys blog. If you’re a sound person too, maybe you’ve already realized the lake is the last place I want to be. All those people talking, ooh-ing, and ahh-ing? Gross!
No, I venture up to my rooftop. You can’t see the main show from there, but I happen to be along a bit of a flight path for some of the jets that perform in the show. More importantly… no people! It’s quite a nice setup I’ve had for the last few years. Last year, I went all out, recording in double mid side to capture a nice 5.0 environment. I also took video and put together this demo!
This year, I was a bit too busy to dedicate that time. Instead, I set my Sony D100 up on the roof. I hit record, walked away, and hoped for the best. I tend to keep my expectations pretty low when I record like that. After all, despite the private roof, I’m still in the middle of a busy (noisy) city, and maybe the flight paths are different this year. But both days after checking the files, the results did not disappoint!
This year I got a nice variety of pass bys in speed, quantity, and distance. It’s also a welcome change from last year that I captured (I assume, based on the flight schedule) a totally different kind of Jet: the F16C/D Fighting Falcon. It often has a unique whistling whining sound that differs a bit from the FA-18 Super Hornets I captured in 2024. Have a listen:
Since you made it to the end of this post, or maybe just scrolled straight to the bottom (boo!), I’m going to let you download these sound effects for free. Around ~30 pass bys for you to build something cool with, all UCS-ified for your database.
This link will die in 3 months. (Nov 19th, 2025) If you’re late to the party, sorry! I do hope to be sharing more random sounds like this. So follow this blog, or find me on Bluesky, Youtube, or Instagram to keep in touch!
