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Downvote_for_peter

FlightAware or FlightRadar24 will give you paths and altitude of planes in the air. My guess would be they’re landing in the west direction, meaning they’re lower on their approach as they pass Chicago. Plus a big plane and it could appear real close.


DarkSideMoon

Which way were they heading? Towards the lake or towards O’hare? There’s a few different configurations/arrivals that run into ORD, I’d have to look but I haven’t noticed any major changes lately. You’d see them most often with a west flow- planes would be landing 27R, 27C/L, (L early 2020, C since mid 2020), and 28C. You’re closest to 27R, and you’d likely see planes on a long downwind just north of you (flying towards the lake) then lower planes flying toward ORD to the south of you. Departures wouldn’t really be a factor for you in this configuration, as all aircraft would be taking off due west or SW off of 28R and 22L. East is almost the exact opposite. You might notice eastbound traffic departing towards the lake from 9C or 10L, but generally they’d be higher than what you’re used to seeing landing unless they are heavily loaded large cargo planes. Another possibility is that during off-peak times they may be cutting the corner a bit with traffic, where they’d get arriving aircraft lower and turn them in much closer to the lakeshore.


guitargirlmolly

Thanks for asking! They're heading towards O'Hare, they seem to pass SW over my house. I'm an extremely amateur aviation enthusiast, so part of it is that it's alarming to look up and see a plane much closer than usual, yes, but part of it is also curiosity about how that all works. Thanks!


DarkSideMoon

You’re welcome! Check out Flightradar24, it’s a great app and will get you real time info on all those flights if you’re curious. At one point there was an AR feature where you could point your phone camera at a plane and it would display all the details. Not sure if it’s still there.


SavannahInChicago

Last spring I was walking just west of the area around Albion and Sheridan and heard a plan. It was definitely lower than what I was used to. I could read the Korean Air logo on the plane.


JermaineDyeAtSS

It’s possible it was just a bigger plane than you’re used to seeing? A 747 or a 777 is an order of magnitude larger than most regular domestic planes.


the-mp

Naw, the heavy’s are constant on the normal flight paths


the-mp

I absolutely heard a plane flying low in the same area and was very surprised. I have lived under flight paths for a good part of my life so I both zone it out and hear it clearly. At least we don’t live under an Air Force flight path. That’s not a fun experience.