Cheyenne Police Hilariously Radar Check Air Force Thunderbirds

Got to admire the Cheyenne Police Department's sense of humor.

With the Air Force Thunderbirds flying over the city for Frontier Days, one of the cops thought to step outside and clock their speed with a radar gun.

We recently received a report of several vehicles “traveling at Mach 1” through downtown.
Think we found our suspects… 👀
Welcome to Cheyenne, Thunderbirds! ❤️💙🇺🇸

Mach 1, as the officer claims, is 767.269 miles per hour.

Looking a little closer at the law, it's okay if those planes are going faster than traffic on the ground.

But what about the speed limit in the air?

There actually is one.

The airspace over Cheyenne, Wyoming, is classified as "Class D" or DELTA!

Here are the rules:

In Class D airspace, the speed limit is generally 200 knots (230 mph) indicated airspeed when operating at or below 2,500 feet above the surface, within 4 nautical miles of the primary airport. 

 

This is specified in 14 CFR 91.117. 

 

There may be exceptions if ATC specifically authorizes a higher speed. 

Note that last line: "There may be exceptions if ATC specifically authorizes a higher speed."

So, yeah, those jets are allowed to break the sound barrier as long as they received prior permission to do so.

I'm going to wager that they did.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon can reach a top speed of Mach 2, which is approximately 1,500 mph.

During a Thunderbirds air show, the jets fly at speeds ranging from 120 mph to 700 mph.

The fastest speed, around 700 mph, is reached during the "sneak pass" maneuver, just under Mach 1, according to the Blue Angels (.mil) and The Air Dot Show Tour.

The slowest speed, around 120 mph, is seen during the "Section High Alpha" maneuver.

These planes are not built for flying slowly.

A typical small private airplane comes in to land at about 74 miles per hour.

An F-16 typically lands at a speed of approximately 167 mph.

The Cheyenne Police Department does not have a car that can catch that.