Former sonic boomer is now a Sooner
EDMOND — A man who might have annoyed thousands of metro-area residents more than 50 years ago has moved to the metro area.
Ted Hopkins, 80, was among U.S. Air Force pilots who conducted sonic boom testing over the skies of Oklahoma City. From February until May 1964, his six-pilot unit out of Big Spring, Texas, flew the regular mission.
The Air Force Academy graduate was 27 and the youngest of the pilots. Eight booms were tested every day over a 108-mile flight path. Directly over the heart of the metro area, an Air Force jet would hit a speed of 760 mph and initiate a boom. That very loud sound was accompanied by a shock wave from the aircraft that eventually hit the ground. The shock wave could cause minor damage on the ground, such as broken windows.
The testing, with the code name Operation Bongo, was the federal government's way of finding out how the public would react to regular sonic booms for possible commercial supersonic transport. More than 1,200 booms were recorded. The majority of residents tolerated the loud sound. But thousands weren't quite so understanding.
Hopkins said it was his job to explain the mission to civic clubs, schools and other groups.
"Once I explained what we were doing most everyone understood," he said.
Not everyone was a fan
One fan of the testing was Don Sherry, of Oklahoma City. In 1964, he was 12 years old.
"I will always remember being the kid who would go outside and search the sky for a telltale contrail and marvel that an aircraft so high and so fast could have such a thunderous impact down here in the ground," Sherry said.
One Sunday, Hopkins found out not everyone was a boom fan.
Taking off from Tinker Air Force Base, he proceeded to the regular flight pattern in his F-104 fighter. Because it was Sunday, he took it slow, and the fighter jet traveled only 220 mph and did not cause a boom.
When he returned, he was surprised at how quiet the base was. That changed when four men approached his aircraft in a no-nonsense matter. Two were in uniform and two in civilian clothes.
"I found out later the civilians were from the FBI and there were two senior Air Force officers," he said. "They asked me if I was OK and if the jet had been damaged."
He was then told there had been two rifle shooting incidents reported. Authorities had reason to believe the jet was the target.
“It wasn’t likely anyone could hit a jet going a few hundred miles an hour,” he said.
He said volunteers fielded about 5,000 complaint calls about Operation Bongo in the nearly six months it went on.
"At first everyone reacted to it (the booms)," he said. "After a few months, third-graders wouldn't even stop writing in class when the boom hit."
But the complaints continued at city hall and later to elected officials.
His name was on a class action lawsuit from people seeking damages.
That case was thrown out of court.
Life after boom testing
After May 1964, Hopkins moved on with his Air Force career, which included previous flight duty over Cuba during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. After the sonic boom testing he was stationed in Germany, where he met his future wife, Dawn, who was teaching American military children.
"The children would ask me if it was my boyfriend who buzzed the school at times," Dawn Hopkins recalled.
He left the Air Force in 1967 and pursued a career in business, retiring in 1997. The couple have at times gone on cruises where he gives lectures on various topics, including the sonic boom testing.
Three months ago they moved to Edmond from Arizona. They admitted they could have moved anywhere but choose Edmond. At one time they considered Dallas or Austin, Texas.
The decision to move here is one Dawn fully supports.
"We really like it here," she said.
The former pilot believes he's probably one of the few and maybe only sonic boom pilot who lives in the metro area.