Why are Military Helicopters Suddenly Filling Illinois Skies?

Have you seen several military helicopters flying over Illinois lately and wondered, "what the heck is going on?". Don't worry, you're not alone.

Loud Helicopters Flying in Illinois

On Tuesday night as I was cooking dinner , I suddenly heard horribly loud engine sounds coming from outside. When I tell you they were loud, I mean so loud that they were vibrating the pans I had on the stove burner.

I could tell they were probably helicopters, but of course I had to run to the window to see where the sound was coming from. That's when I saw three military helicopters flying in the sky above our neighborhood, and I got a little nervous.

WHY ARE THERE MILITARY HELICOPTERS FLYING ABOVE MY NEIGHBORHOOD?!?

Normally a sight like that wouldn't make me worried, but alarming things have been happening in aviation far too often lately, so yeah, it was a little unnerving.

I don't live near an airport or military base...i's not airshow season...what exactly were these military helicopters up to?

Why Are Several Military Helicopters Being Spotted in Illinois?

As I searched social media for possible explanations for why military helicopters are being seen and heard flying over Northern Illinois I saw many comments echoing my own concerns. Things like;

"Is this an air raid?"

"Is this an earthquake?"

"Is something bad coming?"

All these questions may see dramatic, but people are a little on edge these days.

This morning I finally found the explanation I was looking for...

We should feel better knowing these helicopters are just training, but many people are still asking one important question; why does this need to happen at night?

An article from WIFR says;

A community member asked the Wisconsin National Guard on Facebook if there was a schedule for the training. The National Guard responded with, “Until approximately 7:00 p.m. However, some of these flights have the potential to operate as late as 2:00 a.m. Pilots will continue to follow flight paths designed to minimize noise to area residents.

I guess the moral of this story is; spotting very loud military helicopters flying over your home this week is no cause for alarm, but let's just hope it doesn't happen at 2 a.m.