When I was in high school on Kadena AB, we used to sit on what was called Habu Hill and watch the SR-71 take off. You always knew when that was going to happen for many reasons. First, the KC-135Q would take off - a special refueling aircraft that gassed up the SR after it took off. Second, you would see the SR hangars open across the field and it would spend about 30 minutes sitting there doing whatever preparation it needed. It was during that time that people would start to congregate on Habu Hill.
There weren't any cell phones or such things back then (mid-1980's), so you just had to be lucky. There was no driving to the nearest phone and calling your friends - you just pulled over and watched. When I was a senior in high school I drove an on-base taxi, and I can't count the number of times a fare would insist I pull over to watch the takeoff, happily agreeing to pay the fare to wait. I never charged them.
So we would sit there on the hill overlooking the end of the runway, and the SR would taxi out to the arming area. Normally this is where the base's F-15's would sit to get their pins pulled, but the SR would use it for its preflight checks. We'd all watch as the massive rudders swung back and forth (and other surfaces waved) as it sat in the arming area, looking like it was pissed off it was still on the ground.
Finally the support trucks would scurry away and the SR would taxi into position on the runway. By this time, the Hill probably had 30-40 cars parked and 50-100 people standing and watching, the excitement on their faces intense and obvious.
Only a few moments would pass until we heard the J58s spool up and go to full afterburner. Seeing those two engines spit out flame half as long as the sleek aircraft was only part of the thrill; the overpowering and thundering roar crashing over us was almost indescribable.
The entire universe was drowned out in that intense assault on our senses. Only about 1000' feet away (maybe less), it was by far the loudest thing anyone had ever heard. What was most amazing was the pulses of physical force that sound threw upon us, like a hurricane sending massive waves crashing on a beach. Then the SR released its brakes and it leapt forward with a longing for the sky that was palpable.
Everyone on the hill, no matter how many times they'd seen it, would stand agape as it roared down the runway. To me, it looked like everyone was watching their hero - if only they could be the one in that plane, blasting off into the night. Each person would track it as it leapt off the ground as it seemed to head to the stars. Nobody would leave the Hill until it was quite literally out of sight. Climbing on dual 30-foot long pillars of fire, getting out of sight on a clear evening was exceedingly difficult.
It didn't matter how long it took for the SR to get away from us - everyone stayed until there was nothing left to look at. Finally people would start heading back to their cars, huge grins on their faces as if their favorite team had won the Stanley Cup. After that plane took off, all the people who'd seen it were awed by that plane and their country one more time.
I guess I'm an airplane nerd, but if you could have been there you would know what I'm talking about.
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