Used to watch these from my office window as they launched from Moffet Field (Mountain View, CA) daily a bit before lunch.
Rotate off the runway with a roar, and pitch up to something between 45º and 60º, headed roughly northish.
A few minutes later, they were over Oakland. At close to 60K', and heading off for the day's work. Later in the day, they'd glide in quietly with a pickup truck waiting to catch one wingtip as they slowed down after touchdown.
All gone now, moved to Beale AFB and other useful, if more remote, operating areas.
4 comments:
Used to watch these from my office window as they launched from Moffet Field (Mountain View, CA) daily a bit before lunch.
Rotate off the runway with a roar, and pitch up to something between 45º and 60º, headed roughly northish.
A few minutes later, they were over Oakland. At close to 60K', and heading off for the day's work. Later in the day, they'd glide in quietly with a pickup truck waiting to catch one wingtip as they slowed down after touchdown.
All gone now, moved to Beale AFB and other useful, if more remote, operating areas.
watch out for large slabs of ice falling from those long wings ...
Was next to the runway once at Kirkland AFB when one took off. Loudest thing I ever heard...and it seems like it disappeared straight up in seconds.
yes the wings are what keeps it in the air you moron
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