Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

I got to see an SR take off from an airbase in Northern California in 1980. It was dusk, the sky was orange on the horizon. The windows rattled, and there, just climbing into the south east was a black silhouette, with twin purple cones of fire erupting from the engines, climbing into the sky. It was stunning in it's beauty and terrifying in how loud it was. We lived about 4 miles from the base and you could FEEL the sound....