To really appreciate the SR-71 you really need to be an Air Force Brat, a kid where you would hear the tall tales of the tall men who flew these magnificent machines.
I acrually kn oew the crontrols from my FAA license:
As the Blackbird re-appeared from base OPS an hour later, the leading edges of the wing sill glowing and dull red, against the evening dusk.
It took 15 minutes to roll to the end of turn way 27, and all commercial and military aviation was grounded as they could be an eyewitness seat to wittiness a scene to such spectacular proportion that they would replay if to their grand-children.
As she lined-up o Runway 27 and gunned the twin engines, the earth shook beneath our feet like a heard of wild stallions, inside a deafening roar.
The rotation was glorious; a smooth motion skywards, nuzzling-in 60 degrees. Before the distant boom of her first sound barrier, she was over 70,000 feet and over s hun hundreds of miles away!