When I watched 707s take off in the early '60s from the Pan Am Clipper Club in San Juan, the early ones with JT3C turbojets (J57s) took an ungodly percentage of the runway before rotating, and that was with water injection which resulted in black smoke and a lot of noise. (My dad was even on one which aborted its takeoff and had to go back and try again.) When they switched to JT3D turbofans (TF33s) the takeoff runs got much shorter and there was less smoke and noise.
The JT3C was marginal for the original 707 at 10,000 pounds thrust. The JT3D and subsequent versions produced 18,000 pounds thrust or more and had more efficient combustion. More power and less smoke.
I flew in a few ANG KC-135's with the surplus JT3D engines. Cold inside. Most unusual airplane flight was flying with Delta on a Convair 880. IAH to LGA. Have the postcard somewhere around the house. The postcard is just a picture of the static model of the jet with the early 60's Delta livery.
Those 707 's all have the quiet JT3D's with hush kits. I saw a SE210 and CV 880 take off at MIA back in the 1980's that almost blew my ear drums out.
I have mentioned it before but I'll do it again. The JT3 at full power could generate sound that could and did break down structural materials on the airplanes. The first indication was the thin ribs and skins in the wing trailing edge of the XB-52 breaking up. They were then glued together with a thermal setting glue and glass fiber fabric. Then, during a 100% thrust run with all eight on water injection, one of the inboard trailing edge flaps fell off when the support fittings disintegrated. Then, the KC-135 aft lower fuselage skins began to crack from the sonic fatigue caused by numerous takeoffs with water. I have experienced quite a few takeoffs under and near KC's on water and the sound is painful. They do shriek
I once saw a J57-powered B-52 make a high-speed low-level flyby at the Merced fly-in. Based on the amount of smoke it was generating, I wonder if it was on water injection. The noise when it went by was quite deafening.
While in college I drove to the road that was next to the last chance area at D.M. AFB. Took my POV and attempted to time the Six at the correct moment while it was on the active runway. The alert jets were often scheduled to fly a routine sortie at or around the same time each day. D.M. has or had a barn at the east side of the runway. You had to arrive as the jets were at last chance - b4 the Sky Cops arrived. I was about two-three hundred yards behind the jet and purposely had no ear protection as the burner hit. In a fraction of a second it was briefly quiet before the burner kicked in and vibrated every bit of your body. A hard rock concert does not come anywhere close.
Low level routes in the olden days were OBxx for oil burner because of the B-52Gs flying low level. Whenever we saw one, we usually saw the smoke trail first and then the camoed airframe. Our TFR once assumed a BUFF was terrain and flew us over her as if she were a moving hill.
I really like this pic. The Boeing 707 performing an ultra-low fly past at the Harare air show in Zimbabwe in 1995 was a daring stunt executed by pilot Darryl Tarr. According to Tarr, the radar altimeter indicated that the aircraft was just 6 feet above the ground at one point during the flypast. This maneuver showcases the impressive precision and skill of the pilot, as well as the capabilities of the Boeing 707. This type of performance surely left a lasting impression on the spectators at the air show. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I still get to see them fly almost every day. Not as much smoke, but still some from the TF33s. (E-3s from the nearby base.) Going to miss them. The E-7 will look just like another Alaska Airlines 737 in the air.
I think this is taking "making a low pass" a bit too far. Apparently this is a legitimate photo. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Here's another old clip from Ostend. This 707 has stage 3 hush-kits on its JT3Ds, and it does sound a little quieter on acceleration, but not all that much.
