Photo by Chevian

BOOM!

One of the things that helped make H-3 more bearable were the bits of excitement provided by the pilots of the 57th FIS.  Every now and then one or two of them would make a low altitude pass over the site.  It was not allowed to kick in the afterburners since that loud BOOM! might shake the radome, affectionately called the "Bubble",  loose.  

Yea, and if you believe that there were never any loud Booms when the F-102s flew over,  well, I want to offer you a great deal on the Brooklyn Bridge!

Here is another 
Bubble Check" picture sent in by John Simander.  You might notice that the afterburner is lite judging from the flame jumping out from the rear of the engine. 

Courtesy of Barry Aistop we now have an actual video made during one  of the bubble checks.  It might take a little while to load so be patient.  Bubble Check Video

(For some reason, Netscape browsers seem to be unable to properly handle the script which is supposed to display the message that you have just had a "Bubble Check".  All that is displayed after the shake is a red block in these instances.  Also, if you did not have your speakers on, turn them on and reload the page.)