The pucker factor for us watching on the ground was pretty high. I can only imagine what it was like on the plane.
My first flight on a B-52 was with friends who were excited for me to go along with them. They didn't explain the initiation. In the movie "Men of Honor" Master diver Brashear, (Cuba Gooding) was looking for a H-Bomb that was dropped into the Med by a B-52. The bombs were dropped due to a mid-air collision during an air refueling. The B-52 under ran the tanker and the aerodynamics were such that the two aircraft were "sucked together" and collided.
After that accident a maneuver was developed to prevent any such accidents in the future. If the boom operator observed an unsafe approach by the bomber he would call a "breakaway" The Tanker would initiate an immediate 1000' per minute climb and the B-52 would initiate an air brakes to six 1000' foot per minute dive
So a breakaway maneuver was scheduled for my first training flight and I wasn't "warned/briefed" as to what to expect. I was in the IP seat immediately behind the AC and Co-Pilot. I had my camera at the ready to take pics of the refueling. We had a minimum off load and then the boomer radioed "Breakaway". My seat belt was unsnapped and ..well does the term Vomit Comet" bring any pictures to mind. The crew snickered for the rest of the mission which was about 11 hours!