I remember reading license plates on cars on Le Jeune Road while taking off on 27R in Miami on a summer day with Caribbean hand luggage onboard.
Some of the 727's had the small -7A engines and 'hand luggage' wasn't reflected on the weight and balance. For competitive reasons our ground staff wouldn't police the carryons much. Folks would bring small refrigerators, TV sets, tools and other stuff to take home to the islands. They knew that if it didn't fit in the overhead or under the seat it would be tagged at the gate and put in the hold. And not counted as excess baggage for the pax or the paperwork.
An even shallower climb gradient was displayed by the cargo DC-4's and DC-6's headed southward. They would take a turn to miss buildings on the beach and gradually struggle to an initial altitude over the water.
The newer jet twins have a lot more performance margin but seemingly hug the runway nostalgically when derated takeoffs are done. I've sure had my doubts looking at the runway remaining at V1.
