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NASA M2-F1

Experimental · USA · Early Jet (1946–1969)

NASA M2-F1 — Experimental
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The NASA M2-F1 was the lightweight wood-and-tube glider that proved the lifting-body concept could fly. Designed by Dale Reed at NASA Dryden in 1962 and built by NASA staff (with contracted glider-builder Gus Briegleb fabricating the plywood-and-tube shell), the M2-F1 weighed only 1,138 lb empty and was towed first by a Pontiac Catalina convertible across Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB. Its nickname — "the flying bathtub" — reflected its half-cone shape with the flat side up. The M2-F1 made about 400 ground tows and 77 air tows behind a C-47 between 5 April 1963 and 16 August 1966. The data set it produced converted lifting bodies from a wind-tunnel curiosity into a flight-tested concept that Northrop and Martin then took to the heavyweight M2-F2/M2-F3, HL-10, and X-24A/X-24B.

The lifting-body idea was pushed at NASA Ames by R. Dale Reed, who had read Eggers and Allen's 1957 wind-tunnel paper on half-cone reentry shapes and convinced Dryden management it deserved a flight test. Budget was the constraint: full-scale wind-tunnel time at Ames cost as much as a small airframe, so Reed proposed building one and skipping the wind tunnel entirely. The M2-F1 was the result. Construction took six months in 1962-1963 at a total cost of roughly USD$30,000 — the cheapest X-plane ever built.

The Catalina ground tows began in March 1963 and proved the concept controllable up to 110 mph. The first air tow behind a C-47 came on 16 August 1963 — pilot Milt Thompson dropped from a B-52 wing pylon onto the lakebed after a 6,000 ft tow release. Bruce Peterson, Don Mallick, Bill Dana, Donald Sorlie, and Chuck Yeager (yes, that Chuck Yeager) all flew the airframe at least once. The aircraft sustained low-L/D approaches the way a returning spacecraft would have to — and proved a piloted lifting body could land on a lakebed under control.

The M2-F1 is preserved at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, and is one of the most-photographed lifting-body airframes — its bright-yellow plywood shape sitting next to the dry-lake-bed runway has become iconic. The data set it generated led directly to the heavyweight Northrop and Martin Marietta lifting bodies that followed and, ultimately, to the Space Shuttle Orbiter's deadstick runway-landing technique.

For Kids — a shorter, friendlier version

The NASA M2-F1 was a small wood-and-tube glider that proved the lifting-body idea could really work. A lifting body is a plane that gets its lift from its body shape, not from wings. The M2-F1 was nicknamed the Flying Bathtub because of its strange half-cone shape with a flat top.

Dale Reed designed the M2-F1 at NASA Dryden in 1962. The glider was built mostly by NASA staff plus a contracted glider builder. The whole plane weighed only 1,138 pounds when empty.

The M2-F1 made about 400 ground tows behind a souped-up Pontiac convertible across Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base. After ground testing, it made 77 air tows behind a NASA C-47 transport between 1963 and 1966. Each air tow released the M2-F1 in flight so it could glide back down to land.

The M2-F1 is about as long as a small minivan. The data it gathered turned the lifting-body idea from a wind-tunnel curiosity into a real flying concept. Northrop and Martin Marietta then built heavier lifting bodies like the M2-F2, HL-10, and X-24 that all helped lead to the Space Shuttle.

Fun Facts

  • The M2-F1 was nicknamed the Flying Bathtub because of its strange half-cone shape.
  • It was made of wood and steel tubes, weighing only 1,138 pounds empty.
  • The plane was first tested by towing it behind a Pontiac convertible across a dry lake.
  • It made about 400 ground tows and 77 air tows between 1963 and 1966.
  • Air tows behind a C-47 released the M2-F1 in flight.
  • The M2-F1 proved the lifting-body idea worked and led to the Space Shuttle.

Kids’ Questions

Why was the plane towed behind a Pontiac car?

NASA wanted to test the M2-F1 cheaply and safely. A souped-up Pontiac Catalina convertible could go fast enough to lift the lightweight glider into the air for a few seconds. The flat, hard surface of Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base was perfect — like a giant runway. After the ground tests worked, NASA towed the plane up to higher altitudes behind a C-47.

Why is the M2-F1 important?

Before the M2-F1, lifting bodies were just an idea on paper. People did not know if a stubby body shape could really fly back through the air and land safely. The M2-F1 proved it could be done — opening the door for NASA to build the heavier M2-F2, HL-10, and X-24 lifting bodies that all helped design the Space Shuttle.

Variants

M2-F1 (NASA 1)
Single airframe. Construction 1962-1963. ~400 ground tows + 77 air tows between 5 April 1963 and 16 August 1966. Preserved at NASA Armstrong, Edwards AFB.

Notable Operators

NASA Armstrong (Dryden) Flight Research Center
Sole operator. Built the airframe in-house and flew the entire programme from Edwards AFB. Pilots: Milt Thompson, Bruce Peterson, Don Mallick, Bill Dana, Donald Sorlie, Chuck Yeager, plus several others on familiarisation flights.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a lifting body?

An aircraft that generates all of its lift from the shape of the fuselage, with no separate wing. The configuration was developed in the 1960s as a way for a returning spacecraft to glide back from orbit and land on a runway. The M2-F1 was the first piloted lifting body to fly.

Was the M2-F1 really towed by a Pontiac?

Yes — the early ground-tow phase used a 1963 Pontiac Catalina convertible with the rear seat removed and a tow hook bolted to the trunk. NASA Dryden picked the Catalina because it had enough horsepower (350 hp) to drag the M2-F1 to 110 mph — fast enough to lift off — across Rogers Dry Lake. The car is also preserved at NASA Armstrong.

How much did the M2-F1 cost?

About USD$30,000 in 1962-1963 dollars — the cheapest X-plane ever built. R. Dale Reed kept costs down by using a plywood-and-tube shell built by glider-builder Gus Briegleb, in-house NASA labour, and skipping wind-tunnel testing entirely.

Did Chuck Yeager fly the M2-F1?

Yes — Yeager flew it as a courtesy / familiarisation flight on 11 August 1965. He was at Edwards AFB as commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilot School at the time and had asked R. Dale Reed for the chance to fly the lifting body.

What did the M2-F1 lead to?

Directly to the heavyweight piloted lifting bodies — Northrop M2-F2/M2-F3, Northrop HL-10, Martin Marietta X-24A/X-24B — and then to the Space Shuttle Orbiter's deadstick runway-landing technique. Without the M2-F1's success the heavyweight programmes would never have been funded.

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