M2-F2
General information
Type	Lifting bodytechnology demonstrator
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Northrop
Status	Rebuilt as M2-F3
Primary user	NASA
Number built	1
History
First flight	12 July 1966
Retired	10 May 1967
Developed from	NASA M2-F1
Variant	Northrop M2-F3

TheNorthrop M2-F2 was a heavyweightlifting body based on studies atNASA's Ames and Langley research centers and built by the Northrop Corporation in 1966.

The success ofDryden'sM2-F1 program led to NASA's development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies based on studies at NASA'sAmes andLangley research centers—the M2-F2 and theHL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation. The "M" refers to "manned" and "F" refers to "flight" version. "HL" comes from "horizontal landing" and 10 is for the tenth lifting body model to be investigated by Langley.

On March 23, 1966 the M2-F2 made its first captive flight—attached to theB-52 carrier aircraft throughout. The first freegliding flight of the M2-F2 was on July 12, 1966, piloted byMilton O. Thompson. He wasdropped from the B-52 carrier aircraft's wing pylon at an altitude of 45,000 ft (14,000 m) and reached a speed of about 450 mph (720 km/h; 390 kn).

Before powered flights were undertaken, a series of glide flights were conducted. On May 10, 1967, the sixteenth and last glide flight ended in disaster as the vehicle slammed into the lake bed on landing. With test pilotBruce Peterson at the controls, the M2-F2 suffered apilot induced oscillation (PIO) as it neared the lake bed. At the core of this problem was that the wings of the M2-F2 (essentially the body of the aircraft) produced considerably less roll authority than most aircraft. This resulted in less force available to the pilot to control the aircraft in roll. The vehicle rolled from side to side in flight as he tried to bring it under control. Peterson recovered, but then observed a rescue helicopter that seemed to pose a collision threat. Distracted, Peterson drifted in a crosswind to an unmarked area of the lake bed where it was very difficult to judge the height over the ground because of a lack of guidance (the markers provided on the lake bed runway).^[1]

Peterson fired the landing rockets to provide additional lift, but he hit the lake bed before thelanding gear was fully down and locked. The M2-F2 rolled over six times, coming to rest upside down. Pulled from the vehicle by Jay King and Joseph Huxman, Peterson was rushed to the base hospital, transferred to theMarch Air Force Base Hospital and then theUCLA Hospital. He recovered but lost vision in his righteye due to astaphylococcal infection.

Portions of M2-F2 footage including Peterson's spectacular crash landing were used for the 1973 television seriesThe Six Million Dollar Man^[2] though some shots during the opening credits of the series showed the laterHL-10 model, during release from its carrier plane, a modifiedB-52.

Four pilots flew the M2-F2 on its 16 glide flights. They wereMilton O. Thompson (five flights),Bruce Peterson (three flights), Don Sorlie (three flights) andJerry Gentry (five flights).^{[citation needed]}

NASApilots andresearchers realized the M2-F2 had lateral control problems, even though it had a stability augmentation control system. When the M2-F2 was rebuilt at Dryden and redesignated theM2-F3, it was modified with an additional third verticalfin—centered between the tip fins to improve control characteristics.

The M2-F2/F3 was the first of the heavyweight, entry-configuration lifting bodies. Its successful development as a research test vehicle answered many of the generic questions about these vehicles.

• NASA M2-F2 - NASA 803, 16 unpowered flights

Data from^{[citation needed]}

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 22 ft 2 in (6.76 m)
• Wingspan: 9 ft 8 in (2.95 m)
• Height: 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
• Wing area: 160 sq ft (15 m²)
• Empty weight: 4,620 lb (2,096 kg)
• Gross weight: 6,000 lb (2,722 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 7,485 lb (3,395 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 ×Reaction Motors XLR-11 liquid-fuelled rocket motor, 8,000 lbf (36 kN) thrust with four combustion chamber/nozzle assemblies

Performance

• Maximum speed: 405 kn (466 mph, 750 km/h)
• Maximum speed: Mach 0.707
• Range: 8.6 nmi (9.9 mi, 15.9 km)
• Service ceiling: 45,000 ft (14,000 m)
• Wing loading: 43.2 lb/sq ft (211 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 1.3

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

• X-24
• M2-F1
• M2-F3
• HL-10

Wikimedia Commons has media related toNorthrop M2-F2.

• Most of text taken from NASA Dryden webpage.
• NASA Dryden M2-F2 Photo Collection
• NASA Dryden M2-F2 Video Collection
• Wingless Flight: The Lifting Body Story. NASA History Series SP-4220 1997 PDF
• Video of Peterson's crash

• Lifting bodies
• 1960s United States experimental aircraft
• Gliding in the United States
• Rocket-powered aircraft
• Northrop aircraft

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from September 2012
• Articles with unsourced statements from September 2019
• Commons category link is on Wikidata