My dad was an engineer on the lifting body programs and, after retirement, restored the M2-F1. The group of engineers that surrounded these programs in the late 60s and early 70s were absolutely amazing people to grow up around.
Who was your dad? My grandfather, Vic Horton, almost certainly worked with him. Grandpa was the original project manager for the M2-F1 in the early 60s, having been selected for the job by Dale Reed and FRC director Paul Bikle. Grandpa also flew as B-52 launch panel operator for the heavyweights and was on the launch panel May 10, 1967, the day Bruce Peterson crashed the M2-F2.
My dad was an officer and ann aeronautical engineer at Edward’s AFB in the early 1960’s. I was born on Base in 64. His job then was to create test simulation flights for the pilots on these experimental aircraft’s. He worked on the M2-F3 Lifting Body Glide that flipped over the runway. The pilot told him after the crash that it was my dad’s simulations that prepared him for this disaster and kept him alive. My pops saw Chuck Yeager fly test flights while my pops was stationed there. He later went on to get his PhDin aerospace engineering and made satellites for the USAFand retired as Lt. Col.His memory is sharp as a tack and he can tell you the names of everyone he worked with on various projects in his career.
@@gabrielbennett5162 My Dad is Richard 'Dick' Fischer. The lifting bodies were early in his career, he went on to managing thermal protection for the space shuttle program at Palmdale. Dale Reed was a close family friend. I spent dozens and dozens of weekends with him fling model airplanes. I used to go to Pismo Beach each summer with the NASA group. It took me several years to figure out that 'Grandpa Bikle' was not my grandpa :). I only found out recently that my father was mortified by the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Bikle would adopt my brother and I while on vacation.
@@michelledurrett6047 I have no doubt our fathers knew each other! My brother was born in 66 and I was born in 70. My dad worked at Edwards from the late 60s through about 1979 until he transferred over to the shuttle assembly building in Palmdale. My dad was Richard 'Dick' Fischer.
@@gabrielbennett5162 I just spoke to my dad. He and Vic worked together a lot. He remembers Vic's love of flying and being in-vehicle for test flights. He remembers that Vic jumped at riding in the backseat of the SR 71. He also remembers Vic as being a brilliant mind.
My grandfather, Vic Horton, was the original project manager for the o plywood M2-F1 in the early 60s, having been selected for the job by Dale Reed and FRC director Paul Bikle. Grandpa also flew as B-52 launch panel operator for the heavyweights and was on the launch panel May 10, 1967, the day Bruce Peterson crashed the M2-F2.
I was a fuel specialist at Edwards AFB in 1974. I fueled the mothership many times, with the lifting body mounted on the pylon. It always amazed me how small it was!
You have to respect the built in a garage, with used parts, engineering of M2-F1. The Blues Brothers tow car matched the proof of concept perfectly. Mickey Thompson's own 400mph car was marked out with chalk and scrap steel tubes on the floor to get Mobil Oil sponsorship. Old school commitment gets it done.
I remember watching the six million dollar man, as a kid, and I always wished they would have done the story, based more on the lifting body vehicle. I loved the opening of the show with the crash sequence. Thanks Mike for another great video!
My grandfather, Vic Horton, was on the B-52 launch panel the day the real crash happened. The date was May 10, 1967. We still have his flight log entry.
I assume you are aware of the episode "The Deadly Replay" which had a LOT of great HL-10 footage, and had Steve getting "back on the horse" and using his bionics to overcome sabotage, the same saboteurs who caused his initial accident that changed his life
@@geraldford6409 nope, I either didn't see that episode, or just don't remember it. I wish I could see it now, sounds really awesome. Thanks for letting me know.
@@rickhenson660 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2aVhhNK6XLY.html Great last scene, after Steve landed the sabotaged craft, crushing the control stick with his bionic hand With Awesome Oliver Nelson soundtrack, reflecting the Triumph and Redemption of taming Steve's Beast Lee Majors in the Real Deal, as camera rolls back
- The white painted *X-15* @ the end of the program was not to make it look pretty but a futile attempt to solve the high heat burn thru problems on the air frame at *Mach 7.*
When I was a kid, the X-plane programme seemed to end with the fifteen and it was as if suddenly the Shuttle appeared out of the blue. This is a very nice summary of the "missing link" of test-flying that connected one and the other, in terms of both the technology and the pilots who flew them.
Concerning Dick Scobee, he was a transport plane pilot and became a USAF test pilot from that side of aviation as opposed to high performance fighters. He was added to the X-24B program to see how easy it was for pilots without fast jet experience to be able to adapt to lifting bodies, partly because the shuttle was the size of an airliner. Before these tests, Dick didn't consider becoming an astronaut at all. But after his experience with the X-24B, he submitted applications and was accepted as a member of the astronaut corps I believe in 1980.
Mike, the addition of your art, and that of other artists, to these histories, really adds something that purely photographic content can't convey. This episode really showed that off to best advantage. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to make these presentations
AH..... The Six Million Dollar Man, I remember watching that. Mike, I read a lot of aviation history but boy did I learn a lot today. The Me 163 was ruff on it's pilots, the landings were "backbreaking" and at times a fuel leak would kill the pilot. But they were fast, over 600 MPH. Thanks for your time and hard work in posting your videos.
In "Rocket Fighter" by Mano Ziegler, the pilot jumped in a fully fueled me-163, pressed the start button and vanished in a ball of flame. Very hazardous fuel in that rocket fighter. Excellent book, highly recommended.
I had a book by Bill Gunston who got access to the British' collection of German tech documents, and they were pretty sure a163 went supersonic in a near vertical climb, after the rudder balance snapped off. Which I still had those books.....
thank you for this video, it brought back tons of memories. as a child i must have built almost all the model kits of these aircraft. i think i may still have most of them.
Thanks, I have been a fan of space planes and lifting bodies since I saw the DynaSoar scale mockup at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair, NASA Pavilion. It is good to see the SNC Dreamchaser continuing the research and bringing the lifting body to operational reality.
Dream Chaser is currently scheduled for its CRS demo mission to the ISS in early 2023. SNC got a 6 mission CRS contract and wants to use it to prove Dream Chaser for a crew rating.
Good catch, and 'wondered about that also (I'm a Corvette guy), but I'm guessing the engine was originally configured as a "tri-power," then modified in Mickey Thompson's racing shop with a larger four-barrel carb. Thanks for watching!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 with the carburetor technology of the times, 1962, the 4bl carb, actually could make more power than a 3x2 set up. Especially, when tuned by Micky Thompson maybe this was what they were referring to. Either way, that Catalina was chosen because it was fast enough to do the job. Mike I'm also a corvette guy. And, thanks for this great presentation on lifting bodys.
Thank you, Mike, this was a spectacular presentation! I've always had a fascination with the lifting body programme and this just added a few more details.
Great presentation of a very unique part of the test plane subject! Incidentally, for the model builders amongst us, the Ukrainian kit manufacturer AMP just released a 1/72 scale,injected molded kit of the X-20 Dynasoar….mine is ordered, but seems to be delayed by a war.
Some of the most fascinating aircraft ever produced. What a wonderful subject, thanks to the person who requested it. Covered in detail as only you can Mr. Machat! As always God bless you and yours and thanks again for all you do! Take care always!
Mike not only is the video great, but even greater you've brought together a community with first-hand experience on the lifting body programs. Many of these folks crossed or nearly crossed paths. Enjoy hearing others take on the program. I was at Edwards when the X-24B was flying. We often had a "view finder" full of aircraft attempting to get the best possible data. Worked in the group that had earlier shot that video of Bruce Peterson's tumbling landing. Loved hearing the actual audio on that mission, in comparison to the hammed up Hollywood version. Doing great please keep'em coming!
The lifting bodies were impressive to watch. I was an Army officer assigned to NASA Flight Research Center (Now Armstrong) in the early 70's. I worked in the flight simulation group. Though not assigned to the lifting body program I did spend time in the simulator. I worked with Bruce Peterson who was project manager on the F8 Digital Fly By Wire project. He was funny and was great to work with.
Mr. Peterson was a friend of my fathers. As a kid, I always thought he was one of the smartest people alive. Every visit filled my head with new ideas and I loved it.
Very nice presentation of photos, art and narration of a lesser known aviation subject. I was at Edwards on April 14, 1981 to witness Space Shuttle Columbia return from space and make a smooth landing, as the crowd cheered. An unforgettable experience that I will always treasure. Thanks for putting this fascinating video together Mike.
WOW!!! We missed the 60th anniversary of Glenn's historic flight last month...seems no one cares about or remembers that flight...I was in 7th grade on that day and our teacher had the entire class cross out, in our geography books, a lime that read (IIRC) ...Some day man may travel into space..." and replace it with "...today John Glenn orbited the earth three times..." I'd love to find that book at a flea market somewhere
Fantastic images, exhilarating narrative. I feel the fear that had to have crept into so many of these experimental flights. The path to the space shuttle was long and ultimately, a profound success.
Wow, great video! You're a multi-talented guy, artist, author, historian, pilot, and now a narrator of these great videos. Your voice is great for this. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. 😎🇺🇸
1:23 This is incorrect. The Me 163 was the first rocket-power combat aircraft, but hardly the first manned rocket-powered aircraft. The Heinkel He 176 liquid-fueled rocket aircraft first flew on 20 June 1939, nearly two years before the Messerschmitt. Earlier still was Fritz von Opel's solid-fueled rocket plane which flew on 30 September 1929.
- We're just splitting hairs here, aren't we? -Actually the first rocket flight was by a Chineese Emperor on a rocket throne around 900 AD. He disappeared in a massive cloud of smoke.
@@mydogbrian4814 - Wanhoo??? Or some such? Nobody knows for total certainty if he actually flew or not. Methinks that Chinese guy became one of the first examples of what Mcducks demands nowadays for raw hamburger when a new franchise opens.
Great history lesson as always. I believe that Martin Merriata built the X-24A. During my 30 plus years at Edwards on the B-2 program Bruce Peterson was our systems safety engineer. We had a very safe flight test program during his tenure. I was lucky to catch Bruce on a break and got the real story on the m2f2 accident, it is a truly amazing story . If you have seen any of the approach vid it was a a hairy 2min flight. He took a lot of crap over the years because of that . It did not end his flying career, he continued to fly for the Marines. Sadly he passed a few years ago.
Yes, forgot to change the heading in that frame, and thanks for the information about Bruce Peterson. Everyone who ever knew him had nothing but kind words.
I saw up close of the Space Shuttle Enterprise mounted on the 747 at the Atlanta Hartsfield Lockheed terminal. When you drove up to the building the 747 was hidden behind the building and it looked like the Orbiter was in flight. The Shuttle is very big and the bottom tiles looked like a kitchen floor. It was just too cool. TD Atlanta
The Johnson Space Center has one of the 747 aircraft and a non flying mock up shuttle on it's back. When the visitors go there it's the first thing you see. It's amazing how big it is together like that. The display will allow you to climb up to it and inside each of the vehicles. My favorite part is getting to the top of the stairs and looking at the wings of the jet and the orbiter at the same time!
Very interesting. Thank you. Just a fact check. You said an aircraft was pulled by a Pontiac Tri Power and then mentioned a four barrel carburetor. Thé tri power 421 engines were called tri power because they had three two barrel carburetors. At the same time, Pontiac produced four barrel carburetors versions that produced slightly less horsepower.
Good catch, and should have mentioned the engine was originally a 421 Tri-power, but modified for NASA'a use by Mickey Thompson's speed shop with the 4-barrel carb.
Loved that video Mike. I didn’t realize how many different NASA and Air Force pilots actually flew the lifting bodies. Paul Bikle deserves much credit for his intelligent risk taking championing the lifting body concept. As you mentioned, the M2F1 was fabricated using low cost techniques. The money for that project came entirely out of Dryden discretionary funds. I can’t imagine that happening today. Thanks again.
Love your channel! Double check the Pontiac specs. A stock 421 Catalina could accelerate from 0 to 100 mph in 13.8 sec, and that's with a 3 speed transmission.
I subscribed, this was a very good video, however, I wish you'd have mentioned Dale Reed- the literal father of lifting bodies. Yet- you did a GREAT job, and you put in a lot of hard work and displayed some amazing images. You put a lot of time into this program and it shows. I especially loved the back of the napkin drawing. If you put that on a T-shirt I would buy it 100%. Good job- I cannot wait to see you other videos.
The napkin sketch is a marvellous touch: it reminds that Mike is not only an historian, but an artist with an aesthetic perception - the "demiurgic insight" that characterizes his kind. Artists see more, and transmit more.
When I was very young I just loved the space program and projects like the X-15. It was so futuristic to me, and of course I was big into science fiction movies and books. I remember watching all the Gemini launches sitting on my Dad's knee.
I love studying manned space flight history but the segment of lifting bodies is a fascinating one. Everything you featured here illustrated the methodical research involved with achieving a working space plane. I remember in '77 when the Enterprise started test flights. It was a thrill watching the Columbia launch for the first time in 1981. Even though the shuttle was an orbital machine only, it doesn't discount the engineering marvel that it was.
On my third viewing of this presentation - such important craft. Suggestion for future episodes?? The F7U Cutlass (be gentle) An exposition of all the aircraft flown by each manufacturer? I’d love to see a synopsis, for example, of all of Lockheed’s aircraft. A deep dive on some of the most important jet engines. It would be awesome to see the inside of Westinghouse, GE, PW, etc, manufacturing facilities during the Cold War. I love your work, your fondness of this period is really appreciated. If you ever create a Celebrating Rocketry channel, consider me pre-subscribed!
Still wonder what a Cutlass with an F-15's thrust to weight ratio would do. If I was an independently wealthy multibillionaire it could be fun to have an airframe built to Cutlass dimensions just to find out.
One of the best "custom decorated" shuttle models I ever saw was at a rare open house at NASM's Garber facility. It had a shuttle decked-out like a Hertz Rental Truck!
Thank you, Mr. Machat, for producing some of the very best aviation history program presentations, seen anywhere. A great deal of this info would be 'lost to history', if not for these stellar efforts. (add a 'buttload' of exclamation points , to portray the true emphasis of this statement)
Do you recall "Space" magazine in the early '60's ? Many of the articles were illustrated with NASA concept drawings. They were big on the X-20 at the time
Thank you for a fantastic informative run. For the past 20 years I have been giving more stress on the fuselage element in a flying design. My new model is a very unconventional one again first to be tested in a RC design before going full scale.
One additional item with respect to the Boeing 747SP shuttle carrier: NASA bought the plane from American Airlines, so in one of the photos you can just see the American Airlines logo on the fuselage aluminum. The stripes were left in an agreement with NASA to keep the red white and blue stripes on the fuselage for 10 years. Brings back memories of it leaving for Hawaii each day and back....
The iminent Dream Chaser Tenacity strongly resembles the X-24A, and strongly underscores the pioneering these planes undertook and the lessons we learned from them.
