The lifting-body concept can be traced back to the work of H. Julian Allen and Alfred Eggers, at NACA's Ames Aeronautical Laboratory near San Francisco. The project's manager, Charles Cosenza, directed it with a staff of four engineers plus a secretary, with 17 other engineers at Wright-Patterson providing support. Robert Reed, the initiator of this round of projects, was a sailplane enthusiast, a builder of radio-controlled model airplanes, and a NASA engineer at Edwards Air Force Base. He had followed with interest the work at NASA-Ames on the M-2 lifting-body shape, and he resolved to build it as a piloted glider. He drew support from the local community of aircraft homebuilders. Designated as the M2-F1, the aircraft was built of plywood over a tubular steel frame. Completed in early 1963, the aircraft was 20 feet long and 13 feet across. The M2-F1 needed a vehicle that could tow it along the ground to help get it into the air for initial tests. Initial piloted tow tests showed reasonable success, allowing the project to use a C-47, called the Gooney Bird, for true aerial tests. During these tests, the Gooney Bird towed the M2-F1 above 10,000 feet, then set it loose to glide to an Edwards AFB lake bed. Beginning in August 1963, the test pilot Milt Thompson did this repeatedly. Through these tests, Reed, working on a shoestring budget, showed that the M-2 shape, optimized for hypersonic reentry, could glide down to a safe landing. During much of this effort, Reed had support from the NASA director at Edwards, Paul Bikle. As early as April 1963, he alerted NASA Headquarters that "the lifting-body concept looks even better to us as we get more into it." The success of the M2-F1 spurred interest in the Air Force as well, as some of its officials, along with their NASA counterparts, set out to pursue piloted lifting-body programs that would call for more than plywood and funny cars. NASA contracted with the firm of Northrop to build two such aircraft, the M2-F2 and HL-10. The M2-F2 amounted to an M2-F1 built to NASA standards; the HL-10 drew on an alternate lifting-body design by Eugene Love of NASA-Langley. This meant that both NASA-Langley and NASA-Ames would each have a project. In addition to this, Northrop had a penchant for oddly-shaped aircraft. During the 1940s, the company had built flying wings that essentially were aircraft that flew without a fuselage or tail. With these lifting-bodies, Northrop would build craft now that were entirely fuselage and lacking wings. The Air Force project, the X-24A, went to Martin Co. All three flew initially as gliders, with a B-52 rather than a C-47 as the mother ship. The B-52 could reach 45,000 feet and 500 mph, four times the altitude and speed of the old Gooney Bird. It had routinely carried the X-15 aloft, acting as a booster for that rocket plane; now it would do the same for the lifting-bodies. Their shapes differed, and as with the M2-F1, a major goal was to show that they could maintain stable flight while gliding, land safely, and exhibit acceptable pilot handling qualities. These goals were not always met. Under the best of circumstances, a lifting body flew like a brick at low speed. Lowering the landing gear made the problem worse by adding drag. In May 1967, the test pilot Bruce Peterson, flying the M2-F2, failed to get his gear down in time. The aircraft hit the lake bed at more than 250 mph, rolled over six times, and then came to rest on its back, minus its cockpit canopy, main landing gear, and right vertical fin. Peterson, who might have died in the crash, got away with a skull fracture, a mangled face, and the loss of an eye. While surgeons reconstructed his face and returned him to active duty, the M2-F2 needed surgery of its own. In addition to an extensive reconstruction back at the factory, Northrop engineers added a third vertical fin that improved its handling qualities and made it safer to fly. Similarly, while the rival HL-10 had its own problems of stability, it flew and landed well after receiving modifications. These aircraft were mounted with small rocket engines that allowed acceleration to supersonic speeds. This made it possible to test stability and handling qualities when flying close to the speed of sound. The HL-10 set records for lifting-bodies by making safe approaches and landings from speeds up to Mach 1.86 and altitudes of 90,000 feet. The Air Force continued this work through 1975, having the Martin Co. rebuild the X-24A with a long pointed nose, a design well-suited for supersonic flight. The resulting craft, the X-24B, looked like a wingless fighter-plane fuselage. It, also, flew well. The piloted lifting-bodies demonstrated that, with the appropriate arrangements of fins, they could remain stable and well-controlled when decelerating through the sound barrier and gliding to a landing. They thus broadened the range of acceptable hypersonic shapes. Chase plane is a F-5D.

Author: scismgenie
Keywords: Nasa Dryden USAF M2-F2 Lifting Body Space Diana Ross Mahogany music science aircraft
Added: November 12, 2006

34U TRIO rehearsal playing Hoedown from ELP. You can see more videos From the band here http://youtube.com/profile?user=band34u or simply by writing 34u elp on search. Made in Argentina Carajo!!!

Author: alfredhunter
Keywords: 34u elp hoedown tribute band rock 70 alfred hunter tributo emerson lake and palmer
Added: January 16, 2007

The last images from a recent visit to Keskadale in the English Lake District. Includes an early morning ascent of Robinson to the south of the valley

Author: fellrunning
Keywords: Keskadale Robinson Crummock Alfred Wainwright 214
Added: April 16, 2007

34U Trio rehearsal playing Bitches Crystal from ELP. Website www.34u.com.ar

Author: band34u
Keywords: 34u 34you Bitches Crystal band34u alfred hunter emerson lake and palmer elp progresive music rock
Added: May 16, 2007

Truth Bomb playing "Lock Down" @ First United Methodist of Lake Alfred (The Soul Cafe)

Author: Truthbomblive
Keywords: Truth Bomb Soul Cafe First United Methodist of Lake Alfred Taylor Tacoma Fender Christian Concert Rock Acoustic Youth
Added: May 28, 2007

The title pretty much says it all. We're on Lake Superior (actually, the upper St. Mary's River) and the water is really low this year. And this is just me and my digital camera and I'm walking so it's pretty shaky.

Author: muskellunge4498
Keywords: dogs beach lakesuperior water
Added: June 28, 2007