NASA’s M2-F1 Lifting Body, tested at Edwards AFB, Calif., in the 1960s went on display at Edward’s Air Force Flight Test Museum late last month. “This is a hand built, one of a kind aircraft, designed to test the concept of wingless flight,” explained museum specialist Tony Moore in a base release. “This aircraft, made of steel tubes, wood, and fabric is a handmade work of art … whose contributions are still being utilized today,” he added. M2-F1 was an unpowered glider prototype for follow-on lifting bodies, culminating in the rocket-propelled X-24 aimed at validating concepts for aerodynamically efficiency and reusable spacecraft. The M2-F1, loaned from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center on-base, was initially towed aloft by a modified Pontiac convertible, and flew 77 flights towed by a C-47 to altitudes as high as 12,000 feet before releasing. The AFFT cleared dedicated space to display NASA’s history on base, and hopes to grow the exhibit in future. (Lifting Body factsheet)
Billy Mitchell: Lessons a Hundred Years Hence
Dec. 16, 2025
Exactly 100 years ago, on Dec. 17, 1925, Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell was convicted by court-martial for violating an order that required approval before he could engage with the media. Mitchell’s provocative thoughts and unorthodox methods sought attention for a cause that he saw as uniquely American.
