How a ’63 Pontiac Catalina became part of NASA’s early space shuttle program

Words: NASA Archives and Stephan Wilkinson

Back in the early ’60s, NASA was developing early versions of the spacecraft that would become the modern-day space shuttle. Back then, they were looking into a design called a “lifting body,” so named because the entire fuselage of the craft helped it stay in the air.

They built a plywood mock-up of their design, and were going to do some test flights. Trouble is, they were on a shoestring budget (it was kind of a skunkworks operation). They needed a way to bring the model up to take-off speed, to test its flight and gliding ability.

NASA’s Muscle Car Pontiac

Dick Eldredge designed the M2-F1 “lifting body” to weigh 600 pounds. However, like most prototype airplanes, it had grown in weight during fabrication, the completed vehicle weighing in at 1,000 pounds. From the calculations of the M2-F1’s tow force and lift-off speed, it was determined that to do taxi tests with the M2-F1 before the wind-tunnel tests at NASA Ames, a ground-tow vehicle with greater power and speed than any of NASA’s trucks and vans could provide was needed.

First, they needed a ground vehicle that could tow the M2-F1 at a minimum of 100 mph. Secondly, the vehicle, at that speed, must be able to handle the 400-pound pull needed to keep the 1,000-pound lifting body airborne. In meeting these needs, they ended up with what was probably the first and only government-owned hot-rod convertible.

Once again, a volunteer came along who had the know-how needed. Working in operations at the NASA Flight Research Center at the time was Walter “Whitey” Whiteside, a retired Air Force maintenance officer who also was a veteran dirt-bike rider and expert hot-rodder. Whitey volunteered to help by finding, purchasing, modifying, testing, maintaining, and driving the high-powered ground-tow vehicle.

At the time, the Pontiac Catalina seemed the best choice due to its girth and big horsepower potential. With Boyden “Bud” Bearse’s help in the procurement department, Whiteside was able to make a special order from the factory for a Pontiac Catalina ragtop convertible with the largest engine then available, a 421c.i. powerplant enhanced with a four-barrel carburetor and four-speed manual transmission. NASA engineers at the Flight Research Center equipped the Pontiac with its tow rig and airspeed measuring equipment.

Whiteside took the car to Bill Strope’s renowned hot-rod shop near Long Beach, California, where the straight-piped Pontiac was modified to run a consistent 140 mph. There, auto-shop technicians also applied their hot-rod wizardry to the Pontiac, producing maximum torque at 100 mph as measured by a dynamometer.

They added a special gearbox, with transmission gear ratios significantly different from those that had helped the Bonneville win at the Salt Flats, enabling the Pontiac eventually (once drag slicks were installed) to tow the 1,000-pound M2-F1 to 110 mph in 30 seconds. The Pontiac’s enhanced engine got about four miles to the gallon.

Whiteside got full support from the NASA fabrication shops headed by Ralph Sparks (Sparky). Sparks and his right-hand man, Emmet Hamilton, took responsibility for keeping the Pontiac running and making any other required modifications.

For the safety of the driver and two onboard observers, Whiteside had roll bars added to the NASA muscle car. He also had radios and intercoms installed. The front passenger bucket seat was reversed, and the back seat was removed, replaced by another bucket seat so that a second observer could sit facing sideways. Of course, the Pontiac had to have government plates, the NASA logo on both sides, and racing stripes.

And just so no one would be encouraged to think the car was someone’s personal toy paid for with government funds, the hood and trunk of the Pontiac were spray-painted high-visibility yellow so the convertible looked just like any other flight-line vehicle.

When the car was finished at Strope’s shop, Whiteside drove it back to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California. A motorcycle fanatic and hot-rodder who loved speed, he found it difficult to hold back once he got the Pontiac outside Los Angeles and on the highway across the desert.

Realizing he would get his chance later to open up on the dry lakebed, he was being particularly careful to hold the Pontiac’s speed to the posted speed limit when he saw in the rearview mirror the red light of a California Highway Patrol vehicle closely tailing the Pontiac.

Pulling over to the side of the highway, Whiteside wondered what he’d done wrong. It turned out the officer was merely curious, having never before seen a government-owned convertible, especially one with a souped-up engine.

After a careful up-close look and Whiteside’s explanation of how the car would be used, the officer drove away, shaking his head in amazement.

The Pontiac also caught the eye of other drivers whenever Whiteside took it out onto little-traveled desert highways northeast of Edwards AFB, often into Nevada with its then anything-goes speed limits, to calibrate the car’s speedometer, as typically done with research airplanes.

Laughing, Whiteside recently recalled one such venture with one of the base’s pilots in the car. As the Pontiac rumbled along, engine-exhaust system roaring as the speedometer moved above 100 mph, Whitey glanced at the silent pilot, only to find him ash-en-faced and trying to disappear into the seat.

Despite favorable research on lifting bodies, there was little support for a flight program. Dryden engineer R. Dale Reed was intrigued with the lifting body concept, and reasoned that some sort of flight demonstration was needed before wingless aircraft could be taken seriously.

In February 1962, he built a model lifting body based upon the Ames M2 design, and air-launched it from a radio controlled “mothership.”

Home movies of these flights, plus the support of research pilot Milt Thompson, helped persuade the facilities director, Paul Bikle, to give the go-ahead for construction of a full-scale version, to be used as a wind tunnel model and possibly flown as a glider. Comparing lifting bodies to space capsules, an unofficial motto of the project was, “Don’t be Rescued from Outer Space — Fly Back in Style.”

The construction of the M2-F1 was a joint effort by Dryden and a local glider manufacturer, the Briegleb Glider Company. The budget was $30,000. NASA craftsmen and engineers built the tubular steel interior frame. Its mahogany plywood shell was hand-made by Gus Briegleb and company. Ernie Lowder, a NASA craftsman who had worked on the Howard Hughes “Spruce Goose,” was assigned to help Briegleb.

The prototype of a 21st Century spacecraft required the fabrication of hundreds of small wooden parts meticulously nailed and glued together. It was a product of craftsmanship that was nearly obsolete in the 1940s. Final assembly of the remaining components (including aluminum tail surfaces, push rod controls, and landing gear from a Cessna 150) was done back at the NASA facility.

The M2-F1 did not have ailerons. Instead, it had elevons, which were attached to each of the two rudders. A large flap on the trail-ing edge of the body acted as an elevator. This unconventional arrangement prompted the engineers to rethink the flight control system as well. They eventually devised two schemes.

One system was fairly traditional. It used rudder pedal inputs to move the rudders for yaw control and stick inputs to provide differential deflections of the elevons for roll. The other system used stick inputs to control the rudders for yaw, while rudder pedal deflections moved the elevons for roll.

Milt Thompson tried both systems in the simulator and surprised the design team when he said he preferred system number two. He reasoned that although side slip delayed roll (which was a result of dihedral effect), the roll rate was twice as high using the rudders instead of the elevons. He said he would rather have the higher roll rates available to him if needed, while the slip could be overcome with proper piloting technique.

This was the system Thompson practiced on the simulator, and he used it during the initial auto tows. Auto tows were done using a 1,000-foot rope fastened to the NASA Pontiac. Rogers Dry Lake provided miles of unobstructed motoring.

Of course, no official approval was given to flight-test the M2-F1, which was supposed to be merely a full-scale wind-tunnel model. Sitting in the cockpit, Thompson reasoned, “Maybe it wouldn’t really be flying if we just lifted it off the lakebed a couple of inches.” Boosting confidence was data from earlier small-scale wind-tunnel tests. When approached, Bikle said, “Go for it, but be careful.”

The team was very careful as testing began on March 1, 1963, making several runs in car-tow at lower speeds, gradually working up to the nose lift-off speed of 60 mph on April 5, 1963. During these runs, Thompson became familiar with the cockpit and with visibility out the top, through the nose window at his feet, and out the side window level with his feet — these windows were necessitated by the anticipated high angle of attack. He also became adept at nose-gear steering and using the differential brakes and tow-line release.

After a week of these cautious towings at lower speeds, Thompson said he was ready to try a lift-off. Following Thompson’s radioed directions, Whiteside took the Pontiac and the M2-F1 in tow up to 86 mph, the 1,000-foot tow-line giving the pilot plenty of maneuvering room.

Slowly, Thompson brought the nose of the little lifting body up until the M2-F1 got light on its wheels. Then, something totally unexpected happened. The M2-F1 began bouncing back and forth from right to left. Thompson stopped the bounce by lowering the nose, putting weight back on the wheels. Several times he again brought the nose up until the M2-F1 was light on its wheels, and each time the vehicle reacted the same way, Thompson ending the bounce by lowering the nose as he had the first time.

As noted, there were significant control issues with the Lifting Body, as it rolled uncontrollably, until a number of modifications, which took some time, were completed. During this down time, Whiteside had gone to innovator and drag racer Mickey Thompson’s hot rod shop in Long Beach to replace the Pontiac’s rear tires with drag slicks, a change that increased the car’s towing speed to 110 mph. Normally, drag racers use slicks to aid in traction and reduce tire spin. At about 90 mph, minus the slicks, the tires on the Pontiac would start smoking.

Looking at movies of the tests, engineers decided the bouncing was probably caused by unwanted rudder movements. Flight control system number two was replaced in favor of number one, and it never bounced again. Speeds on tow inched up to 110 mph, which allowed pilot Thompson to climb to about 20 feet, then glide for about 20 seconds after releasing the line. That was the most that could be expected during an auto tow.

In the spring of 1963, the M2-F1 was shipped to Ames Research Center, where it was mounted on 20-foot poles inside the 40-foot by 80-foot wind tunnel. For two weeks, Thompson and engineers Dale Reed and Ed Brown took turns “flying” it as air blasted by at a 135 mph. They learned more about its flying qualities, and accumulated important data for the upcoming aero tows.

Pontiac’s Aero Successor

A NASA C-47 was used for all of the aero tows. The first was on Aug. 16, 1963. The M2-F1 had recently been equipped with an ejection seat and small rockets in the tail to extend the landing flare for about 5 seconds (if needed), and Thompson prepared for the flight with a few more tows behind the Pontiac. Forward visibility in the M2-F1 was very limited on tow, requiring Thompson to fly about 20 feet higher than the C-47 so he could see the plane through the nose window. Towing speed was about 100 mph.

Tow release was at 12,000 feet. The lifting body descended at an average rate of about 3,600 feet per minute. At 1,000 feet above the ground, the nose was lowered to increase speed to about 150 mph; flare was at 200 feet from a 20 degree dive. The landing was smooth, and the lifting body program was on its way. The M2-F1 proved the lifting body concept and led the way for subsequent, metal “heavyweight” designs. Chuck Yeager, Bruce Peterson and Don Mallick also flew the M2-F1.

Overview

More than 400 ground tows and 100-plus aircraft tow flights were carried out with the M2-F1. The success of Dryden’s M2-F1 program led to NASA’s development and construction of two heavyweight lifting bodies — the M2-F2 and the HL-10, both built by the Northrop Corporation — based on studies at NASA’s Ames and Langley research centers and the X-24 program. The Lifting Body program also heavily influenced the Space Shuttle program.

The Pontiac towed the M2-F1 for the first time on March 1, 1963, and before April was over, it had towed it a total of 48 times. While the Pontiac was prominently a part of the M2-F1 adventure, it was no secret the car didn’t exactly resemble the usual flight-line vehicle. According to Whiteside, whenever someone from NASA Headquarters was visiting the Flight Research Center, Bikle would slip away momentarily to phone him, telling him to hide the car. Whiteside would pull the Pontiac behind a shed and throw a cover over it, the Pontiac “grounded” until the visitor left.

What happened to the NASA muscle car once the M2-F1 program ended? Near the end of 1963, the Pontiac was shipped to NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia and used in tests at Wallops Island. There was some regret expressed at the NASA Flight Research Center when the Pontiac left, fairly much captured in a comment printed at the time in the X-Press, the NASA newspaper at Edwards Air Force Base: “No longer can we drive along the lakebed and pass the airplanes in flight.”

The good news is that the car has been located in Georgia and plans are to restore this amazing piece of history to be placed in the Air Force Flight Test Museum expected to open in the next few years at Edwards Air Force Base. Our plans are to cover that restoration — and when we do, you will come along for the ride.