This piece originally ran in the December 2021 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
Before being selected as an astronaut, Joe Engle was assigned to the NASA M2-F1. A small, ungainly craft made of steel tubing and mahogany, the M2-F1 was designed to test the “lifting-body” concept — a type of aircraft shaped to generate lift without wings. Nicknamed the “Flying Bathtub” and built on a tight budget, the M2-F1 first flew in 1963. The unpowered craft was towed like a glider, first behind a modified Pontiac Bonneville and later a C-47 transport. Joe completed one short familiarization flight in the M2-F1 in 1966 before being reassigned to the Astronaut Office. Designs like the M2-F1 showed that a controllable reentry vehicle was possible, paving the way for future programs like the space shuttle. Pictured is the helmet Joe wore during his only flight in the M2-F1.