Earlier today Super70sSports posted a picture of The Six Million Dollar Man in barely visible aircraft cockpit. At first I thought it was an X-15, but there's no way the NASM would allow Lee Majors to climb all over it, and never allow someone close enough to graffiti it.
So what cockpit is he standing in? I'm thinking A-5 Vigilante, which were being phased out after 1974. But, most were in a grey over white paint scheme, not a navy blue.
What's your guess?
Definitely not an X-15. There's a NASA meatball on it, that probably helps. Based on the reflection on his hand, it's polished not blue.
BTW, the crash in the opening credits was the M2-F2 lifting body augering in.
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/crash-made-famous-tv
the Googles say M2-F2
eastpark said:https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/crash-made-famous-tv
the Googles say M2-F2
That crash was not filmed for the show, it was an experimental flight vehicle that crashed a long time earlier. Stock footage. Lee Majors/Steve Austin never got near it.
Cockpit's all wrong anyhow. That's an interesting (and distinctive) roof on the canopy, someone should be able to spot it. It'll be one of these:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NASA_aircraft
F-102 is my guess
In reply to Appleseed :
That's not navy blue; it's polished aluminum reflecting the sky. Look at his hand, and the rim of the windscreen where it reflects the sensors on his chest.
It's not the M2-F2 (which is the aircraft shown crashing, as noted). I'm pretty convinced the Lee Majors shot is the HL-10: look at the thing visible through the canopy behind his head and compare it to the outboard fin on this, distorted a bit by the curved canopy. Plus, it looks white, similar to this:
Also, look at the lower-left corner of the publicity shot: that window is very short, not longer like the Vigilante. See the HL-10 pic in that area.
The windshield bow is curved, so no on the F-102. The fuselage was almost totally flat on the top of the M2-F2 and the rebuilt M2-F3, where as in the picture, it has definite sides.
I remembered the M2F2, and the X-24. Totally forgot about the HL-10. We have winner. Found a wider shot. I think they used the HL-10 as a substitute for the destroyed M2F2. It's a lifting body. They all look the same, right?
While the M2-F2 crash inspired the TV show, it is in fact an HL-10 that he is posing in.
I don't know much about planes, but I can only imagine being in the meeting where the designer introduced that thing.
"Stevens, whatcha got this week?"
"Uh, sir, it's got no wings. Pretty sure it'll still work though."
"How sure?"
"do I have to be the guy to test it?"
"No."
"100% sir. It'll work."
bobzilla said:F-102 is my guess
NASA never had an F102, but did have it's sibling the F106. It's not either of those though, as they have a very distinctive flat-panel, triangular-shaped front windscreen and the one in the photo is clearly rounded/bubbled.
The extreme up-angle cut of the hatch opening has me thinking the Ryan XV-5 Vertifan
Edit - sheesh you guys definitively solved it in the time it took me to type this!
I never knew Lee Majors was such a fan of juice boxes...
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:
Did the show photoshop his head into this picture, or was it done by someone on the interwebs? The real guy was Air Force test pilot Peter Hoag.
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/HL-10/index.html#upperAccordion-set3
In reply to stuart in mn :
That was not done with a budget, that was probably a "it's Tuesday and I'm bored at work" job.
Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself said:I never knew Lee Majors was such a fan of juice boxes...
I thought they were a bunch of Macintosh SE mice, from the future
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