The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were at Rogers Dry Lake, at the end of a tow rope attached to a 1963 Pontiac Bonneville convertible.
On April 5, 1963 test pilot Milt Thompson lifted the M2-F1's nose off the ground for the first time on-tow.
Speed was 86 miles per hour (138 km/h) .
The little craft seemed to bounce uncontrollably between each of the main landing gear wheels, and stopped when he lowered the nose to the ground.
He tried again, but each time with the same results.
He felt it was a landing gear problem that could have caused the aircraft to roll on its back if he had lifted the main gear off the ground.

After looking at movies of the tests, it was decided that the bouncing was probably caused by unwanted rudder movements.
The control system was modified so that the joystick controlled the elevons rather than the rudder which solved the problem.

It was found that the car used to tow the aircraft was not powerful enough to entirely lift the M2-F1 off the ground, so the FRC arranged to have the tow car hot-rodded by Bill Straub, a conversion that tuned the engine for increased power, added a rollbar, and turned the front passenger seat to face aft so the passenger could observe the aircraft.
This proved successful, and tow tests continued.

Speeds on tow inched up to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), which allowed Thompson to climb to about 20 feet (6.1 m), then glide for about 20 seconds after releasing the line.
That was the most that could be expected during an auto tow.

These initial tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind a U.S. Navy C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes.
The first flight tests of the M2-F1 were at Rogers Dry Lake, at the end of a tow rope attached to a 1963 Pontiac Bonneville convertible. On April 5, 1963 test pilot Milt Thompson lifted the M2-F1's nose off the ground for the first time on-tow. Speed was 86 miles per hour (138 km/h) . The little craft seemed to bounce uncontrollably between each of the main landing gear wheels, and stopped when he lowered the nose to the ground. He tried again, but each time with the same results. He felt it was a landing gear problem that could have caused the aircraft to roll on its back if he had lifted the main gear off the ground.
After looking at movies of the tests, it was decided that the bouncing was probably caused by unwanted rudder movements. The control system was modified so that the joystick controlled the elevons rather than the rudder which solved the problem. 
It was found that the car used to tow the aircraft was not powerful enough to entirely lift the M2-F1 off the ground, so the FRC arranged to have the tow car hot-rodded by Bill Straub, a conversion that tuned the engine for increased power, added a rollbar, and turned the front passenger seat to face aft so the passenger could observe the aircraft. This proved successful, and tow tests continued.
Speeds on tow inched up to 110 miles per hour (180 km/h), which allowed Thompson to climb to about 20 feet (6.1 m), then glide for about 20 seconds after releasing the line. That was the most that could be expected during an auto tow.
These initial tests produced enough flight data about the M2-F1 to proceed with flights behind a U.S. Navy C-47 tow plane at greater altitudes.
NASA M2-F1