American test pilot
Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton, Jr.
(June 6, 1925 – February 4, 2015), (
Lt Col
,
USAF
), was a civilian
research pilot
at
NASA
's
Dryden Flight Research Center
,
Edwards, California
, from August 1, 1966, until July 3, 1986, following 23 years of distinguished service as a pilot in the
U.S. Air Force
.
Biography
[
edit
]
Early life and education
[
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]
Born June 6, 1925, in
Blakely, Georgia
,
[1]
Fulton attended
Auburn University
, the
University of Oklahoma
, and graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
degree from the
Golden Gate University
.
Air Force service
[
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]
Fulton flew 225 trips to
Berlin
in
C-54
's during the
Berlin Airlift
. He also flew 55
combat missions
in the
Douglas B-26 Invader
over
North Korea
during
Korean War
. He received a
Distinguished Flying Cross
and five
Air Medals
for these missions.
Fulton completed the
Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School
in 1952, and served as a test pilot with the Air Force. He was a project pilot on the
B-58
supersonic bomber program and set an international altitude record of 85,360 feet with the aircraft carrying a payload of 5,000 kilograms (11,023 pounds) in 1962. He received the 1962
Harmon International Aviation Trophy
for his work on the program.
Fulton was also assigned as the Air Force pilot on the B-52 launch aircraft for the X-15 research aircraft and other air-launched vehicles.
During his earlier Air Force career Fulton received three
Distinguished Flying Cross
medals for his test pilot work.
He flew the
XB-70
prototype
supersonic
bomber on both NASA-USAF tests and NASA research flights during the late 1960s, attaining speeds exceeding
Mach
3. He was also a project pilot on the
YF-12A
and YF-12C research program from April 14, 1969, until September 25, 1978. The planes were flown at speeds and altitudes in excess of 2,000 mph and 70,000 feet to acquire flight data for the development of future aircraft.
Fulton retired from the USAF in 1966 after a 23-year career. At the time, he was Chief of Bomber Transport Test Operations Division at
Edwards Air Force Base
.
Fulton in CID simulator
NASA test pilot
[
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]
Fulton was the project pilot on all early tests of the
Boeing 747
Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA)
used to air launch the Space Shuttle prototype
Enterprise
in the
Approach and Landing Tests
(ALT) at Dryden in 1977. During these flights, the SCA carried Enterprise to an altitude of about 25,000 feet, where it was separated from the 747 and flown to a landing by the Shuttle test crew in five flights. Several uncrewed and crewed captive flights preceded the free flights.
For his work in the ALT program, Fulton received the
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
. He also received the Exceptional Service Medal again in 1983 for flying the 747 SCA during the European tour of the Space Shuttle Enterprise. After orbital flights began in 1981, Fulton continued to fly the SCA during ferry missions returning Orbiters to the
Kennedy Space Center
Florida.
During his career at Dryden, Fulton was project pilot on NASA's
B-29
,
B-50
, and
B-52
bombers launch aircraft used to air launch a variety of piloted and unpiloted research aircraft, including the
X-1
,
X-2
,
X-15s
, and M-2,
HL-10
, and
X-24
rocket airplanes. He was also project pilot on the
Laminar Flow
Control Leading Edge research program using a specially modified
C-140 JetStar
.
Fulton was the project pilot for the FAA/NASA
Controlled Impact Demonstration
program during 1984. It culminated on December 1, 1984, when he remotely flew an unpiloted, heavily instrumented
Boeing 720
to a prepared impact point on Rogers Dry Lake to test the flammability of anti-misting jet fuel in a crash situation.
He was named a Fellow of the
Society of Experimental Test Pilots
, and in 1977 received the Society's
Iven C. Kincheloe Award
as Test Pilot of the Year for his work on the ALT program. At the time of his NASA retirement in 1986, Fulton had over 16,000 flying hours in 235 types of aircraft.
Scaled composites
[
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]
After retiring from NASA, Fulton hired on as the Flight Operations Director and Chief Research Pilot for
Burt Rutan
's
Scaled Composites
. There, he flew the
maiden flights
on the
Advanced Technology Tactical Transport
and the
Scaled Composites Triumph
twin engine executive jet.
Personal life
[
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]
He was married to Erma Fulton and they had three children. He left Florida and moved to the Antelope Valley to work at Edwards AFB. He died on February 4, 2015, of
Parkinson's disease
, at age 89.
[2]
Awards
[
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]
Plaque of Fulton at the
Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame
References
[
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]
- ^
"Fitz Fulton's Unparalleled Lifetime of Achievement in Flight Research"
.
NASA
. 11 February 2015. Archived from
the original
on 25 October 2018
. Retrieved
6 February
2015
.
- ^
Los Angeles Times (7 February 2015).
"Fitzhugh 'Fitz' Fulton, revered military and NASA test pilot, dies at 89"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
- ^
Chandler, John (September 17, 1991).
"Neil Armstrong to Join Lancaster Walk of Honor"
.
The Los Angeles Times
. Los Angeles, California. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Fitzhugh "Fitz" L. Fulton Jr"
.
Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame
. Archived from
the original
on June 2, 2017
. Retrieved
October 9,
2018
.
- ^
Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor.
These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame
. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006.
ISBN
978-1-57864-397-4
.
External links
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]
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