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Fitz Fulton selected to hall of fame
X-Press Editor A Dryden legend and hero is the latest inductee into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio. Fitz Fulton, a former Dryden research pilot, headed the NASA team that flew the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) and was the project pilot. The SCA released the Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise into the skies above Dryden to prove its aerodynamic shape and flight control systems for a new generation of space vehicles. He also was an Air Force test pilot and flew nearly every large aircraft during his flying career including the B-58 and the XB-70. "It was mighty special to me and my family. I was very surprised when I heard I was selected. There was stiff competition," said Fulton, who said he fondly remembers Dryden and the support from wonderful people who helped him to succeed. Scott Crossfield, a fellow test pilot and a 1983 inductee to the National Aviation Hall of Fame, introduced Fulton into the Hall of Fame during ceremonies July 24. Fulton's honors include three Distinguished Flying Cross medals for his test pilot work, a Distinguished Flying Cross and five Air Medals for flying 55 missions in Korea and 225 missions in C-54s during the Berlin Airlifts of 1948 and 1949. He is 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 Approach and Landing Tests (ALT) Program. He also was awarded the NASA Exceptional Service Award for his work on those tests of Enterprise. He flew the XB-70 Valkyrie prototype supersonic bomber in NASA and Air Force tests, attaining speeds of Mach 3. Fulton retired from the Air Force in 1966 as the chief of Bomber Transport Test Operations Division at Edwards Air Force Base. He joined then NASA Flight Research Center that same year, where he worked on air launching a number of piloted and unpiloted aircraft such as the X-15 and NASA's lifting body aircraft from Dryden's B-52. He also was a project pilot for the YF-12A and YF-12C research programs. Fulton was a project pilot on the laminar flow control leading edge research program using a specially modified C-140 JetStar. In addition, Fulton was the project pilot for the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA Controlled Impact Demonstration program in 1984. It culminated in December 1984, when he remotely flew a 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 retired from NASA in 1986 with 15,000 hours behind the stick of more than 200 types of aircraft. Fulton attended Auburn University and the University of Oklahoma and graduated from Golden State University. He entered the Army Air Forces in 1943. In 1946 he flew a C-54 in support of atomic bomb testing. Later that year he and his crew supported the first B-29s to land in Europe with a C-54. He completed Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School in 1952 and flew the NB-36H with an atomic reactor onboard. He also was one of two Air Force pilots to fly the YB-60 test aircraft. In 1962 he was the project pilot for the Air Force's first Mach 2 bomber, the B-58 Hustler. Fulton set an international altitude record with payload. He received the Harmon International Aviation Trophy that same year as the World's Outstanding Aviator. Following Fulton's retirement from Dryden in 1986, he joined Burt Rutan's legendary Scaled Composites in Mojave. There he was the director of Flight Operations and chief research pilot. He was responsible for the development and test of the Triumph business jet, the Model 33 Advanced Technology Tactical Transport and the microlight category Mercury Aircraft. |
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Responsible NASA Official: John Childress For questions, contact: Dryden Web Group Page Curator:WD-Team Modified: August 18, 1999 |
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