Eagle Biography

Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton

Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton is one of America's most accomplished test pilots having flown more than 15,000 hours in over 225 different types of aircraft. After attending Auburn University, he enlisted in the Army as an aviation cadet and was awarded his commission and pilot wings in December 1944. Fulton was trained in the B-24 Liberator and B-29 Superfortress, but World War II ended before he could enter combat.

Following the war, he transitioned to transport aircraft and in 1948 flew 225 missions in the C-54 Skymaster during the Berlin Airlift. Fulton did see combat in Korea, logging 55 combat missions in the A-26 Invader with the 13th Bombardment Squadron. In 1952, he completed the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, California. Initially he flew the B-29 and B-50 Superfortresses used in launching the Bell X-1 and X-2 experimental rocket planes. Assigned to the B-58 Hustler test program, he was a member of the first all-Air-Force test crew. In addition to testing numerous bomber and fighter aircraft, Fulton continued B-58 testing into the early 1960s.

In 1962, while Chief of the Bomber Flight Test Section and B-58 project pilot, he set an international altitude record for carrying a 5,000 kilogram (11,023 pounds) payload to a height of 85,360 feet. For this feat, he was awarded the Harmon International Trophy by President Johnson. This record, which was previously held by the Soviet Union, still stands today after more than 27 years. Fulton retired from the Air Force in 1966 to join NASA at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB. As NASA Chief Test Pilot, he flew research flights in the supersonic XB-70 Valkyrie and piloted the B-52 Stratofortress carrier aircraft used to launch experimental lifting bodies--predecessors to the space shuttle.

During the mid-70s, Fulton flew the YF-12 Blackbird to speeds and altitudes in excess of 2,000 mph and 70,000 feet to acquire new data for NASA research. In 1977, he was the project pilot of the Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft used during space shuttle approach and landing tests. That year, he received the Ivan C. Kincheloe Award and NASA's Exceptional Service Medal for his test work. Fulton retired from NASA in 1986 and today is the Flight Operations Director and Chief Research Pilot for Scaled Composites Incorporated.