Meet A Great Test Pilot You Never Heard Of

A photo of Lt. Col. Fitzhugh "Fitz" L. Fulton, Jr.

Early Life

On June 6, 1925, Fitzhugh Lee Fulton Jr. was born in Blakely, Georgia, the first of two sons of Fitzhugh Lee Fulton, a merchant seaman, and his wife Manila Fulton.  His interest in aviation came early in his life after a ride in a Ford Tri-Motor in his hometown.

Fitz Fulton attended Columbus High School in Columbus, GA, and as a teenager he persuaded pilots at the Columbus, GA airport near his hometown of Blakely, GA to give him flying lessons in return for his washing airplanes and sweeping out the hangars.

Finally, at the age of 16 Fitz made his first solo flight in a J-3 Cub. Upon grauation from high school in 1942 Fulton enrolled in the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, and while there  Fitz decided to join the U.S. Army Air Corps aviation cadet program in 1943. He was trained as a pilot, earning his commission and pilot wings in 1944. On December 16, 1945 he married Miss Erma I. Beck in Tucson, Arizona, going on to have three children with her.

Military Career

Lt. Fritz Fulton's training continued in the U.S. Army Air Force, and he became qualified in both the B-24 Liberator and the B-29 Superfortress. However, when he was ready, World War II had come to a conclusion before he could enter combat.

Following the conclusion of World War II, Fritz transitioned into the C-54 Skymaster transport aircraft, and during the period 1948 to 1949, he flew a C-54 Skymaster 225 times into and out of Templehof Airport in Berlin, Germany. This operation was called the Berlin airlift delivering food and fuel to the residents of West Berlin during the Soviet siege.

A C-54 Skymaster being unloaded at the Templehof Airport in Berlin during 1948-1949 Berlin Airlift.

Test Pilot School

After the war he served as a test pilot at Eglin AFB, Florida, from October of 1949 to January 1950. He was then sent to the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, CA., and then from Janaury 1950 to June 1951 he went through combat crew training in the B-26 Invader.

Finally, however, Fulton did manage to see combat in Korea, logging 55 night combat missions in the B-26 Invader between September 1951 and April of 1952. The Douglas A-26 was designated as a B-26 light bomber and ground attack aircraft between 1948 and 1965. The B-26 Invader (later designated the Marauder) light bomber was a valuable asset and was used extensively for ground attack missions and night interdiction operations in Korea. The B-26's speed and payload capacity proved invaluable in attacking enemy positions.

An B-26 Invader in flight over the Korean Peninsula in the Korean War.

Capt. Fulton Earns the 1st of 4 Distinguished Flying Crosses.

During his career Capt. Fitzhugh L. Fulton, Jr. distinguished himself by extraordinary achievement while in aerial flight as pilot of a B-26 attack bomber over enemy-held territory in Korea. Performing armed reconnaissance over vital Communist supply routes, Captain Fulton sighted a moving train. Despite accurate anti-aircraft fire which inflicted four holes in his aircraft, he attacked his target with repeated low-level bombing and strafing runs. After exploding the locomotive he continued his assault until he had destroyed five boxcars and probably destroyed eleven additional cars. In this unusually effective strike the enemy's supply system was seriously disrupted and Captain Fulton reflected great credit upon himself, his organization and the United States Air Force.

He then resumed his test pilot duties at Edwards AFB, and graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School in November of 1952. He then began flying a number of experimental aircraft and by the time of his retirement from the USAF in 1966 had flown approximantly 200 different aircraft.

Initially Fulton flew both the B-29 and B-50 Superfortess aircraft carrying and launching both the Bell X-a and X-2 experimental rocket propelled airplanes. He was then assigned to the Convair B-58 Hustler program as a member of the all U.S. Air Force test crews. He continued the B-58 well into the 1960s.

On April 13, 1960, Lt. Col. Fulton safely landed a B-58 Hustler supersonic bomber which had blown seven of its eight tires on takeoff at Edwards AFB, CA. 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. 

A photograph of Fitz Fulton in the cockpit of a B-58 Hustler during testing.

Upon retirement from the USAF in 1966 he joined NASA where he worked for two decades, flying 60 different types of aircraft from sailplanes to fighter jets. He piloted some of the world’s fastest jet planes including the North American XB-70 Valkyrie and the Lockheed YF-12 Interceptor, each capable of speeds in excess of 2,000 mph and altitudes above 70,000 feet.

Lt Col Emil Sturmthal, USAF and Fritz Fulton, NASA, and North American Aviation XB-70A-1-NA 62-0001 at Edwards AFB, CA.

While at NASA Fulton trained to learn how to fly a Boeing 720 remotely for the Controlled Impact Demonstration (CID) project in order to help NASA and the FAA to test an experimental fuel additive intended to reduce pot crash fires, and to asses passenger survivability.

A photograph of Fulton at the remote controls for a Boeing 720 crash test aircraft.

A photo array of the crash sequence of the CID Boeing 720 flown by Fulton.

On Febrauary 1977 Aircraft Commander Fitzhugh L. Fulton Jr,, along with Pilot Thomas C. McMurty, and Flight Engineers Louis G. Guidry, Jr. and Victor W. Horton, made the first flight aboard the Boeing 747-123 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft NASA 905.

A photograph of the NASA Boeing 747-123 Shuttle Carrier in flight.

In July of 1986 Fulton retired from NASA and then joined Scaled Composites as director of flight operations and chief research pilot. 

Fitzhugh L. Fulton Jr. passed away on Wednesday February 4, 2015, at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks from complications of Parkinson’s disease, his daughter, Ginger Terry, told the Los Angeles Times.

Pilot Fitzhugh “Fitz” Fulton Jr., was well liked and known as the “Dean of Flight Test” for his involvement in pioneering programs including the space shuttle piggyback flights.

I hope you enjoyed this trip through some of the history of aviation. If you enjoyed this trip, and if you are new to this newsletter, sign up to receive your own weekly newsletter here: Subscribe here!

Until next time, keep your eyes safe and focused on what's ahead of you, Hersch!