Fitz Fulton - Test Pilot

[APG85]

I read that Fitz Fulton passed away the other day (Feb 3). He was one of the all time greats. A neat article on him from Air & Space below:

http://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet ... 60/?no-ist

[markboss]

Thanks for the link...
Fitz, flew all the great planes...RIP!
I met Joe Cotton a few years ago, and what a great guy to talk to.

[DaveG]

He flew a bunch of my favorites. I had no idea that he had written a book called "Father of the Mother Planes" a year or two ago (extremely limited run). Anybody read it?

[APG85]

I haven't seen the book. I'll look for it. He was also a Korean was veteran and flew 55 combat missions as well as the Berlin Airlift. He was an amazing pilot and flew just about everything including the XB-70, YF-12 and of course the 747 Shuttle carrier aircraft. He was the head pilot for the Approach and Landing Tests with the Shuttle Enterprise as the 747 head pilot. He was a project pilot on the B-58 supersonic bomber program and he set an international altitude record of 85,360 feet carrying a payload of 11,023 pounds in 1962. His list of accomplishments is staggering.

[Rod Schneider]

I had the pleasure of meeting him back around 1980 or 81 when he landed the shuttle carrier 747 with Enterprise loaded onto it at Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta. His nephew worked with my father, so we were able to get out on the ramp at Lockheed Air Terminal when he taxied in. He took us (his nephew, my sister, and me) onboard the 747 and gave us a tour of the plane. I was able to stand up in the upper escape hatch in the 747 and look at the underside of Enterprise just a few feet away! At the time, I didn't really realize just what he had done over his career--quite the pilot and a very nice person to boot!

[Nathan]

youtube video of him from 07! A great great pilot! A forgotten hero for sure!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvcXw242udI