"FITZ" FULTON - Premier U.S. Air Force and NASA Test Pilot

The authorized biography of Lt. Col. Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton, Jr., who flew the Motherships that launched the famed "X-Planes" at Edwards AFB, as well as Space Shuttle landing tests and the North American XB-70. An aviation career from the Golden Age of Flight Test that will never happen again.
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[@jetsons101]

Mike, it's amazing how well you pay homage to such a close friend and a great American. Fitz must smiling while looking down on you right now.

[@donaldmallick9949]

Hi Mike: Thank you for the great history on Fitz Fulton. It truly is a fantastic presentation of an Outstanding Flier and Person. I had the honor and privilege of flying with Fitz for twenty years, his time flying at NASA Dryden. I never flew with a more professional and fine pilot. I would tell people, flying with Fitz, was like playing golf with Arnold Palmer--He was the best. My most favorite photo is a print of your painting, "Dance of The Valkrie" Fitz signed a dedication to me, thanking me for the twenty years, that we shared together. I am extra proud of that photo, enhanced by Fitz's dedication. Don Mallick

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Hi Don, Thanks for your wonderful comment, and so glad you enjoyed the video. Fitz was indeed the epitome of the term "Southern Gentleman," and I'm honored to know my XB-70 print, inscribed to you by Fitz, graces your collection!

[@egress1977]

Mike, thank you for sharing this video. I had the chance to meet Fitz Fulton at Edwards AFB while stationed there on the B-2 Flight Test Program. A true professional and gentleman, it was an honor to have the chance to talk with a aviation legend.

[@codymorrell4834]

When I grew up he was just uncle Fitz, the nicest guy and never acted like he was more important than anyone. So down to earth.

[@kennethkatz8278]

For a very short time, I had the opportunity to work with Lt Col Fulton. He was a gentleman who treated everybody with respect and wore his legendary reputation very lightly.

[@findo12]

A thoughtful and sensitive tribute to a great pilot. Thank you.

[@maxsmodels]

Wow Mike, another great one. There are so many comments I want to make but I’ll settle with these. First off I didn’t realize that Fitz was from Blakely Georgia which is not too far from where I grew up in the panhandle of Florida. Secondly, I noticed you pointed out the escape rope on the B-58 which made me think of that Jack Leynnwood painting of the B 58 Hustler box art where the pilot is climbing out of the cockpit but there are no stairs. So in my mind the pilot is in the process of throwing the escape rope out but we just can’t see it 😏. Thirdly, you made the comment about Parkinson’s being a occupational hazard of his generation I was wondering what was the reason for that. Cheers and be well, Max (Model On).

[@Henry-vb4hq]

I was honored and have known Fitz. I was aboard the 747SCA on its' delivery flight from Everett WA to Edwards, flown by Fitz and Boeings Paul Bennett. Also aboard were Tom McMurtry and Vic Horton. While working all the Edwards flights I had many opportunities to see Fitz, ever a true gentleman, very much like Bob Hoover. I last saw him, probably in the 90's, at a program in the Lancaster Civic Center. It was sad to lose such an iconic figure. I do have a framed lithograph of the Edwards Museum mural.

[@warped-sliderule]

Nice coverage of an amazing man and ubiquitous presence at Edwards and NASA. As a member of the Space Positioning group at Edwards, repeatedly witnessed his work on NASA X-24B and SCA/ATL missions. Hard to imagine Fitz kept up that pace over four decades, and as you say "that will never happen again." Irreplaceable...

[@dougcastleman9518]

Your videos are always highlights of my day, Mike. This one especially, as I too got to work on a couple of art projects ( for the Flight Test Historical Foundation) with this remarkable man. I got so much detail from him that without it, the paintings would have been worthless. I was amazed on his recall, and really appreciated his friendly help. Thanks again for this video.

[@paulbervid1610]

Happy birthday to Irma. Great story. Outstanding video as always.

[@brucegoodwin634]

Wow! "Free Enterprise" is eneffable! Capturing those seconds when the shuttle lifts away and the mothership hands her baby to the sky and earth…visceral!

[@gustavoheberle6265]

This is Celebrating Aviation at its best ! Thank you for showing this wonderful Pilot , and he’s historic career.

[@richardgoldy854]

I remember being in a meeting at NASA where Fitz was in attendance. They asked him if he wanted to fly this jet. No - he only flies planes with more than one engine.

[@briantincher9284]

Wow!!! That has to be one of the greatest life achievement stories Ive ever Heard!!! Amazing life and accomplishments. Also to his Wife. She must be an amazing woman.

[@bullfrommull]

Great video. A great aviation hero. To have flown the XB-70 is something else. Have you ever heard of Eric Melrose “Winkle” Brown. He flew 487 types. Born 1919 Leith Edinburgh.he flew the ME 173 Komet . Another true hero of aviation

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed!

[@smacdiesel]

What a career! This man didn't waste any time!

[@pat8988]

Enjoyable look back at history.

[@AJ67901]

Thanks for a nice break in the dark news of the day.

[@heidihobear]

I’m so happy I got to meet him

[@stankakol5195]

Fitz was The Man!!

[@KRW628]

You know how Little League ball players buy gloves and bats with their favorite players names on them? And how many golfers are out on the links playing with the same golf sticks their favorite players use? When I was flying sailplanes, and getting checked out in some German high performance fiberglass ships, I decided I needed a parachute. I read a story in Aviation Week about the AD-1. There was a picture of Fitz standing next to it, wearing that royal blue chute made by the Security company. I thought if this guy trusts his life to Security, then that''s the chute I'll fly with. I've still got the chute. Royal blue.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Great comment, thanks!

[@MM_in_Havasu]

This man was a badass, plain and simple, and could likely fly any of these aircraft blindfolded. He & Gen. Chuck Yeager were both naturals in any aircraft in our nation's inventory. God bless them both for their irreplaceable contribution to modern aviation and, in the end, our space program. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful piece of history with us all!

[@rodgerhecht3623]

Amen ,but i would also include Bob Hover. Sadly i dont remember the passing of Fitz . Youd think Edwards would have done something special for him. Maybe they did but i cant recall it.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

@@rodgerhecht3623 A memorial service was held at a church in Lancaster, and NASA flew a low-level Missing Man formation with two F-18s and an F-15 climbing to the heavens in full burner.

[@johnplaninac9980]

Another great video and tribute to a great pilot. Have his book a great read. A great insight about his life and flying. Great work Mike.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks John!

[@glennweaver3014]

Great Episode Mike. I have the wonderful book "Father of the Mother Planes" from 2013 that you worked on with Fitz. Your video is an excellent companion piece. What an incredible pilot this man was. He could fly anything, and you could tell he was decent, and carried himself with humility, despite his enormous contribution to aviation.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Glenn!

[@djpalindrome]

I never met him in person. To me he was famous as being the pilot of the B-52 mothership “balls eight” that dropped the X-15 hypersonic space plane

[@cruzcontrol1504]

No longer Unsung... a true hero

[@Slickboot21]

Imagine what can be done in a life time. Thanks again for the telling and showing.

[@brianjohnson2483]

"Free Enterprise" is absolutely Fantastic!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Many thanks!

[@ELMS]

A beautiful tribute, Mike. Thank you.

[@chuck9987]

It takes special kind of person to do flight test for that long a period and even more so to survive. Most of us would take one look at those spindly landing gear (B-58) and go “You want me to do what? Get back to me when you get this worked out”. A very nice tribute to a great man. Thank you!

[@ved2828]

Mr. Mike you nail it again. Great episode!

[@bertg.6056]

Mike, you made my day ! Thanks for such a memorable presentation.

[@rorypenstock1763]

I didn't realise the AD-1 was so small. I had only seen pictures of it in flight. It isn't much bigger than a sailplane.

[@petermerz2704]

Wow, quite the career! Love your history lessons. I grew up in the ‘60’s when a lot of flights were going on. It influenced my life in many ways! Thanks again for sharing Mike. Happy days and model on! 😎

[@SPak-rt2gb]

Amazing man amazing ending

[@stephenrickstrew7237]

Thanks Mike for this wonderful story about a truly great pilot … it’s funny how he had flown or carried just about every type of Mach 3 aircraft… after that Mach 1 must seem super slow …😊

[@eottoe2001]

So that's Fitz. I've heard the astronauts and others refer to him. TY.

[@sergioleone3583]

Thank you for sharing this great pilot's career with us!

[@joeschenk8400]

Great story of a great pilot, thanks for the posting.

[@robertadams2857]

Great show

[@petersainez7314]

Excellent episode!!

[@janrabie1890]

Wow what an amazing and fulfilling career!

[@garfieldsmith332]

Am amazing career. Thank you Mr. Machat for telling his story. Test pilots seldom get mentioned in the history of aviation, however without them, there would be no aviation history. You should make some other videos of these test pilots who risked their lives so that we have the aircraft of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

[@martinpennock9430]

What a wonderful video about a wonderful man! Mike, all your videos are special as far as I'm concerned. Love the channel and the presentation. Aviation art and history at its finest. As always God bless you and yours and thanks again for all you do! Take care always!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Thanks Martin!

[@hangie65]

Excellent video, Mike. I was aware of of Fitz Fulton's illustrious career and contribution to aviation, but your video sums it all up very nicely. Thanks for posting.

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Appreciate the comment, thanks!

[@stenic2]

Well done Mike!

[@rodgerhecht3623]

This was a great tribute to a awesome test pilot. His name popped up all the time during my career at Edwards.

[@user-rc1ke1ef3t]

Another fantastic presentation. 🙏

[@cmdredstrakerofshado1159]

Thank you again Mike for a great story of an important unsung hero of the glory days of Edwards AFB test flight program. Thank you Again.

[@colderwar]

And thank you for your service Commander, in keeping the earth safe from green skinned aliens. You don't have Lt Gaye Ellis phone number do you ? :-))

[@jamescatrett2608]

Mike, another great aviation history lesson. The Space Shuttle crew can say it road on the shoulders of one of the US Test Pilot giants to get to space (X-15, Lifting Bodies, & Shuttle Enterprise). Liked his comment on the rescue helo team that supported the Edwards test missions. Great leaders know that it takes a team effort to get the mission safely completed. Don't forget all the supporting "little guys" that help make it happen. Well done!

[@jamescatrett2608]

@@dalecomer5951 Yes sir, you are correct. In a interview with Astronaut Fred Haise, Astronaut Walt Cunningham said the following about the Apollo Program: The reason why we were successful… you know, Fred and I, we got the glory out of it. But, what was the key to success in those days was the engineering, the operations, the design people, and Mission Control. I also want to add this too - management. Management at NASA in those days was willing and able to make the tough decisions - and then live with them. So, while we might have received the glory, those folks should get the credit for Apollo.” If I remember correctly, over 450,000 workers from hundreds of companies were involved at the height of the Apollo program.

[@davidgpeterson]

Great video.

[@guidor.4161]

Amazing video!

[@ronjon7942]

Nice work.

[@billhart9832]

Mike , what an extraordinary career even amongst his contemporaries. Of note for me was his payload to altitude record in the B-58 as well as flying 2 of the Mach 3+ aircraft, both the XB-70 and YF-12. On the latter point, is he the only pilot to have flown both the XB-70 and one of the Blackbirds? What remarkably different flight envelopes for the "Father of the Mother Ships" to fly 3 different aircraft 70,000+ feet altitude, to under 100 knots to Mach3.2!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Yes, good point - Fitz would have been the only pilot who flew both the XB-70 and YF-12. Thanks for watching!

[@oxcart4172]

Loved this! You should do more pilot profiles!

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed, thanks!

[@58jharris]

This guy was an inspiration. Maybe I should start doing something constructive with my life to.

[@maximilliancunningham6091]

God Speed Fitz.

[@erictaylor5462]

8:10 I wouldn't say that. In fact, if the landing gear looks like that, I'd say you had a pretty good day. It's a bad day when the landing gear is broken away from the rest of the plane which can be seen burning in the back ground with a tall black smoke cloud coming from it. It testifies to superb piloting skills if the landing gear looks as it does in this picture. It's not east yo land safely with blown out tires.

[@wst8340]

How fast was the B 58 sitting on the tarmac ?

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Agreed - always looked like it was flying at 600 knots just sitting on the ground. Thanks for watching!

[@0tiochico]

Just a fun question, does "Fitz Fulton appear as a cameo in the film "Space Camp" from 1986? If anybody can check it out, here's a link to the film, kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKbQapqAdrSUp7c and he seems to be in 3:36

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

WOW - good catch!!! Yes, that's Fitz emerging from the back seat of the NASA T-38 at Dryden/Edwards (previous shot is Kennedy Space Center), and then getting into the back seat of the crew truck. Awesome!

[@Matt_from_Florida]

Does anyone know why Parkinson's is an occupational hazard for his generation of test pilots?

[@celebratingaviationwithmik9782]

Studies showed that after a lifetime of high exposure to petrolium fuels, the central nervous system is affected. This befell a number of famed USAF and NASA test pilots of that era.