Fitzhugh L . Fulton Fitzhugh L . " Fitz " Fulton Jr . ( born June 6 , 1925 ) is a retired civilian research pilot at NASA ' s Dryden Flight Research Center , Edwards , California , from August 1 , 1966 , until July 3 , 1986 , following 23 years of service as a pilot in the U . S . Air Force . Biography . Born in Blakely , Georgia , Fulton attended Auburn University , the University of Oklahoma , and is a graduate of Golden Gate University . Air Force service . Fulton flew 225 trips to Berlin in C - 54 ' s during the Berlin Airlift . He also flew 55 combat mission in the Douglas B - 26 Invader over North Korea . He received a Distinguished Flying Cross and five Air Medals for these missions . Fulton completed the Air Force Experimental Test Pilot School in 1952 , and served as a test pilot with the Air Force . He was a project pilot on the B - 58 supersonic bomber program and set an international altitude record of 85 , 360 feet with the aircraft carrying a payload of 11 , 023 pounds ( 5000 kilograms ) in 1962 . He received the 1962 Harmon International Aviation Trophy for his work on the program . Fulton was also assigned as the Air Force pilot on the B - 52 launch aircraft for the X - 15 research aircraft and other air - launched vehicles . During his earlier Air Force career Fulton received three Distinguished Flying Cross medals for his test pilot work . He flew the XB - 70 prototype supersonic bomber on both NASA - USAF tests and NASA research flights during the late 1960s , attaining speeds exceeding Mach 3 . He was also a project pilot on the YF - 12A and YF - 12C research program from April 14 , 1969 , until September 25 , 1978 . The planes were flown at speeds and altitudes in excess of 2 , 000 mph and 70 , 000 feet to acquire flight data for the development of future aircraft . Fulton retired from the USAF in 1966 after a 23 - year career . At the time , he was Chief of Bomber Transport Test Operations Division at Edwards Air Force Base . NASA test pilot . Fulton was the project pilot on all early tests of the Boeing 747 Space Shuttle Carrier Aircraft ( SCA ) used to air launch the Space Shuttle prototype " Enterprise " in the Approach and Landing Tests ( ALT ) at Dryden in 1977 . During these flights , the SCA carried the un - powered Enterprise to an altitude of about 25 , 000 feet , where it was separated from the 747 and flown to a landing by the Shuttle test crew . Several uncrewed and crewed captive flights preceded the initial free - flights . For his work in the ALT program , Fulton received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal . He also received the Exceptional Service Medal again in 1983 for flying the 747 SCA during the European tour of the Space Shuttle Enterprise . After orbital flights began in 1981 , Fulton continued to fly the SCA during ferry missions returning Orbiters to the Kennedy Space Center Florida . During his career at Dryden , Fulton was project pilot on NASA ' s B - 29 , B - 50 and B - 52 bombers launch aircraft used to air launch a variety of piloted and unpiloted research aircraft , including the X - 1 , X - 2 , X - 15 s and M - 2 , HL - 10 and X - 24 rocket airplanes . He was also project pilot on the Laminar Flow Control Leading Edge research program using a specially modified C - 140 JetStar . Fulton was the project pilot for the FAA / NASA Controlled Impact Demonstration program during 1984 . It culminated on December 1 , 1984 , when he remotely flew an unpiloted , 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 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 ALT program . At the time of his NASA retirement in 1986 , Fulton had over 16 , 000 flying hours in 235 types of aircraft . Scaled Composites . After retiring from NASA , Fulton hired on as the Flight Operations Director and Chief Research Pilot for Burt Rutan ' s Scaled Composites . There , he flew the maiden flight s on the Advanced Technology Tactical Transport and the Scaled Composites Triumph twin engine executive jet . In 1999 , he was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame