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Research pilot and former as
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Dryden Test Pilots 1990 - Sm
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C. Gordon Fullerton
| Title |
C. Gordon Fullerton |
| Description |
C. Gordon Fullerton is a research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. His assignments include a variety of flight research and support activities piloting NASA's B-52 launch aircraft, the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), and other multi-engine and high performance aircraft. Fullerton, who has logged 382 hours in space flight, was a NASA astronaut from September 1969 until November 1986 when he joined the Flight Crew Branch at Dryden. In July 1988, he completed a 30-year career with the U.S. Air Force and retired as a colonel. As the project pilot on the NASA B-52 launch aircraft, Fullerton flew during the first six air launches of the commercially developed Pegasus space vehicle. He was involved in a series of development air launches of the X-38 Crew Recovery Vehicle and in the Pegasus launch of the X-43A Hyper-X advanced propulsion project. Fullerton also flies Dryden's DC-8 Airborne Science aircraft, regularly deployed worldwide to support a variety of research studies, including atmospheric physics, ground mapping and meteorology. In addition to these current activities, Fullerton has been involved in numerous other research programs at Dryden. He was the project pilot on the Propulsion Controlled Aircraft program, during which he successfully landed both a modified F-15 and an MD-11 transport with all control surfaces neutralized, using only engine thrust modulation for control. Assigned to evaluate the flying qualities of the Russian Tu-144 supersonic transport during two flights in 1998, he reached a speed of Mach 2 and became one of only two non-Russian pilots to fly that aircraft. He piloted a Convair 990 modified to test space shuttle landing gear components during many very high-speed landings. Other projects for which he has flown in the past include the C-140 JetStar Laminar Flow Control, F-111 Mission Adaptive Wing, F-14 Variable Sweep Flow Transition, Space Shuttle drag chute and F-111 crew module parachute tests with the B-52, X-29 vortex flow control, and the F-18 Systems Research Aircraft. With more than15,000 hours of flying time, Fullerton has piloted 135 different types of aircraft, including full qualification in the T-33, T-34, T-37, T-38, T-39, F-86, F-101, F-104, F-106, F-111, F-14, F-15, X-29, KC-135, C-140, B-47, and he currently flies the F/A-18, B-52, DC-8, B-747, and T-34C. Born Oct. 11, 1936, in Rochester, N. Y., Fullerton graduated from U.S. Grant High School, Portland, Ore. He earned bachelor of science and master of science degrees in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, in 1957 and l958, respectively. Fullerton entered the U. S. Air Force in July 1958 after working as a mechanical design engineer for Hughes Aircraft Co., Culver City, California. After flight school, he was trained as an F-86 interceptor pilot, and later became a B-47 bomber pilot at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Ariz. In 1964 he was selected to attend, the Air Force Aerospace Research Pilot School (now the Air Force Test Pilot School), Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Upon graduation he was assigned as a test pilot with the Bomber Operations Division at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. Fullerton served as a flight crew member for the Air Force Manned Orbiting Laboratory program from 1966 through1969. After assignment to the NASA Johnson Space Center, as an astronaut Fullerton served on the support crews for the Apollo 14, 15, 16, and 17 lunar missions. In 1977, Fullerton was assigned to one of the two two-man flight crews that piloted the Space Shuttle prototype Enterprise during the Approach and Landing Test Program at Dryden. Fullerton was the pilot on the eight-day STS-3 Space Shuttle orbital flight test mission Mar. 22-30, 1982. The mission exposed the orbiter Columbia to extremes in thermal stress and tested the 50-foot Remote Manipulator System used to grapple and maneuver payloads in orbit. STS-3 landed at White Sands, N.M., because Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards was wet due to heavy seasonal rains. Fullerton was commander of the STS-51F Spacelab 2 mission, launched on July 29, 1985. This mission, with the orbiter Challenger, was the first pallet-only Spacelab mission and the first to operate the Spacelab Instrument Pointing System (IPS). It carried 13 major experiments in the fields of astronomy, solar physics, ionospheric science, life science, and materiel science (a super fluid helium experiment). The mission ended August 6, 1985, with a landing at Dryden. Among the special awards and honors Fullerton has received are the Iven C. Kincheloe Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1978, Department of Defense Distinguished Service and Superior Service Medals, Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross, NASA Distinguished and Exceptional Service Medals, NASA Space Flight Medals in 1983 and 1985, General Thomas D. White Space Trophy, Haley Space Flight Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Awards for 1977, 1981, and 1985, the Certificate of Achievement Award from the Soaring Society of America, and the Ray E. Tenhoff Award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1992 and 1993. Fullerton was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1982. He is a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, member of Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honorary fraternity, honorary member of the National World War II Glider Pilot Association, and a Fellow of the American Astronautical Society. |
| Date |
01.01.1989 |
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Dryden Test Pilots 1990 - Sm
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| Title |
Dryden Test Pilots 1990 - Smolka, Fullerton, Schneider, Dana, Ishmael, Smith, and McMurtry |
| Description |
It was a windy afternoon on Rogers Dry Lake as the research pilots of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility gathered for a photo shoot. It was a special day too, the 30th anniversary of the first F-104 flight by research pilot Bill Dana. To celebrate, a fly over of Building 4800, in formation, was made with Bill in a Lockheed F-104 (826), Gordon Fullerton in a Northrop T-38, and Jim Smolka in a McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 (841) on March 23, 1990. The F-18 (841), standing on the NASA ramp is a backdrop for the photo of (Left to Right) James W. (Smoke) Smolka, C. Gordon Fullerton, Edward T. (Ed) Schneider, William H. (Bill) Dana, Stephen D. (Steve) Ishmael, Rogers E. Smith, and Thomas C. (Tom) McMurtry. Smolka joined NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility in September 1985. He has been the project pilot on the F-15 Advanced Control Technology for Integrated Vehicles (ACTIVE) research and F-15 Aeronautical Research Aircraft programs. He has also flown as a pilot on the NASA B-52 launch aircraft, as a co-project pilot on the F-16XL Supersonic Laminar Flow Control aircraft and the F-18 High Angle-of-Attack Research Vehicle (HARV) aircraft. Other aircraft he has flown in research programs are the F-16, F-111, F-104 and the T-38 as support. Fullerton, joined NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility in November 1986. He was project pilot on the NASA/Convair 990 aircraft to test space shuttle landing gear components, project pilot on the F-18 Systems Research Aircraft, and project pilot on the B-52 launch aircraft, where he was involved in six air launches of the commercially developed Pegasus space launch vehicle. Other assignments include a variety of flight research and support activities in multi-engine and high performance aircraft such as, F-15, F-111, F-14, X-29, MD-11 and DC-8. Schneider arrived at the NASA Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility on July 5, 1982, as a Navy Liaison Officer, becoming a NASA research pilot one year later. He has been project pilot for the F-18 High Angle-of-Attack program (HARV), project pilot for the F-15 aeronautical research aircraft, the NASA B-52 launch aircraft, and the SR-71 "Blackbird" aircraft. His past research work at Dryden has included participation in the F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire, the FAA/NASA 720 Controlled Impact Demonstration, the F-14 Automatic Rudder Interconnect and Laminar Flow programs, and the F-104 Aeronautical Research and Microgravity programs. Dana joined the NASA's High-Speed Flight Station on October 1, 1958. As a research pilot, he was involved in some of the most significant aeronautical programs carried out at the Center. In the late 1960s and in the 1970s Dana was a project pilot on the lifting body program, flying the wingless M2-F1, HL-10, M2-F3, and the X-24B vehicles. He was a project pilot on the hypersonic X-15 research aircraft and flew the rocket-powered vehicle 16 times, reaching a speed of 3,897 mph and an altitude of 310,000, feet. Bill was the pilot on the final (199th) flight of the 10-year program. Other research and support programs Dana participated in were the F-15 Highly Integrated Digital Electronic Control (HIDEC), the F-18 High Angle-of-Attack Research Vehicle (HARV), YF-12, F-104, F-16, PA-30, and T-38. In 1993 Dana became Chief Engineer at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (soon to be renamed the Dryden Flight Research Center). Ishmael was a research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center from January 1977 until the spring of 1995, when he became manager of Dryden's Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) programs. In 1996 he became NASA's X-33 Deputy Manager for Flight Test and Operation. As a research pilot he served as the chief project pilot on two major aeronautical research programs, the SR-71 High Speed Research program and the F-16XL Laminar Flow Technology program. He took part in the X-29 Forward-Swept-Wing program, and gave support to other pilots' research flights in a T-38 and F-104 aircraft. Smith became a research pilot at NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility in August 1982. In the spring of 1995 he became Chief of the Flight Crew Branch where currently there are 8 other NASA pilots and 2 flight engineers. Smith has also been a co-project pilot on two major aeronautical programs at Dryden. They are the integrated thrust vectoring F-15 ACTIVE and the SR-71 "Blackbird" Research programs. Other research programs that he has been associated with are the F-104 Zero "G" tests, F-18 HARV, X-29 Forward-Swept-Wing, with support flights being flown in a T-38 and F-104. McMurtry has been a pilot at NASA's Dryden since joining the Flight Research Center in November 1967. In 1981, Tom became Chief Pilot a position he held until February 1986, when he was appointed Chief of the Research Aircraft Operations Division. McMurtry has been project pilot for the AD-1 Oblique Wing program, the F-15 Digital Electronic Engine Control (DEEC) project and the F-8 Supercritical Wing program. He was co- project pilot on the F-15 ACTIVE program, F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire program and on several remotely piloted research vehicle programs such as the FAA/NASA 720 Controlled Impact Demonstration and the sub-scale F-15 spin research project. He has also been a co-project pilot on the NASA 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. |
| Date |
01.01.1990 |
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Orbiter "Enterprise" soars a
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| Title |
Orbiter "Enterprise" soars above the NASA 747 carrier |
| Description |
The Shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" soars above the NASA 747 carrier aircraft only seconds after separating during the first free flight of the Shuttle Apporach and Landing Tests (ALTs) conducted on August 12, 1977 at Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California. Astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr., and C. Gordon Fullerton were the crew of the "Enterprise." The ALT free flights are designed to verify Orbiter subsonic airworthiness, integrated systems operations and pilot-guided approach and landing capability and satisfying prerequisites to automatic flight control and navigation mode. |
| Date Taken |
1977-08-12 |
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Orbiter "Enterprise" rides "
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| Title |
Orbiter "Enterprise" rides "piggy-back" atop NASA 747 carrier |
| Description |
The Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" rides "piggy-back" atop the NASA 747 carrier aircraft during the early minutes of the first free flight of the Shuttle Apporach and Landing Tests (ALTs) conducted on August 12, 1977 at Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California. Two chase planes can be seen in the right background. Astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr., and C. Gordon Fullerton were the crew of the "Enterprise." The ALT free flights are designed to verify Orbiter subsonic airworthiness, integrated systems operations and pilot-guided approach and landing capability and satisfying prerequisites to automatic flight control and navigation mode. |
| Date Taken |
1977-08-12 |
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Shuttle Orbiter "Enterprise"
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| Title |
Shuttle Orbiter "Enterprise" lands at Edwards AFB after third ALT |
| Description |
The Shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" approaches touchdown on the runnway at Edwards Air Force Base to conclude a five-minute, 34-second unpowered flight during the third free-flight of the Shuttle Approach and and Landing Test (ALT) series, on September 23, 1977. Three T-38 chase planes follow close by. Astronauts Fred W. Haise,Jr., commander, and C. Gordon Fullerton, pilot, were the crewmen for the flight. |
| Date Taken |
1977-09-23 |
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Shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterpr
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| Title |
Shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" parked on runway at Edwards AFB |
| Description |
The Space Shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" is parked on the runway at Edwards Air Force Base following a five-minute, 34-second unpowered mission during the third free flight of the Space Shuttle Approach and Landing Test (ALT) series, on September 23, 1977. The two Orbiter 101 crewmen are in the insert, Astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr. (left), commander, and C. Gordon Fullerton, pilot. |
| Date Taken |
1977-09-23 |
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Orbiter "Enterprise" soars a
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| Title |
Orbiter "Enterprise" soars above the NASA 747 carrier |
| Description |
The Shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" soars above the NASA 747 carrier aircraft after separating during the first free flight of the Shuttle Apporach and Landing Tests (ALTs) conducted on August 12, 1977 at Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California. Astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr., and C. Gordon Fullerton were the crew of the "Enterprise." The ALT free flights are designed to verify Orbiter subsonic airworthiness, integrated systems operations and pilot-guided approach and landing capability and satisfying prerequisites to automatic flight control and navigation mode. |
| Date Taken |
1977-08-12 |
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Orbiter "Enterprise" rides "
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| Title |
Orbiter "Enterprise" rides "piggy-back" atop NASA 747 carrier |
| Description |
The Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" rides "piggy-back" atop the NASA 747 carrier aircraft during the third free flight of the Shuttle Apporach and Landing Tests (ALTs) conducted on September 23, 1977 at Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California. Three chase planes can be seen in the picture. Astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr., commander, and C. Gordon Fullerton, pilot were the crew of the "Enterprise." The ALT free flights are designed to verify Orbiter subsonic airworthiness, integrated systems operations and pilot-guided approach and landing capability and satisfying prerequisites to automatic flight control and navigation mode. |
| Date Taken |
1977-09-23 |
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Orbiter "Enterprise" separat
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| Title |
Orbiter "Enterprise" separates from the NASA 747 carrier |
| Description |
The Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" separates from the NASA 747 carrier aircraft during the third free flight of the Shuttle Apporach and Landing Tests (ALTs) conducted on September 23, 1977 at Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California. The vehicle with Astronauts Fred W. Haise, and C. Gordon Fullerton remained in unpowered flight for five minutes and 34 seconds before landing on the desert land of Edwards Air Force Base. The ALT free flights are designed to verify Orbiter subsonic airworthiness, integrated systems operations and pilot-guided approach and landing capability and satisfying prerequisites to automatic flight control and navigation mode. |
| Date Taken |
1977-09-23 |
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Shuttle Orbiter "Enterprise"
…
| Title |
Shuttle Orbiter "Enterprise" lands at Edwards AFB after third ALT |
| Description |
The Shuttle Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" approaches touchdown on the runnway at Edwards Air Force Base to conclude a five-minute, 34-second unpowered flight during the third free-flight of the Shuttle Approach and and Landing Test (ALT) series, on September 23, 1977. Three T-38 chase planes follow close by. Astronauts Fred W. Haise,Jr., commander, and C. Gordon Fullerton, pilot, were the crewmen for the flight. |
| Date Taken |
1977-09-23 |
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Orbiter "Enterprise" soars a
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| Title |
Orbiter "Enterprise" soars above Edwards Air Force Base |
| Description |
The Orbiter 101 "Enterprise" soars above the North Base area of Edwards Air Force Base during the third free flight of the Shuttle Apporach and Landing Tests (ALTs) conducted on September 23, 1977 at Dryden Flight Research Center in Southern California. Three chase planes follow in its wake. Its crew consists of Astronauts Fred W. Haise Jr., commander, and C. Gordon Fullerton, pilot. The ALT free flights are designed to verify Orbiter subsonic airworthiness, integrated systems operations and pilot-guided approach and landing capability and satisfying prerequisites to automatic flight control and navigation mode. |
| Date Taken |
1977-09-23 |
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