

An estimated 65,000 people had come to Edwards to watch and at 8:00, Fitz Fulton began the take off roll down Runway 22. For the next 38 minutes the spacecraft/aircraft combination climbed together into the desert sky. After reaching an altitude of 24,100 feet (7,346 meters), Fulton put the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft into a shallow dive. At 8:48 a.m., Fred Haise fired the seven explosive bolts holding the two craft together. The 747 entered a descending left turn while Haise banked Enterprise away to the right.

As Enterprise made its gliding descent, Haise and Fullerton experimented with the prototype’s flight characterisics and handling. The Shuttle Orbiter touched down on Rogers Dry Lake at 185 miles per hour (297.7 kilometers per hour), and rolled for two miles (3.22 kilometers) before coming to a complete stop.
The first free flight of Enterprise lasted 5 minutes, 21 seconds.

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes
Pulled maintenance (engines) on the mother ship at American Airlines (Tulsa maint. base) before she was sold to NASA… Early 70’s.
I got to go with Vic Horton and his wife September 13th 1977 to watch a test flight. I still have the visitor pass ID and a picture he gave me off the wall from the room we watched the flight in. I don’t remember who he was talking to after the flight, but they had asked about the fuel they have gave him and amount remaining and his comment was “we had just enough to wet the bottom of the tanks” I recall some laughter at the comment.