Waco NX5533 is recorded twice in the Register at Tucson. Both times it was piloted by John P. Wood. On September 11, 1928 he was westbound from New York to Los Angeles, CA competing in the Class B transcontinental race in conjunction with the1928 National Air Races. He placed third (24:31:08) behind the winner John Livingston (22:56:59) in Waco NX7572 and Eddie Ballough who placed second (23:16:24) in a Laird.

Waco NX5533

The second landing by NX5533 and Wood was on September 22, 1928. Wood landed late in the afternoon and remained overnight at Tucson, departing the next morning at 6 AM. He noted in the Remarks column of the Register, "return from races".

It was a busy summer of flying for Wood. A scant month earlier, he competed in the 6,300 mile National Air Tour of 1928, which ran from June 30-July 28. He placed first in this event with a total of 27,103.4 points. His airplane was painted with "Baby Ruth" on the fuselage, as the candy bar was his sponsor for the Air Tour. We know Wood landed at Tucson during that Air Tour, but did not sign the Register. The reason we know is that his airplane is captured on this motion picture film taken on the ground at Tucson on July 10, 1928. You will see "Baby Ruth" as the camera scans the airplanes on the line.

Below, NX5533 sits on the ground with an unidentified person (could be Wood). The location looks very much like Tucson. If you compare the motion picture film above, you'll see mountains in the background and a white chalk line. Not sure, but a good guess is this photo was taken at Tucson July 10th, along with the movie footage.

Waco NX5533 on the Ground, Tucson?

NX5533 carried S/N A-7 and it was manufactured during 1928. An excellent airborne image of NX5533 with two other sister ships, including Livingston's NX7572, can be found here on this site.

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UPLOADED: 01/08/07 REVISED: 02/25/08