Waco NX5533 is S/N A-7, manufactured during 1928. 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. Close to 50 airplanes landed at Tucson near the same date. They, as well as pilot Wood, were participating in the Races held at Mines Field, Los Angeles that year. Wood placed
third (24:31:08) behind the winner John
Livingston (22:56:59) in Waco NX7527 and Eddie
Ballough who placed second (23:16:24) in a Laird.
Waco NX5533
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The second landing by NX5533 and Wood was on September 22,
1928. This time he carried Stuart M. Auer as his sole passenger. They landed late in the afternoon and remained overnight at Tucson, departing the next morning at 6:00AM. Wood 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 parking line.
Below, NX5533 sits on the ground with an unidentified person (could be Wood). The location is unknown.
Waco NX5533 on the Ground
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An excellent airborne image
of NX5533 with two other sister ships, including Livingston's NX7527, can be found at the link on
this site.
The good news is that NC5533 still exists, having been restored as of 2014 and pictured as below in the November, 2014 issue of AOPA Pilot magazine.
Waco NC5533, 2014 (Source: AOPA Pilot)
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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 01/08/07 REVISED: 02/25/08, 03/12/10, 09/17/16, 06/11/23
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