The Four Thousand Pound Cactus

A staple in many Western films, the Saguaro cactus is native to the Arizona Sonoran Desert, the Mexican State of Sonora, and the Whipple Mountains & Imperial County areas of California. When rain is plentiful, a fully hydrated Saguaro cactus can weigh between 3,200–4,800 lbs. and live up to 150 years. The photo was taken in the 1930s at Paradise Valley, Arizona, with Camelback Mountain as a backdrop.

Some Records Are Inevitably Broken

 

On this date in 1952, Captain James Slade Nash, U.S. Air Force, a test pilot at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, flew a North American Aviation F-86D-20-NA Sabre Dog, 51-2945, to a FAI World Absolute Speed Record at the Salton Sea, in the Colorado Desert of southeastern California, few miles east of Palm Springs. Under less than ideal conditions, the new international speed record was established when the Sabre Dog roared by at 699.9 miles an hour, breaking the previous 1948 record of 670+ miles per hour. Captain Nash barreled the interceptor four times over the course as close as 100 feet to the ground.

The Stratojet Sunset

 

After being returned to flyable condition, B-47E Stratojet serial number 52-166, made the very last flight of the type on this day in 1986. It was flown by Major General John D. Moore and Lieutenant Colonel Dale E. Wolfe, U.S. Air Force, from the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in Southern California to Castle Air Force Base and placed on static display. The Boeing developed B-47 was built by the Douglas Aircraft Company at Air Force Plant No. 3, Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1952. 52-166 had not been flown in twenty years, having sat in the Mojave Desert serving as a radar target. Because 52-166 had not been through a complete overhaul prior to the ferry flight, it was decided to leave the landing gear extended in case an emergency landing might be needed.

Toward The Unknown for Test Pilots

 

On this date in 1956, the first of two prototype Martin XB-51 three-engine attack bombers crashed on takeoff from El Paso International Airport which shared runways with Biggs AFB. The pilot, Major James O. Rudolph, survived the crash, although he died the next month from severe burns. Staff Sergeant Wilbur R. Savage, engineer, was killed instantly. 

This XB-51 had finished its flying sequences the previous month for the movie Toward The Unknown, 1956. Read my comments at FORGOTTEN CINEMA. “Gilbert XF-120” was the fictitious name given to the bomber in the film. Pieces of the wreckage were still marked as such. The second prototype had previously crashed at Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards AFB) in 1952. The XB-51 was a serious competitor to Boeing's B-47, but the Air Force contract was awarded to Boeing. Pilots have said the XB-51 was nimble, innovative, and fast, but casting a pall on the whole program was the crashing of both planes.

Take a Greyhound to California

 

On this day in 1920, a mechanical lure, described in the press as the "automatic rabbit" was first used in greyhound racing. The modern greyhound racing industry emerged in its recognizable form---circular or oval tracks---with the invention of the mechanical, or artificial, hare in 1912 by American, Owen Patrick Smith. Smith had altruistic aims for the industry to stop the killing of the jackrabbits and see "greyhound racing as we see horse racing". In 1919, Smith opened the first professional dog-racing track with stands in Emeryville, California. This arena was torn down to make way for a modern racetrack.