WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Hurricane Mesa (aka Smith Mesa)

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LOCATION

North of Highway 9 between Hurricane and Zion, a little west of Virgin.

37°14'17"N 113°13'11"W
37.238°N 113.217°W

HISTORY

Ranches...

The Hurricane Mesa Test Facility includes a 12,000 foot long test track. It was initially owned by the U.S. Air Force, constructed in 1954 and 1955 by Coleman Engineering and subsequently operated by Coleman. The site was used in the testing of ejection seat systems and other aviation systems. The U.S. Air Force ceased operations in 1961 at the site. Since 1963 the facility has been owned and operated by Goodrich Corporation, Aircraft Interior Products, Propulsion Systems. It remains in operation as a private test facility.

PHOTOS

WCHS-00140     Aerial view of Hurricane Mesa

WCHS-00141     Main building at the test facility	WCHS-00142     Test dummies
WCHS-00148     Segment of the test track	WCHS-00155     Break room trailer

Other WCHS photos:
WCHS-00143    Photo of test dummies in the main building at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00144    Photo of the nose section of an aircraft at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00145    Photo of the nose sections of two aircraft at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00146    Photo of some rocket sleds at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00147    Photo of some leftover material from the making of the movie, "Octapussy", at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00149    Photo of the rocket sled track at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00150    Photo of a section of the rocket sled track at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00151    Photo of the south end of the rocket sled track at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00152    Photo of the structures at the south end of the rocket sled track at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00153    Photo of a tower at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
WCHS-00154    Photo of the lunchroom trailer at the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility

Other photos on the web:
Photo of Hurricane Mesa looking northwest and the dirt road leading up to it
Photo of Hurricane Mesa from Highway 9, looking northeast
A collection of photos of Hurricane Mesa

REFERENCES

Wikipedia article on the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
History of the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
Early history of the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
Fact sheet about the Hurricane Mesa Test Facility
History of the Hurricane Mesa Airport with photos
1960 TV episode, "The Man and the Challenge: Hurricane Mesa"