MOSES LAKE, Wash. (AP) — A prototype, all-electric airplane
took its first flight Tuesday morning in central Washington
state.

The Seattle Times reports that if the Federal Aviation
Administration eventually certifies the small airplane to
carry passengers, it could become the first all-electric
commercial airplane.

The plane, built by startup Eviation, was built to carry nine
passengers and up two pilots. It took off from Moses Lake,
Washington, at 7:10 a.m. Tuesday, and landed eight minutes
later.

The company’s goal is to show such electric planes are viable
as commuter aircraft flying at an altitude of about 15,000 feet.

ED DONAHUE

The Tonight Show (TV Series 1953–1957)

Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen
(December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000)

Unwilling to rest as a one-hit wonder when its first big hit, The
Monkees, went off the air in 1968, the television production
company Screen Gems wasted no time in trying to repeat its
success. On September 25, 1970, in the 8:30 p.m. time slot
immediately following The Brady Bunch, ABC premiered a
program that would give Screen Gems its second TV-to-pop-
chart smash: The Partridge Family.

The musical sitcom starred Shirley Jones and featured David
Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays
the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a
music career. It ran from September 25, 1970, until August 24,
1974, on the ABC network as part of a Friday-night lineup, and
had subsequent runs in syndication.

On September 21, 1942, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress made its
debut flight in Seattle, Washington. It was the largest bomber
used in the war by any nation.

The B-29 was conceived in 1939 by Gen. Hap Arnold, who was
afraid a German victory in Europe would mean the United States
would be devoid of bases on the eastern side of the Atlantic from
which to counterattack. A plane was needed that would travel
faster, farther, and higher than any then available, so Boeing set
to creating the four-engine heavy bomber.

The plane was extraordinary, able to carry loads almost equal to
its own weight at altitudes of 30,000 to 40,000 feet. It also sported
the first radar bombing system of any U.S. bomber.

The King of Rock and Roll teamed up with TV’s reigning variety
program, as Elvis Presley appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show”
for the first time on September 9, 1956.

After earning big ratings for “The Steve Allen Show,” the
Dorsey Brothers “Stage Show” and “The Milton Berle Show,”
Sullivan finally reneged on his Presley ban, signing the
controversial singing star to an unprecedented $50,000 contract
for three appearances.

With 60 million viewers—or 82.6 percent of TV viewers at the time—tuning in, the appearance garnered the show’s best
ratings in two years and became the most-watched TV
broadcast of the 1950s.

   Ed Sullivan