Articles

August 1, 1941
English Air Men Coming
Mesa Journal

February 20, 1943
Falcon Field Unit Praised
Arizona Republic

June 10, 1963
A Major City Asset
Mesa Tribune

April 1984
FALCON – Where a Hollywood Contact Helped Win a War

Fall 1985
Falcon Field Beginnings
AAHS Journal – American Aviation Historical Society
Volume 30, Number 3, Fall 1985, Page 175

August 6, 2020
WWII Vet Left Behind Historic Falcon Field Photos
East Valley Tribune

Additional Information

Groundbreaking ceremonies were conducted on the same day—July 16, 1941—for both Falcon Field and Williams Field that served as World War II pilot training bases and now serve Mesa and the East Valley in different capacities. Arizona's dry climate and open spaces made it an ideal choice for training air troops. Falcon Field opened in September 1941 as a military airport to train British Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Corps pilots. The first training flight was an American-made Boeing PT-17 "Stearman" biplane.

In 1948 the federal government deeded the property to the City of Mesa as a municipal airport. The City contracted daily operations through a private operator until 1968, when it assumed this responsibility. Falcon Field includes a total of 784 acres owned by the City. The primary one-square-mile airport campus is located in northeast Mesa between Greenfield, Higley, McDowell and McKellips roads.

Today Falcon Field is a general aviation (GA) reliever airport that serves as an alternative for corporate, military, public safety, recreational and instructional aviation uses so that Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport (formerly Williams Field) can focus on international and domestic commercial airline services.

Air space around Falcon Field is managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Some of the photos below were donated by Manny Interiano. His Father, Oswaldo Interiano, was a Cadet at Falcon Field. His cadet buddies called him "Ozzie" and his Lancaster crew just called him "Skipper."