View source for Falcon Field (Arizona)

{{Short description|Airport in Maricopa County, Arizona}}
{{For|other airports with this name|Falcon Field (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox airport
| name         = Falcon Field
| nativename   = {{smaller|Falcon Field Army Airfield}}
| image        = Falcon Field - Arizona - 2006-USGS.jpg
| image-width  = 250
| caption      = [[USGS]] 2006 [[orthophoto]]
| IATA         = MSC <!-- not FFZ -->
| ICAO         = KFFZ
| FAA          = FFZ
| type         = Public
| owner        = City of Mesa
| operator     = 
| city-served  = [[Mesa, Arizona]]
| location     = <!--if different than above-->
| elevation-f  = 1,394
| coordinates  = {{coord|33|27|39|N|111|43|42|W|region:US-AZ_type:airport|display=title,inline}}
| website      = [http://www.falconfieldairport.com www.falconfieldairport.com]
| pushpin_map            = USA Arizona#USA
| pushpin_relief         = yes
| pushpin_mapsize        = 250
| pushpin_map_caption    = Location of airport in Arizona / United States
| pushpin_label          = '''FFZ'''
| pushpin_label_position = right
| r1-number    = 4R/22L
| r1-length-f  = 5,101
| r1-surface   = Asphalt
| r2-number    = 4L/22R
| r2-length-f  = 3,799
| r2-surface   = Asphalt
| h1-number    = H1
| h1-length-f  = 60
| h1-surface   = Asphalt
| h2-number    = H2
| h2-length-f  = 60
| h2-surface   = Asphalt
| stat-year    = 
| stat1-header = Aircraft operations (2008)
| stat1-data   = 319,419
| stat2-header = Based aircraft (2017)
| stat2-data   = 646
| footnotes    = Source: [[Federal Aviation Administration]]<ref name="FAA">{{FAA-airport|ID=FFZ|use=PU|own=PU|site=00729.*A}}. Federal Aviation Administration. effective Mar 2, 2017.</ref>
}}

'''Falcon Field''' {{airport codes|MSC|KFFZ|FFZ}} is in an airport located in [[Maricopa County, Arizona]]. It was originally built {{convert|6|mi|nmi km|lk=on}} northeast of [[Mesa, Arizona|Mesa]], which later included, and owns it.<ref name="FAA" /> The [[National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems]] for 2017–2021 [[FAA airport categories|categorized]] it as a ''[[reliever airport]]''.<ref>
 {{cite web
 |url=http://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/2011/npias_2011_appA.pdf
 |title=2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A
 |format=PDF, 2.03 MB
 |work=[National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems]
 |publisher=Federal Aviation Administration
 |date=October 4, 2010
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927084535/http://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/2011/npias_2011_appA.pdf
 |archive-date=2012-09-27
}}
</ref> Scheduled service to [[Bullhead City]] on [[Western Express Air]] ended in January 2007.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.westernexpressair.com/press.htm | title = Press Release | publisher = Western Air Express | date = January 2007 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928223545/http://www.westernexpressair.com/press.htm | archive-date = 2007-09-28 }}</ref>

Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter [[location identifier]] for the [[Federal Aviation Administration|FAA]] and [[International Air Transport Association|IATA]], but Falcon Field is FFZ to the FAA<ref name="FAA" /> and MSC to the IATA.

== History ==
[[File:Falcon field 1955.jpg|thumb|left|[[Oxford Aviation Academy|Falcon]] Field in 1955]]

Falcon Field got its start before [[World War II]] when Hollywood producer [[Leland Hayward]] and pilot John H. "Jack" Connelly founded [[Southwest Airways]] with funding from friends including [[Henry Fonda]], [[Fred Astaire]], [[Ginger Rogers]], [[James Stewart]], and [[Hoagy Carmichael]]. Southwest Airways operated two other airfields in [[Arizona]] – [[Thunderbird Field No. 1]] (which became the site of [[Arizona Christian University]]) and Thunderbird Field No. 2 (which became the site of [[Scottsdale Airport]]) – to train pilots from China, Russia and 24 other Allied nations. Falcon was to be Thunderbird Field III and would train British pilots.

However, the British said they would like the field to be named after one of their birds, and thus Falcon Field opened as the No. 4 British Flying Training School (BFTS). There were six BFTS airfields in the U.S., in Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, California and Arizona.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Falcon Field was held at 10:30am on July 16, 1941. [[Mesa, Arizona]] mayor, [[George Nicholas Goodman]], and [[Arizona]] governor, Sidney P. Osbone, dug the first shovels of dirt.<ref>http://www.valleyhistoryinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Falcon-Field-Friday.pdf {{Dead link|date=February 2022}}</ref>

{{stack|[[File:Mesa-Historic Falcon Field Hangers-1-Marker.jpg|thumb|Falcon Field World War II aviation hangars plaque]]}}

In September 1941 the first cadets of the [[Royal Air Force]] arrived. They trained in [[Stearman model 75|Stearman PT-17]]s and [[North American Aviation]] [[North American T-6 Texan|AT-6s]].  The good weather, wide-open desert terrain, and lack of enemy airpower provided safer and more efficient training than was possible in England. Even so, twenty-three British cadets, one American cadet and four instructors were killed and are buried in the [[Mesa, Arizona|Mesa]] City Cemetery, along with several colleagues who have since died of natural causes. Several thousand pilots were trained there until the RAF installation was closed at the end of the war. The City of Mesa purchased the field from the U.S. government for $1.

From 1945 to 1965 the field was leased out to industrial interests, including [[Talley Defense Systems]], Astro Rocket Inc., Rocket Power Inc., the Gabriel Company and others.

Eventually it became a civil airfield, owned and operated by the city of Mesa. Falcon Field is the home of [[CAE Global Academy Phoenix|CAE Oxford Aviation Academy]], the largest flight school in the world. Student pilots from [[Japan]], [[Belgium]], [[The Netherlands]], [[the UK]], [[Italy]], [[Turkey]], [[Mexico]] and [[Vietnam]] fly out of Falcon Field.  Since 1976 Falcon Field has been the home of Airbase Arizona, one of the largest units in the [[Commemorative Air Force]] (CAF) which operates a flying B-17G "Sentimental Journey" and a B-25J "Maid in the Shade" among other aircraft. On May 19, 2016, the Falcon Field World War II Aviation Hangars were listed in the National Register of Historic Places, reference #16000266.

== Adjacent Boeing heliport ==
The [[Boeing|Boeing Company]] operates a [[heliport]] {{airport codes| | |AZ81}} and [[factory]] adjacent to Falcon Field, known as the Boeing Mesa Facility.<ref>[http://www.airnav.com/airport/AZ81 Boeing Mesa Facility]</ref> Boeing uses the facility to manufacture and maintain the [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|AH-64 Apache]] military [[helicopter]].

== Other services ==
Local companies:
*[[Alliant Techsystems]] (ATK)
*[[Boeing]]
*AvFlight
*[[Lockheed Martin]]
*[[Marsh Aviation]]
*[[MD Helicopters]]
*[[Nammo Talley]]
*[[Semflex]]
*[[Special Devices Inc.]]
*[[Timken Company|Timken]]
*[[Trans-Matic]]
*[[Wal-Mart]]
*[[GECO Inc.]]

Local groups:
* Falcon Field Area Alliance<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.falconfieldarea.org/ |title=falconfieldarea.org |access-date=2019-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511030716/http://www.falconfieldarea.org/ |archive-date=2012-05-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref> (FFAA)
* Falcon Field Tenants & Users Association<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.falconfield.org/ |title=falconfield.org |access-date=2019-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715031339/http://www.falconfield.org/ |archive-date=2012-07-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Civil Air Patrol - Falcon Composite Squadron 305<ref>[http://www.az305.net www.az305.net]</ref>
*Mesa Police Department - Air Support Unit<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mesaaz.gov/residents/police/divisions/air-support-unit |title=Air Support Unit (Falcon Field) {{!}} City of Mesa |website=www.mesaaz.gov |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504124937/https://www.mesaaz.gov/residents/police/divisions/air-support-unit |archive-date=2019-05-04}}</ref>

Local museums:
* [[Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum]]<ref>[http://www.arizonawingcaf.com/ arizonawingcaf.com]</ref>

Flight Schools:
* [[CAE Phoenix]]
* [[ATP Flight School]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Phoenix Arizona Flight School at Falcon Field (FFZ) / ATP Flight School |url=https://atpflightschool.com/locations/arizona/phoenix-flight-school-ffz.html |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=atpflightschool.com}}</ref>
* Red Rock Flight School<ref>{{Cite web |title=Red Rock Flight School {{!}} Professional Arizona Flight School - Take Flight With Us! |url=https://redrockflightschool.com/ |access-date=2023-03-30 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Accidents and incidents ==
*On 5 November, 2024, a private [[Honda HA-420 HondaJet|Honda HA-420 Hondajet]] crashed into a car that was driving outside the airport, during an attempted take off. Five people were killed. The FAA is investigating the accident.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cruz |first=Elena Santa |last2=Anglen |first2=Robert |last3=Vandell |first3=Perry |date=5 November 2024 |title=5 dead after plane crashes into vehicle near Falcon Field in Mesa |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa-breaking/2024/11/05/plane-crash-near-falcon-field-airport-mesa/76080512007/ |access-date=7 November 2024 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
Several scenes of the 1980 aerobatics film [[Cloud Dancer]] were filmed at this airport.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cloud Dancer |author=Christian Santoir |url=http://www.aeromovies.fr/articles.php?lng=en&pg=365 |publisher=Aéro Movies |access-date=May 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222014632/http://www.aeromovies.fr/articles.php?lng=en&pg=365 |archive-date=December 22, 2018 |url-status=unfit }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[36th Flying Training Wing (World War II)]]
* [[Arizona World War II Army Airfields]]
* [[Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum]]
* [[Army Aviation Heritage Foundation and Flying Museum]]
* [[List of airports in Arizona]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
* Bustrin, Mary Louise. ''My Second Job''. Mesa, AZ: Mary Louise Bustrin, 1990.
* Dawson, Jim. ''The RAF in Arizona: Falcon Field, 1941–1945''. Newnan, GA: Stenger-Scott Publishing, 2002.
* [[Daryl F. Mallett|Mallett, Daryl F.]] ''Falcon Field''. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2009.
* Manning, Thomas A. (2005), ''History of Air Education and Training Command, 1942–2002''.  Office of History and Research, Headquarters, AETC, Randolph AFB, Texas  {{OCLC|71006954|29991467}}
* Shaw, Frederick J. (2004), ''Locating Air Force Base Sites, History’s Legacy'', Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, Washington DC. {{OCLC|57007862|1050653629}}
* Simmons, Larry J. ''The Falcon Field Story''. Scottsdale, AZ: Larry J. Simmons, 2002.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.falconfieldairport.com Falcon Field Airport]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121013071105/http://www.azdot.gov/mpd/airport_development/airports/airports_list.asp?FAA=FFZ Mesa ~ Falcon Field (FFZ)] at [[Arizona DOT]] airport directory
* [http://www.visitingphx.com/falcon.html Falcon Field] at VisitingPHX.com website
* [http://www.t1aviation.com/ Tango One Aviation], the [[fixed-base operator]] (FBO)
* [http://msrmaps.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=12&lat=33.4598&lon=-111.7273&w=500&h=500&lp=---+None+--- Aerial image as of July 1992] from [[USGS]] ''[[The National Map]]''
* {{FAA-diagram|06647}}
* {{FAA-procedures|FFZ}}
* {{US-airport-minor|FFZ}}

{{AZMilitary|state=autocollapse}}
{{Arizona during World War II}}
{{USAAF Training Bases World War II}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Airports in Maricopa County, Arizona]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Mesa, Arizona]]
[[Category:Transportation in Mesa, Arizona]]
[[Category:1942 establishments in Arizona]]
[[Category:Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Arizona]]
[[Category:USAAF Contract Flying School Airfields]]
[[Category:Airports established in 1942]]