Mesa's Falcon Field began during World War II when a small group of Hollywood celebrities financed pilot training facilities (Southwest Airways) in the United States for American Allied forces. Thousands of British Royal Air Force pilots, joined by pilots from Russia, China, and 24 other nations at neighboring airfields, earned their wings in the Arizona desert. In 1945, the City of Mesa purchased the facility for $1, and then for the next 20 years leased it to Rocket Power, Inc., which manufactured a solid fuel rocket propellant. Today Falcon Field is a bustling municipal airport and a...