Thunderbird Field No . 1 Thunderbird Field was a military airfield in Glendale , Arizona , used for contract primary flight training of Allied pilots during World War II . Created in part by actor James Stewart , the field became part of the United States Army Air Forces training establishment just prior to American entry into the war and was re - designated Thunderbird Field # 1 after establishment of Thunderbird Field # 2 at nearby Scottsdale , on 22 June 1942 . Thunderbird # 1 is located southeast of the intersection of West Greenway Road & North 59th Avenue in Glendale , Arizona . After the conclusion on World War II , the property was sold as surplus for educational purposes , eventually becoming the Thunderbird School of Global Management , a well - respected post - graduate business school . History . Thunderbird Field began in 1939 as a collaborative project by Hollywood agent and producer Leland Hayward , former Air Service pilot John H . " Jack " Connelly , and " Life magazine " photographer John Swope , founders of Southwest Airways . Backed by investors that included James Stewart , singer - actor Hoagy Carmichael , Cary Grant , Henry Fonda , Robert Taylor , and Margaret Sullavan , construction of the pilot training facility near Glendale , Arizona , began on 2 January 1941 , and was completed in three months . The site , from central Phoenix , was laid out by artist Millard Sheets to resemble ( from the air ) an etching of a mythical Anasazi Thunderbird . The control tower formed the head of the bird , the administration buildings and barracks its body , the hangars its wings , and the gardens its feathered tail . The installation was situated on the southeast corner of what is now West Greenway Road & North 59th Avenue . To the southeast , adjacent to its single - story sage , cream , and terra cotta - colored buildings of Spanish Colonial rancheria design , was a square ramp area . Across West Greenway Road to the north was the airfield itself with three runways . Contractor Del Webb Construction built a hexagonal barracks , administrative building , mess hall and four hangars on the site , plus twin swimming pools . The US Army Air Forces signed a contract with Southwest Airways to provide instructors and facilities for a primary training school for its aviation cadets in March 1941 , beginning with a class of 59 candidates . Eventually 10 , 000 pilots from 30 nations trained at the field before it was deactivated in June 1945 . A 1942 Hollywood movie in Technicolor , " Thunder Birds " ( directed by William Wellman ) , was filmed on location at the field in the spring of 1942 . Aerial shots clearly show the original Thunderbird design . Four unpaved satellite airfields were operated by Thunderbird Field between 1942 and 1944 : Southwest Airways expanded the training complex with the building of two other airfields , Falcon Field at Mesa in September 1941 , and Thunderbird Field # 2 in Scottsdale in June 1942 . After World War II . Following the end of World War II , Thunderbird Field was declared surplus by the War Assets Administration in 1946 . That same year , Thunderbird was purchased for $ 1 from the federal government by Lt . General Barton K . Yount , retired commander of the Army Air Forces Training Command . He established the American Institute for Foreign Trade and became its first president . Classes began on the site within a few months , however the airfield at Thunderbird may have continued in operation alongside the new school for some time . Thunderbird Field was apparently closed ( permanently ) at some point within the next year . Thunderbird Field inspired the name of " Thunderbirds " , a British mid - 1960s television show that used marionettes . The eldest brother of the creator of the show had been stationed at the base and wrote about his experience there . Historical structures . Today , the former airfield is still the location of the school , known currently as Thunderbird School of Global Management . The campus still contains many original airfield buildings , including the airfield control tower ( which has been restored ) , barracks , and one large airplane hangar .