Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for landing. A variety of aircraft will be grounded for closer inspection by the public this weekend in Chandler.

I knew a lot about B-17 Flying Fortresses - or thought I did. I spent much of the 1970s assembling models of them in my basement. I once knew the B-17's battle history, armaments, bomb load, flight range and every stat my glue-addled brain could hold.

The Commemorative Air Force Aircraft Museum in Mesa will hold an open house on Nov. 11, featuring a new exhibit honoring “Chow Hound,” the B-17 Flying Fortress lost during World War II.

The Commemorative Air Force’s Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, FIFI — the only remaining flight ready example of the aircraft in the world — will visit Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Thursday, Feb. 28 through Sunday, March 3.

Airplane enthusiasts and history buffs will have the chance this week to see three famous aircraft of World War II at Deer Valley Airport.

Three World War II vintage bombers are landing in Scottsdale on Friday for a weekend of instructive tours and exciting flying.

My weekend? Thanks for asking. Let’s see. Dinner with a friend on Friday, bowling on Saturday night. Oh, and I was the bombardier on a B-17 bomber on Saturday morning.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has gone rogue, and he's taken Santa Claus with him.

Jacob Webb wasn’t alarmed when a B-24 bomber flew over his house. Instead, he was eager to see it up close, get inside and play with the machine guns onboard.

When astronaut Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, when Elvis Presley said “Aloha” in Hawaii, each did so in a jumpsuit. Charles Lindbergh wore one. So did Rosie the Riveter, Emma Peel and Catwoman. (Not the same one, obviously.)

Like sentinels frozen in time, hulking bombers and sleek fighter jets stand side-by-side in a hangar at Falcon Field, reminders of campaigns fading now even for those who once flew and fought.

Holding a shiny, hand-painted model of a B-17 bomber up against the powdery blue sky Friday, Mesa resident Stanton Rickey looked back more than six decades to when he piloted the real thing in a bloody war.