Ground Control - Smaller Public Airports in the Orlando Area
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1) Leesburg International Acres: 850 Commercial airlines: Corporate and private only Annual flights (in and out): 60,000 Projects: Businesses leasing airport space employ about 350 and include aviation companies plus restaurants, an auto dealership, an urgent-care medical facility and a furniture and carpet company. The ultimate goal, airport manager Charlie Weller says, is to bring passenger service to Leesburg, possibly in the next five to 10 years. The airport extended its longest airstrip from 5,000 to 6,300 feet |
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2) Kissimmee Gateway Acres: 100 Commercial airlines: Corporate and private only Annual flights (in and out): 130,000 Projects: Sunstate Aviation and the airport are taking bids this spring to build a 10,000-sq.-ft. hangar and 5,000-sq.-ft. office/classroom facility. Another flight school, Orlando Flight Training, expands at the city-owned airport this summer. Last October, the airport dedicated about 2,000 square feet of a $1.1-million new hangar for an extension of the Kissimmee Air Museum; the remaining 12,000 square feet of space is for companies to lease. New extension of the Kissimmee Air Museum |
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3) Daytona Beach International Acres: 2,000 Commercial airlines: US Airways and Delta Annual flights (in and out): 311,801 Projects: The Volusia County-owned airport houses Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, which is undergoing $125 million in improvements. Another tenant, Daytona International Speedway, is building Daytona Live!, a 71-acre complex expected to bring additional hotels and retail to the area. Rick Karl, the airport’s new executive director, and Stephen Cooke, the airport’s business development director, say they’re looking at how to bring together the area’s five colleges to develop incubator sites. Rendering of Embry-Riddle improvements |
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4) Melbourne International Acres: 2,450 Commercial airlines: Delta, Delta Connection, Direct Air, US Airways, Baer Air Annual flights (in and out): 164,000 Projects: Aircraft manufacturer Embraer has a new facility at the city-owned airport and plans to add 200 jobs when it opens in 2011. Other tenants in the airport’s 1,100-acre industrial complex include Northrop Grumman, Harris, General Electric, L-3 Communications, DRS and Rockwell Collins. Florida Institute of Technology plans to jointly develop 100 acres of the airport’s industrial complex into a research park. One of its key tenants will be the Florida Technology Research and Development Authority’s Business Innovation Center, an incubator created in 2007. Rendering of Embraer’s new facility [Rendering: BRPH Architects|Engineers] |