In the early 1960s, when jet airline flights came to Orlando, the installation became a joint civil-military facility.Įarly jetliners such as the Boeing 707, Boeing 720, Douglas DC-8 and Convair 880 required longer and sturdier runways than the ones at Herndon Airport (now Orlando Executive Airport). USAF responsibility for the airfield's air traffic control tower was turned over to the Federal Aviation Administration ( FAA) and the airport established its own crash, fire and rescue department, initially utilizing equipment transferred by the GSA. The following year, McCoy's 306th Bombardment Wing was inactivated, its B-52D Stratofortress and KC-135A Stratotanker aircraft reassigned to other SAC units and most of the McCoy AFB facility turned over to the city of Orlando by the General Services Administration (GSA) in late 1974 and early and mid 1975. McCoy AFB was identified for closure in early 1973 as part of a post-Vietnam reduction in force. Following the crisis, McCoy AFB hosted a permanent U-2 operating detachment of the 100th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing until 1973. Its pilot, Major Rudolf Anderson Jr., USAF, was the crisis' only combat death. One of these U-2s was shot down by Soviet-operated SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missiles near Banes, Cuba. It was also used by EC-121 Warning Star early warning aircraft of the 966th Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron, a tenant unit at McCoy assigned to the Aerospace Defense Command.ĭuring the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, McCoy AFB became a temporary forward operating base for more than 120 F-100 Super Sabre and F-105 Thunderchief fighter bombers and the primary base for U-2 reconnaissance aircraft flying over Cuba. The base later was home to the 306th Bombardment Wing operating the B-52 Stratofortress and the KC-135 Stratotanker. The following year the base was renamed for McCoy. A B-47 Stratojet crashed during the 1958 competition, killing Colonel Michael Norman Wright McCoy, commander of the 321st Bombardment Wing, which was the host wing for Pinecastle AFB. In the 1950s, the base began hosting SAC's annual Bombing and Navigation Competition. Air Force in 1947, the airfield was briefly placed in caretaker status, until being reactivated during the Korean War as a Strategic Air Command (SAC) facility for B-47 Stratojets and KC-97 Stratofreighters and renamed Pinecastle AFB. With the establishment of an independent U.S. At the end of World War II, Pinecastle was briefly used for unpowered glide tests of the Bell X-1 from B-29 aircraft before the program moved to Muroc Army Airfield in California– now Edwards AFB – for the world's first supersonic flight. Orlando Army Air Field #2 was renamed Pinecastle Army Airfield in January 1943. Army Air Forces facility and military operations began in 1942 as Orlando Army Air Field #2, an auxiliary airfield to Orlando Army Air Base, now known as Orlando Executive Airport. The airfield was originally constructed as a U.S. The airport was also a hub for Delta Air Lines until 2007. In addition, the airport is home to a maintenance base for United Airlines. At 11,605 acres (4,696 ha), MCO is one of the largest commercial airports in terms of land area in the United States. The airport also serves 135 domestic and international destinations. ![]() ![]() The airport is also a major international gateway for the mid-Florida region, with over 850 daily flights on 44 airlines. Southwest is the airport's largest carrier by passengers carried. The airport serves as a hub for Silver Airways, an operating base for Avelo Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines, as well as a focus city for Frontier Airlines. The airport code MCO stands for the airport's former name, McCoy Air Force Base, a Strategic Air Command (SAC) installation, that was closed in 1975 as part of a general military drawdown following the end of the Vietnam War. In 2021, it had 19,618,838 enplanements, making it the busiest airport in the state and seventh busiest airport in the United States. Orlando International Airport ( IATA: MCO, ICAO: KMCO, FAA LID: MCO) is a primary international airport located 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Downtown Orlando, Florida. Passengers: Airports Council International Source: Aircraft operations: Federal Aviation Administration
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