Kissimmee Gateway Airport … Location is Everything!
One of the hidden jewels of the Central Florida and Orlando area is Kissimmee. It’s a place where local people live and it’s also a place where people love to come on vacation.
The City of Kissimmee has around 65,000 residents and is part of Osceola County. Located south of Orlando, Kissimmee is the closest neighbor to Walt Disney World.
The area is a great place to work, live and play and it has many interesting places to enjoy away from the theme parks.
Getting here is relatively simple. The area is easily located off I4 or the Turnpike so driving is not a problem but even so, some people enjoy a different way of travel and they actually fly into Kissimmee via Kissimmee Gateway Airport. We previously talked about Kissimmee Airport back in 2009 here, so it was time to revisit the venue and get an update.
The airport was opened in April 1940 by the United States Army Air Forces and was known back then as Kissimmee Army Airfield. It was used extensively as part of the Air University Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) tactical combat simulation school in Central and North Florida. Training was moved to southern California in January 1944 and the military use of the field was phased down until the airfield was closed on 7 July 1945 before being returned to civilian use by the end of that year.
Kissimmee Gateway Airport covers an area of 892 acres (361 ha) which contains two asphalt paved runways, one of whom has just undergone a four month improvement project. The two runways are known as 6/24 measuring 5,000 x 150 ft (1,524 x 46 m) and 15/33 measuring 6,000 x 100 ft (1,829 x 30 m). Today the airport hosts a variety of general aviation aircraft operations and there are roughly 350 flights per day that use the facility.
The airport has an operational control tower, medium intensity runway lights, airport weather observation system (AWOS-3) and a Category I instrument landing system (ILS) on its main runway. The facility is also equipped with VOR, NDB and GPS approaches.
The airport has three fixed based operators on site, Kissimmee Aviation Services, Signature Flight Support and Ranger Jet Center, as well as a number of flight training schools, new T-hangars, box hangars, and a variety of recreational activities. For those that enjoy watching the comings and goings of aircraft, there are also two look out areas from which to observe flight maneuvers.
Recently the facility completed two major projects, a new five-acre Business Airpark as well as new taxiway and road access in the new AeroVista development. The projects make about 20 acres open to both aviation and non-aviation development. The AeroVista development is the result of a new four-lane public road (Hoagland Blvd) constructed through the airport’s northeast side. Part of the area south of Hoagland Boulevard is now under lease to Signature Flight Support while Ranger Jet Center also has hangars for lease and property sited for a large-scale aircraft maintenance hangar.
Kissimmee airport is also home to the Kissimmee Airport Museum. This is where you can fly in a warbird and take a look at some of the great airplanes of the past. You can check them out at http://www.warbirdadventures.com/
The airports own web site can be found here.
More photographs at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
