Okeechobee County Airport is a
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
located 3 mi (4.82 km) northwest of
Okeechobee, in
unincorporated Okeechobee County
Okeechobee County () is a county located in the Florida Heartland region of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,644. The county seat is Okeechobee.
History
Okeechobee County was incorporated in 1917. It was ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
.
[ - Find the icon of the aircraft.]
History
The airport was opened in April 1940 as Conners Field. It was leased by the
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
in 1941 as an auxiliary training field, and used by the
Hendricks Army Airfield B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...
training school near
Sebring during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The runways and other facilities were improved by the Army, and the airport was used for training
touch-and-go landing
In aviation, a touch-and-go landing (TGL) or circuit and bump is a maneuver that is common when learning to fly a fixed-wing aircraft. It involves landing on a runway and takeoff, taking off again without coming to a full stop. Usually the pilot ...
s landings and emergencies. No permanent military units or personnel were assigned. With the end of the war in 1945, the site was returned for civil use.
Since then, Okeechobee has been operated as a general aviation airport.
See also
*
Florida World War II Army Airfields
During World War II, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) established numerous airfields in Florida for antisubmarine defense in the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico and for training pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters, attack planes, an ...
*
List of airports in Florida
This is a list of airports in Florida (a U.S. state), grouped by type and sorted by location. It contains all public-use and military airports in the state. Some private-use and former airports may be included where notable, such airports that w ...
References
World War II airfields database: Florida
External links
*
Airports in Florida
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Florida
Transportation buildings and structures in Okeechobee County, Florida
1940 establishments in Florida
Airports established in 1940
{{Florida-airport-stub