Trip Report: Florida A to Z
First published in 2007. Reformatted 2025. I'd been looking forward to this work trip to Avon Park Air Force Range. Florida was home for two years back in my junior high school days. A chance to return to The Sunshine State for some sightseeing was a welcome opportunity--especially since the week before this we had ice storms in Texas. Just a reminder PIN means Permanent Installation Number and ILC means Installation Location Code; I include these for Air Force properties when I know them.Saturday, 20 January 2007
An early flight from DFW put me in Tampa and in a rented Grand Prix before noon. I had a lot of miles to cover before sunset. Air Force Plant #74 FL, PIN 6778, 26-55-00, 80-22-40. Driving far to the southeast, I was disappointed to find the entrance at this former plant securely locked. Air Products used the plant to produce liquid hydrogen for the Air Force from 1957 to 1964. Then, the facility spent a decade assigned to the Navy before being disposed of by the government. Checking at the adjacent J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area, I read that the property is now owned by Pratt & Whitney.Sign
Gate Palm Beach AFB FL, PIN 1005, ILC STXG, 26-41-00, 80-05-30. Heading closer to the east coast of the state, I found that this former base had been seriously renovated to become the current Palm Beach International Airport. I found one building that I suspect goes back to the Air Force days, and probably to the WWII Morrison Field days. It has most recently been a restaurant with a military theme, though it closed last year and now sits empty.
General view
Building
Building I stopped for the night in Clewiston, Florida. Only 6.5 hours on the road, covering 317 miles.
Sunday, 21 January 2007
Riddle Field (Plancor 1480) FL, 26-44-30, 81-03-00. Getting an early start, I made it to the former airfield just after sunrise. Now Airglades Airport, this was a contract flying school operated by Riddle-McKay Aero College for the Army Air Forces. The majority of the WWII flying school buildings were in this area that is now vacant. Partway through WWII, the Defense Plant Corporation purchased most of the Army's contract flying schools and gave them numbered Plancor designations.General view
General view
General view
General view
General view Buckingham AFB FL, PIN 3352, 26-38-30, 81-42-20. The former airfield is now the current Buckingham Field Airport, and new housing developments. Owned by the Lee County Mosquito Control District, a few C-47s and other aircraft were seen on part of the ramp. I was pleased to find an active runway superimposed on one section of the WWII concrete apron, serving a residential air park. The wind tetrahedron is visible just inside the fence of the current airport.
General view
General view
General view
General view
Wind tetrahedron
General view Carlstrom Field (Plancor 0455) FL, 27-07-30, 81-48-10. I was disappointed to find that a prison occupies the northern portion of the former airfield. Embry-Riddle Co. operated this contract flying school for the AAF. The hangars and other buildings from the WWI days were along the east side of the field, and as far as I could tell the only building left from those early days is a concrete block ammunition storage building. Partway through WWII, the Defense Plant Corporation purchased most of the Army's contract flying schools and gave them numbered Plancor designations.
Building
Building Bartow Air Base FL, 27-56-45, 81-47-00. Heading north past Arcadia, my next stop was Bartow Municipal Airport. This was Bartow AAFld during WWII, and was reopened by the Air Force during the 1950s as a contract flying school operated by Garner Aviation Services, Inc. I found some buildings that likely date back to military use, such as the control tower, an elevated water storage tank, a ground-level water storage tank, and the main gate check house.
Non-historic sign
Building
Buildings
Control tower
Control tower
Elevated water storage tank
Water reservoir
Gate Hendricks Field FL, 27-27-20, 81-20-45. I was making good time on a sunny day, so instead of quitting early I added a couple more stops to my ride. Cruising south to Sebring, I looked for Sebring Regional Airport. The current airport uses the north part of the former AAF field, and the south part is occupied by Sebring Raceway, home of the famous Twelve Hours of Sebring race. In fact, as I was photographing airfield buildings, I could hear and occasionally see race cars on the track for testing.
Control tower and hangar
Control tower
Control tower
Hangar
Hangar Avon Park Airport (Plancor 640) FL, 27-35-30, 81-31-30. In Avon Park, I looked for the local airport. During WWII, was a contract flying school operated for the AAF by Lodwick Aviation Military Academy. I found one industrial building that I suspect is a heavily-modified hangar of WWII vintage. Partway through WWII, the Defense Plant Corporation purchased most of the Army's contract flying schools and gave them numbered Plancor designations.
Building
Building My accommodations for the week were in Lake Wales. This day's drive covered 366 miles in 9.25 hours.
Saturday, 27 January 2007
McCoy AFB FL, PIN 1084, ILC PSAX, 28-26-00, 81-19-35. I loaded up the Grand Prix and checked out of the Lake Wales motel. Driving back to Orlando, I went to the west side of Orlando International Airport to see what was left of the former Air Force Base. Not much, as it turns out. A former warehouse now serves as a Naval Exchange. Two double-cantilever aircraft hangars still stand, both of them in good condition. A fuel systems maintenance dock still stands at one end of the ramp. The munitions storage area looked mostly intact, except that the ADC portion (rows of multi-cubicle storage magazines) has been demolished.Warehouse
Double-cantilever hangar
Double-cantilever hangar
Double-cantilever hangar
Fuel systems maintenance dock
Fuel systems maintenance dock Orlando AFB FL, PIN 1022, ILC SLWB, 28-33-00, 81-20-00. Driving north into town, I followed signs to Orlando Executive Airport, formerly an Air Force Base. This one was tough to explore, because many of the roads were blocked off for construction. I saw a few buildings that might date to military use.
Building
Building
Building Zephyrhills AAFld FL, 28-13-30, 82-09-30. The Z part of this report's title came next. I hadn't expected to find any military buildings at this former airfield, now Zephyrhills Municipal Airport. So, I was pleased to find one WWII barracks still standing, albeit heavily modified.
Building plaque
Building
Building
Building
Building I was making good time so I decided to change my overnight location from Zephyrhills to St. Petersburg. I lucked out, and stayed in lodging on MacDill AFB. This was a 10-hour driving day, covering 364 miles.
Sunday, 28 January 2007
This was an easy day. Sleep in, drive back to Tampa International, and take a flight home to DFW. I drove 1,400 miles on this trip. Updated January 26, 2025If you like what you find here, please consider making a monetary contribution. Domain name registration, web hosting, and travel cost plenty. You won't find any ads here to annoy you.