Ocala International Airport

Ocala International Airport
Jim Taylor Field
IATA: OCF – ICAO: KOCF – FAA LID: OCF
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner City of Ocala
Serves Ocala, Florida
Elevation AMSL 89 ft / 27 m
Coordinates 29°10′21″N 082°13′27″W / 29.17250°N 82.22417°W / 29.17250; -82.22417
Website www.OcalaAirport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
18/36 7,467 2,276 Asphalt
8/26 3,009 917 Asphalt
Statistics (2005)
Aircraft operations 75,000
Based aircraft 145

Ocala International Airport (IATA: OCF, ICAO: KOCF, FAA LID: OCF) is a city-owned public airport five miles west of Ocala, in Marion County, Florida.[1] It is also known as Ocala International Airport-Jim Taylor Field and was previously Ocala Regional Airport or Jim Taylor Field.

The airport is about 31 miles south of Gainesville Regional Airport.

Facilities

Ocala International Airport covers 1,532 acres (620 ha) at an elevation of 89 feet (27 m). It has two asphalt runways: runway 18/36 is 7,467 by 150 feet (2,276 x 46 m) and runway 8/26 is 3,009 by 50 feet (917 x 15 m).[1]

The airport began in 1968 with one runway served by Eastern Airlines, one Convair a day JAX-GNV-OCF-VRB-MIA and back. The last Eastern Electra left around 1972.

Scheduled commercial air service continued through the late 1980's with service from:

Air Florida[2] (using 737, 727 and DC-9 aircraft) serving Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Gainesville[3]

USAir Express (Operated by Allegheny Commuter)[4] service to Orlando

Skyway Commuter turboprop service to Orlando.[5]

The last commercial flight left Ocala in 1987 when USAir Express stopped service to Ocala, but facilities expanded to include a 3,000 foot crosswind runway, an extension of the main runway to 6,900 feet, an instrument landing approach, and FAA Part 139 certification.

Scheduled airlines are unlikely to return to Ocala.[6]

In 2004 a $1.3 million plan was put in motion to upgrade apron security systems. The airport is the first in the state to use the polycon pavement surface treatment.

In 2008 the airport had 75,000 aircraft operations, average 205 per day: 98% general aviation, 1% air taxi and 1% military. 145 aircraft were then based at the airport: 68% single-engine, 23% multi-engine, 6% jet and 3% helicopter.[1]

In May 2009 construction began on an air traffic control tower. The tower was certified and staffed as an FAA Level I contract control tower in summer 2010.

In 2012, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John released a Christmas album containing the track "I Think You Might Like It", whose music video features the FBO at the airport. Travolta lives nearby, at the Jumbolair fly-in community, which also makes an appearance in the video.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 FAA Airport Master Record for OCF (Form 5010 PDF), effective 2008-07-31
  2. ↑ "QH042582". www.departedflights.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  3. ↑ "QH090882p8". www.departedflights.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  4. ↑ "US060187". www.departedflights.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  5. ↑ "MCO85p3". www.departedflights.com. Retrieved 2016-11-03.
  6. ↑ http://www.ocalafl.org/uploadedFiles/Development_Services/Engineering/Ocala_International_Airport/Guiding_Documents/Airport_Master_Plan_Final_Report.pdf (p. 4-19: "Consequently, no scheduled commercial passenger service is forecast for the Airport over the next 20 years.")
  7. ↑ Travolta, John; Newton-John, Olivia. "I Think You Might Like It". YouTube. Vevo. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
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