WATCH: Scenic Orlando Melbourne International Airport Runway 5-23 Re-Opens to Applause

By  //  April 12, 2018

Voted top aircraft approach in USA; Sixth in world

SPACE COAST DAILY TV: One of the world’s most famous airport runways re-opened Thursday after undergoing a complete rehaul – its first in nearly 25 years. Orlando Melbourne International Airport’s (MLB) Runway 5-23 serves nearly 2,000 general aviation operations a week at the coastal Florida commercial airport. (V Wing News video)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – One of the world’s most famous airport runways re-opened today after undergoing a complete rehaul – its first in nearly 25 years. Orlando Melbourne International Airport’s (MLB) Runway 5-23 serves nearly 2,000 general aviation operations a week at the coastal Florida commercial airport.

And just this week, the airport’s approach was once again voted as the most beautiful airport approach in the USA and moved up to sixth in the world by Private Fly magazine.

Aircraft to and from MLB fly over Florida’s gulf stream, tropical barrier islands and the Indian River Lagoon – all which teem with wildlife and native fauna for which the region is famous.

“Private pilots rave about the view, and commercial passengers lean toward the window with their phone cameras,” said Rob Himler, Airport Communications Coordinator who himself learned to fly on Runway 5-23 as a student at Florida Institute of Technology.

Just this week, the airport’s approach was once again voted as the most beautiful airport approach in the USA and moved up to sixth in the world by Private Fly magazine.
Orlando Melbourne International Airport’s (MLB) Runway 5-23 serves nearly 2,000 general aviation operations a week at the coastal Florida commercial airport.
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WATCH: Orlando Melbourne International Airport’s Newly Refurbished Runway Comes in Under Budget

Runway 5-23 is the primary runway for FIT’s flight training school.

More than a hundred aviation enthusiasts lined the runway Thursday to watch three aircraft take to the skies in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean, flying from the runway to the coastline in seconds.

The runway rehabilitation cost nearly $1.3 million, of which the State of Florida Department of Transportation contributed half. Due to pilot demand, the construction was completed three weeks early, led by Cocoa, Florida’s V.A. Paving.

All contractors and subs that worked on the project were locally based.

Participating in the “first flights” today was MLB’s AmbassaDog, Kuma, who sat right seat with her owner, Derek Fallon, in a Cessna 172. Fallon and his wife own Melbourne Flight Training which operates from MLB. He joked, “Today Dog was truly my co-pilot.”

FIT seniors Lenard Gervais and Hayden Flemming also took off during the ceremony in separate FIT Piper Archers to the delight of the crowd.

Orlando Melbourne International Airport serves the Central Florida coast with three runways, a 200,000 square-foot terminal and a 40,000 square-foot customs facility. The airport, lead by Executive Director Greg Donovan, A.A.E, is convenient to Space Coast beaches, Orlando, Kennedy Space Center and Port Canaveral.

For more information, visit www.MLBair.com

More than a hundred aviation enthusiasts, along with Brevard officials, lined the Orlando Melbourne Airport runway Thursday cut the ribbon and watch three aircraft take to the skies in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean, flying from the runway to the coastline in seconds.
Orlando Melbourne International Airport serves the Central Florida coast with three runways, a 200,000 square-foot terminal and a 40,000 square-foot customs facility. The airport, lead by Executive Director Greg Donovan, A.A.E, above center, is convenient to Space Coast beaches, Orlando, Kennedy Space Center and Port Canaveral.
More than a hundred aviation enthusiasts lined the Orlando Melbourne Airport runway Thursday to watch three aircraft take to the skies in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean, flying from the runway to the coastline in seconds.
Participating in the “first flights” Thursday was MLB’s AmbassaDog, Kuma.
Participating in the “first flights” Thursday was MLB’s AmbassaDog, Kuma, who sat right seat with her owner, Derek Fallon, in a Cessna 172. Fallon and his wife own Melbourne Flight Training which operates from MLB. He joked, “Today Dog was truly my co-pilot.”

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