Airport Location

Avon Park Municipal Airport is located on the west side of Avon Park, which is in the northwest corner of Highlands County in south central Florida. The Airport is located on State Road 64, one mile west of U.S. Highway 27.  Avon Park is located on U.S. Highway 27 approximately 25 miles south of Lake Wales and State Road 60.

Two asphalt runways serve Avon Park Municipal Airport.  These runways are Runway 04/22 which is 5,364 feet long and 100 feet wide and in good condition, and Runway 09/27 which is 3,825 feet long and 75 feet wide and in poor condition.  Runway 04/22 is served by a full parallel taxiway that is 35 feet wide. Runway 09/27 is served by a partial taxiway that is 30 feet wide.  Runway 04/22 has both PAPIs and REILs.  Runway 09/27 has PAPIs.  The Airport has a 1,000 square foot general aviation terminal building to serve pilots and passengers.  There are 25 on-airport auto parking spaces to serve the terminal.  There are 10 tiedown spaces and 52 T-hangars.  Both are currently filled to capacity.  The airport also has two corporate hangars and one building suitable for a maintenance operation.

The Airport has identified several initiatives as necessary to serve general aviation demand in the near term, including the construction of a new FBO building, expansion of the general aviation apron, and installation of an AWOS.  The Airport had its most recent master plan review completed in 2002.

General Aviation

The largest plane that uses the Airport on a regular basis is a Gulfstream IV/V.  The current Airport Reference Code (ARC) as defined by the FAA Circular 150/5300-13 for the Airport is C-II.  General aviation constitutes a considerable portion of the Airport’s annual activity.  The Airport currently reports 61 based general aviation aircraft.  Of this total, approximately 52 are in T-hangars or conventional hangars.  The Airport presently reports a waiting list for hangars.  The current FDOT work plan for Avon Park Municipal shows plans to develop an additional 40 covered storage spaces. 

The Airport has no aviation training programs that are connected with any of the local colleges, universities, or technical schools.  Historic and forecast FDOT aviation activity information on file for Avon Park Municipal Airport follows:

Source:  Airport records and FASP 2004.

Community Services

In its current role, the Airport focuses primarily on serving general aviation aircraft.  The Airport currently focuses on recreational activity and flight training with a growing corporate presence becoming more evident.  They do not see the Airport serving more flight training activity, but they do see the Airport serving more recreational and business activity.  The Airport could support SATS-related air taxi operations.  The Airport’s future goal is to grow as a recreational airport.  The Airport does not report any restrictions on the future growth of the Airport as a result of community relations, manmade factors, or financial shortfalls.  Additionally, the Airport sees itself experiencing modest growth in the coming years. 

Flight training is a major component of this airport’s general aviation activity.  Roughly 20 percent of the Airport’s annual operations are related to flight training.  There is one flight school on the property and it has based aircraft at the Airport dedicated to flight training. General aviation operations related to corporate and business users are also common at the Airport.  The Airport estimates that 40 percent of its annual general aviation operations are business-related.  Approximately 40 percent of the Airport’s based aircraft are owned by local businesses.  Approximately 5 percent of all visiting general aviation aircraft fall into the business jet category.  The Airport does not support an industrial park.  However, approximately 30 acres of airport property are being leased for non-aviation activities that include a five-building complex on 32 acres east of Runway 22.

Recent airport improvement projects include the extension of Runway 4/22 to its current length of 5,364 feet and the renovation of Runway 4/22 to include its widening to 100 feet.  These improvements allow the Airport to accommodate larger, more demanding corporate jet aircraft.  Additional improvements include the installation of PAPIs on Runway 9/27 and the construction of 14 T-Hangars and one corporate hangar.  Future planned improvements are the installation of an AWOS, rehabilitation of Runway 9/27, expansion of the tie-down apron, construction of a new operations building (FBO), an upgrade of the perimeter fencing with automated access, and the construction of more T-Hangars and corporate hangars.

The Airport has one flight school and serves mostly recreational aviation, making it a Flight Training and Recreational/Sport airport. It also serves an agriculture spraying operation, making it a Business/Recreational airport. The Airport would like to continue serving flight training in the future, but not recreational aviation.  Instead, it would like to cater to business jets.  However, its low Corporate quotient, due to low Land Use Compatibility, Financial and Approaches indices, indicate that this is not a good airport for providing Corporate service.  It received the same quotient for Business/Recreational, indicating that it does not have the necessary facilities to serve this segment in the future.

- Last updated 16 April 2004