Cecil Field is a public joint civil-military airport located in Jacksonville, a city in Duval County, Florida, United States. The airport is owned by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and services military aircraft, corporate aircraft, general aviation, and air cargo. The Florida Army National Guard's primary Army Aviation Support Facility and the U.S. Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) are also located here, the former operating CH-47 Chinook, UH-60 Blackhawk and C-12 Huron aircraft, while the latter operates the MH-65C Dolphin helicopter.

Cecil Field, commonly known as either "Cecil" or "Cecil Commerce Center," also houses the FCCJ (Florida Community College at Jacksonville) aviation course hangar and associated training aircraft. Facilities operated by major aerospace firms such as Boeing and Northrop Grumman are also located at Cecil, providing major maintenance and overhaul services for a variety of U.S. military aircraft.

Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, Cecil Field is assigned VQQ by the FAA and NZC by the IATA. The airport's ICAO identifier is KVQQ. The NZC identifier was the airport's previous FAA identifier when it was Naval Air Station Cecil Field, its former name until its closure as a naval air station in 1999.

Cecil Field is often the coldest spot in the State of Florida during the months of October to April, when temperatures there are often much colder than in other locales in the state.

History

The airport is located on the site of the former Naval Air Station Cecil Field, which opened in 1941 and closed in 1999 following the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decision. Covering a total area of 22,939 acres (92.8 km²), it was the largest military base in the Jacksonville area and supported all Atlantic Fleet F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter squadrons and S-3 Viking sea control squadrons.

Facilities and aircraft

Cecil Field covers an area of 6,000 acres (24 km²) and contains four runways:

• Runway 9L/27R: 8,002 x 200 ft. (2,439 x 61 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
• Runway 9R/27L: 8,003 x 200 ft. (2,439 x 61 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
• Runway 18L/36R: 12,504 x 200 ft. (3,811 x 61 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete
• Runway 18R/36L: 8,003 x 200 ft. (2,439 x 61 m), Surface: Asphalt/Concrete

For 12-month period ending September 30, 1999, the airport had 64,255 aircraft operations, an average of 176 per day: 73% military (46,783) and 27% general aviation (17,472). There are 107 aircraft based at this airport: 64% military (69), 16% jet aircraft (17), 10% single engine (11) and 9% helicopters (10).

References

1. Jacksonville Airport Authority: Cecil Field
2. Great Circle Mapper: NZC / KVQQ - Jacksonville, Florida (Cecil Field)
3. GlobalSecurity.org: NAS Cecil Field

External links

• Cecil Field page at the Jacksonville Aviation Authority website
• brochure from CFASPP (July 2006)