Departure
99%
vs 95% ▲ 4
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Orlando Sanford International Airport (KSFB) lies at Sanford, Florida, a few miles northeast of the city of Orlando and about 20 miles north of the region's main gateway, Orlando International Airport. Built as a Navy master jet base and now home to Allegiant Air's Florida operations, it offers a sim pilot a full-length ILS-equipped runway complex and Class C air traffic control in a less congested corner of the Orlando area.
Orlando Sanford International Airport, ICAO code KSFB, serves the Orlando metropolitan area from the city of Sanford, Florida. It is owned by the Sanford Airport Authority and operated by Airports Worldwide, and functions as a secondary, lower-cost alternative to Orlando International Airport, with Allegiant Air using the field as an operating base. For the simulator pilot it combines a long, ILS-served main runway with a genuine slice of Cold War and jet-age naval aviation history, all set within Class C airspace beneath Orlando's Class B.
KSFB sits in Class C airspace that underlies the Orlando Class B airspace, and the field is located approximately 20 miles north of Orlando International Airport (KMCO). The airport lies at Sanford, Florida, within the Greater Orlando area, coordinates 28.7772 N, 81.2349 W.
The airfield has four physical runway pairs. The main runway, 09L/27R, is a hard-surfaced, lit strip of roughly 9,995 to 10,993 feet fitted with ILS at both ends. A second parallel runway, 09R/27L, ranges from about 4,994 feet (09R) to 6,638 feet (27L), hard-surfaced and lit, with ILS serving the 09R threshold. A third parallel strip, 09C/27C, is a shorter hard-surfaced, lit runway of about 3,574 feet. The crosswind runway, 18/36, is a hard-surfaced, lit runway of about 6,010 feet. Field elevation is 39 feet.
Sanford Tower provides air traffic control on 120.3 MHz, which also serves as the CTAF. Ground movements are handled on 121.35 MHz, and the same frequency is used for clearance delivery (CLD). The airport's ATIS broadcasts on 125.975 MHz, and an air/departure frequency of 119.775 MHz is also published for approach and departure. ILS approaches are available for runway 09L/27R and for runway 09R.
KSFB operates within Class C airspace, so pilots must establish two-way radio contact with air traffic control before entering the airspace; specific circuit heights and joining instructions are not detailed in the sources reviewed.
The airfield began life as Naval Air Station Sanford, commissioned on 3 November 1942, and served as a master jet base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance aircraft until the Navy withdrew in 1969. The City of Sanford then took control, renaming it Sanford Airport and establishing the Sanford Airport Authority, with retired naval officer Commander J. S. "Red" Cleveland as its first airport manager. Initially uncontrolled, the tower was reactivated in the early 1970s as a non-FAA facility staffed by retired Navy controllers, and the airport passed through several names, including Sanford Regional Airport, Central Florida Regional Airport and Orlando Sanford Regional Airport, before becoming Orlando Sanford International Airport. Parts of the 1992 film Passenger 57 were filmed here, after which a new control tower was built and FAA air traffic control took over; the old Navy tower and hangar were demolished. A new jet-capable terminal followed in the mid-1990s, and the airport became a hub for European charter airlines, particularly those serving British tourist traffic bound for Central Florida. Allegiant Air has operated from Sanford since 1998, and the field has at various times hosted Thomas Cook Airlines, Monarch Airlines, Interjet and Icelandair, among other carriers.
Orlando Sanford International Airport remains an active, FAA-controlled Class C airport handling both airline and general aviation traffic, with Allegiant Air maintaining an operating base there. Its long ILS-equipped runway and secondary status relative to Orlando International Airport make it a practical, lower-traffic gateway for airline-style operations in the Central Florida area.