Departure
93%
vs 95% ▼ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Miami Executive Airport (KTMB), formerly Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, is a busy general aviation reliever field in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, some 15 miles southwest of Downtown Miami. It handles a wide mix of corporate, training, recreational and government flying, and offers full ILS and GPS approaches, making it a useful and interesting destination for the simulator pilot exploring South Florida's general aviation scene.
Miami Executive Airport serves as a reliever to Miami International Airport and is one of Florida's busiest general aviation facilities. It is owned by Miami-Dade County and operated by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, supporting corporate, recreational, flight-training and government aviation activity, including law enforcement and medical aviation units. The field is also home to the Wings Over Miami Aviation Museum and the Miami-Dade College aviation program, giving it plenty of character for a virtual visit.
The airport lies in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, close to the community of Kendall and about 15 miles southwest of Downtown Miami. It functions as a reliever airport to Miami International Airport and sits within the surrounding Miami terminal airspace, with an FAA-staffed control tower providing air traffic control. The field also serves as a port of entry, with U.S. Customs personnel available for private aircraft clearance.
Miami Executive has three physical hard-surfaced runways, all lit. The longest, 09R/27L, is about 5,992 ft, with an ILS approach available to runway 09R. Runway 09L/27R is roughly 4,998 ft, and the crosswind runway 13/31 is about 3,995 ft. Field elevation is 7 ft above mean sea level.
The tower and common traffic frequency is 118.9 MHz, with ground control on 121.7 MHz. ATIS broadcasts on 124 MHz, and clearance delivery is available on 133 MHz. A radio outlet operates on 122.2 MHz, and Miami Approach/Departure handles arrivals and departures on 125.5 MHz. Runway 09R is served by an ILS with MALSR lighting, together with GPS approaches, while runway 27L offers a GPS approach; PAPI visual glideslope indicators are provided on several runway ends. The airport is also home to Miami's Automated International Flight Service Station, which provides en-route communications, flight plan processing and pilot weather briefings for the busy South Florida flight-planning area.
Traffic pattern altitude for heavy and jet aircraft is 1,500 ft MSL, and 1,000 ft MSL for other fixed-wing traffic. Helicopters use a dedicated traffic corridor between the parallel runways at 500 ft MSL. The airport asks all operators to be mindful of the adjacent residential communities: turbine and large aircraft crews are requested to fly NBAA-recommended noise abatement profiles, and training flights should avoid abrupt power changes directly over residential areas. Flight training activity is limited to aircraft weighing less than 40,000 lbs.
The airport lies near the Florida Turnpike and provides ready access toward Ocean Reef and the Florida Keys, useful general orientation points for a pilot approaching from the south. A now-disused seaplane runway from the airport's early years remains visible on the north side of the airfield and can serve as a distinctive visual marker when planning a visual approach.
The airport opened on 18 November 1967, replacing the original Tamiami Airport, which had stood near the Tamiami Trail until its proximity to Miami International Airport's flight paths forced relocation southwest near Kendall; the site of the old airport is now occupied by Florida International University. It was renamed from Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport to Miami Executive Airport on 7 October 2014 by the Miami-Dade County Commission, as part of a rebranding of the county's secondary airports. Runway 9L has also hosted a controversial Ohio University Avionics Engineering Center test facility, used in 2007-8 to help certify the steep-approach landing system on the Embraer ERJ-170 and ERJ-190 for operations into London City Airport. The airport has seen serious accidents over the years, including the loss of a Convair CV-240 during a simulated engine-failure training exercise in November 1978, and the crash of a Beechcraft 1900C shortly after takeoff in February 2015.
Today the airport supports a wide range of general aviation activity, hosting full-service FBOs, FAA Part 141 flight schools, FAA-approved maintenance repair stations, and the Miami-Dade Police Aviation Unit. It remains a hub for corporate aviation and is the base for the Tamiami Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, the Miami-Dade College aviation program and the Wings Over Miami Aviation Museum, and it hosts events such as the annual Sunrise Community Balloon Race. The control tower operates from 0700 to 2300 local time, and self-serve avgas is available around the clock. As a designated port of entry, the airport requires prior arrangement for U.S. Customs clearance and prior permission should be sought before flying in for international arrivals.