Departure
92%
vs 95% ▼ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Tampa Executive Airport (KVDF), formerly Vandenberg Airport, is a general aviation field in unincorporated Hillsborough County, Florida, a few miles northeast of downtown Tampa. It is the busiest GA facility in the Tampa Bay area, home to fixed-base operator Skyport Aviation and recently completed a multi-year, $33 million programme of runway, taxiway and lighting improvements.
Tampa Executive Airport, known by its ICAO code KVDF, serves as the primary general aviation gateway for the Tampa Bay region. Owned and operated by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, it handles roughly 100,000 flight operations a year and is used by business, training and recreational traffic. For a simulator pilot it offers a compact, modern GA field with a long primary runway, an ILS approach, and an interesting recent history of complete airfield reconstruction.
The airport lies in unincorporated Hillsborough County, Florida, close to the Interstate 4 and Interstate 75 corridor, roughly six to eight miles northeast of downtown Tampa. It sits within the wider Tampa Bay aviation environment, in reasonable proximity to Tampa International Airport, and is a well-used alternative for GA traffic wishing to avoid the busier commercial field.
Tampa Executive has two physical runways. The primary is Runway 05/23, a hard-surfaced strip 5,003 feet long, lit, with an ILS serving Runway 23. The secondary is Runway 18/36, also hard-surfaced and lit, at 3,201 feet in length. Field elevation is 16 feet.
Tampa Approach/Departure provides the A/D service on 119.9 MHz. The field has an AWOS-3 automated weather observation broadcast on 121.125 MHz, and CTAF/UNICOM traffic is handled on 122.7 MHz. Runway 23 is equipped with an ILS approach, and the field's medium-intensity approach lighting system was recently upgraded as part of airfield improvement works.
The airport was originally known as Vandenberg Airport before being renamed Tampa Executive Airport in January 2009, a change made to better identify the facility with the Tampa Bay area and to reduce confusion with Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It covers 411 acres and has long served as the downtown Tampa business community's general aviation airport, being only around fifteen minutes from the city centre.
Tampa Executive is operated by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority and remains the busiest general aviation airport in the Tampa Bay region, supporting around 100,000 flight operations annually. Skyport Aviation is the sole fixed-base operator on the field, providing fuel and other GA services from Hangar A/B, and also runs an on-site avionics school and the Florida Aerospace Training Center; its facility is generally staffed Monday to Friday, with Saturday service by appointment. The airport has just completed a multi-year, roughly 33 million dollar programme of airfield improvements, including full reconstruction of Runway 5-23 and its taxiways, rehabilitation of Runway 18-36, Apron C and associated taxiways, new signage and LED lighting throughout the airfield and hangar areas, and an upgrade to the medium-intensity approach lighting system. Three privately developed hangars are under construction and expected to open in 2026. The field also offers modern office space and transient aircraft storage for visiting business aircraft.