timz From United States of America, joined Sep 1999, 6468 posts, RR: 8 Posted (2 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 18 hours ago) and read 1763 times:
Sounds unlikely, but...
The QR OAG for 15 October 1961 shows no jets at Orlando, then the 1 Nov QR shows DL 841 CV880 ORD-ATL-ORL-DAL-LAX. No mention of MCO. The 15 Nov shows the same, then the 1 December includes "MCO" in the listing.
The 2/60 airport diagram shows the longest runway 5568 ft, then by 1966 they had a new 6000-ft runway. No idea when that runway opened.
srbmod From United States of America, joined Mar 2001, 16888 posts, RR: 51 Reply 1, posted (2 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 16 hours ago) and read 1670 times:
Going off of the ORL website, airlines started transferring service to MCO (it was a joint use facility with the USAF until the AFB side closed down in the mid-1970s) in 1962 and had completed the move by 1968.
Going off of the Wikipedia article for MCO, the move from ORL to MCO was the result of the runways at ORL not being suitable for the first generation jets (707. DC-8. Convair 880).
WA707atMSP From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 2043 posts, RR: 13 Reply 2, posted (2 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 1378 times:
There was much less demand for travel to / from Orlando in the early 1960s than there is today. Orlando didn't start booming until the mid 1960s, with passengers headed to / from the Kennedy Space Center, and its growth accelerated dramatically when Walt Disney World opened in 1971.
I'm sure the main reason there were so few jets in / out of Orlando in 1961 was because there simply weren't enough passengers to fill them.
isitsafenow From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 4984 posts, RR: 26 Reply 3, posted (2 years 7 months 4 weeks 1 day 2 hours ago) and read 1347 times:
EA started DC8's into McCoy. Im thinking 1961, but not sure.. History showed a gradual movement to MCO through the 60's as more jets were delivered to the carriers.
There never were commercial jets at the old airport.
safe
[Edited 2010-09-29 06:18:26]
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