[Shimpy]

Originally Posted by The Mountaineer

As for the MCO, I guess I thought everyone who has been to Orlando International Airport would know what that meant and I didn't want confusion about Samford Airport.

MCO is a designation left over from it used to be an Air Force SAC (strategic air command) base.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by Shimpy

MCO is a designation left over from it used to be an Air Force SAC (strategic air command) base.

Until 1975 OIA was known as McCoy Air Force Base AFB, and the identifier was MCO.



I never flew out of McCoy but in 1970 I flew out of Tampa. The terminal was one large building and the passenger boarding areas were outside under a roof with a chain link fence between the ramp and the gates. For boarding you walked out onto the ramp and up portable stairs.

My trip in 1970 happened during the renovation. They had a single north/south runway and the terminal sat in the southeast corner. During my year away, they built a parallel Runway 18/36 to the west and built the existing new terminal with the skyrails taking passengers to the planes between the two runways. When I returned in Dec 1971 it was a major difference when I arrived at TPA.

Before



After

[The Mountaineer]

I used the Village Airport Van because they came to our Bonita Drive door. But I was the first pickup at 8 a.m. and there were 7 other pickups all over The Villages. By the time we left the Villages, it was a little after 9 a.m. We got to Orlando Airport at 10:10 and it took NINETY MINUTES to get from the front door through TSA screening because there were people wall to wall, a lot of them with Mickey Mouse souvenirs. By the time I got to my gate, they were boarding the plane. I made it, but it was close, and I was picked up at home 4 hours before takeoff. Price is great $40. But it made for a sweaty beginning. Charlotte was a piece of cake by comparison. Thanks for all the suggestions. And I still think that everyone who flies out of Orlando knows what MCO means. If they don't, then they wouldn't be able to help with the transportation to the airport query.