Tampa Executive Hones Airfield for Larger General Aviation Aircraft

With three active flight schools and more than 100,000 annual operations, Tampa Executive Airport (VDF) plays a vital role in the region’s aviation network and helps relieve congestion for nearby Tampa International Airport (TPA). Located only 15 minutes from the heart of downtown Tampa, FL, it accommodates general aviation aircraft as large as Gulfstream G800s and the Bombardier Global Express, which helps TPA handle more commercial volume. VDF’s two runways are critical for ensuring air traffic flow and supporting both economic growth and operational resilience for the Tampa Bay community and broader West Central Florida region.

In October, the airport finalized punch list items for the last phase of a $34 million, multi-year airfield pavement rehabilitation project that started in 2020. The work began with reconstructing its primary runway, 5-23, and connecting taxiways, and then moved on to upgrade multiple other taxiways to better accommodate large general aviation aircraft. The work concluded with the rehabilitation of Runway 18-36, Apron C and associated taxiways.

Chief Development Officer Smitha Radhakrishnan heads the airport’s Planning and Development Department, which supported the construction projects. The on-time, on-budget completion was led by Senior Construction Project Manager Chris Rhodes and Senior Project Director Ryne Bridges.

“These upgrades enhance VDF’s mission as a reliever airport for our region and are an important investment in the facilities that the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority provide for our region’s private pilots, flight schools and other business partners,” says Radhakrishnan.

In addition to owning and operating VDF and TPA, Hillsborough County Aviation Authority also owns and operates Peter O. Knight Airport (TPF) and Plant City Airport (PCM), two other general aviation facilities. Collectively, the airfields are increasingly busy, pushing VDF to grow.

Located at the intersections of two major interstates near key regional assets like the Florida State Fairgrounds and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, VDF is at the center of regional business and general aviation activity. The airport’s local economic impact is estimated at $434 million, and not surprisingly, its trajectory is closely tied to its large commercial sibling.

Passenger traffic at TPA continues to increase, commensurate with growth in the local metropolitan area. As one of Florida’s four large hub airports, TPA served about 25 million passengers in 2024. However, that number is expected to swell to nearly 35 million annual passengers by 2037, according to the airport’s Master Plan.

That growth has helped attract significant private investment in infrastructure at VDF, reflecting the region’s strong business climate and the airport’s growing role within the Tampa Bay aviation network. Recent milestones include the completion of an 11,954-square-foot hangar by Skyport Aviation in 2023 and an 11,200-square-foot facility by J.T. Keiser, LLC, in 2024, with three additional hangars now under construction.

“These developments highlight the increasing demand for high-quality general aviation facilities and reinforce our commitment to enhancing the customer experience and operational capabilities at VDF,” says Myles Parris, senior manager of General Aviation Operations and Maintenance.

Airfield Improvements

Brett Fay, vice president of general aviation for the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority, notes that much of the airport’s pavement, including its primary apron, had not been rehabilitated since the last major airport expansion in 1999, making improvements throughout the airfield timely and essential. In 2020, VDF management kicked off a comprehensive improvement project to modernize infrastructure and improve safety, executed in several phases.

The first phase focused on rehabilitating the 5,000-foot primary runway, 5-23, and its associated taxiways with fresh paving, lighting, signage, electrical systems and more. The second phase, launched in January 2024, was a $12 million taxiway enhancement project that improved connectivity and operational efficiency.

The most recent and final phase focused on Runway 18-36, the airport’s secondary runway, as well as the FBO ramp (Apron C) and several adjacent taxiways.

“Almost all of our pavement, all of our lights, and all of our signage is new,” says Fay. “We had already completed a major rehabilitation of our terminal building back in 2020 with new bathrooms, flooring and lighting to brighten it up. I would put our airport facilities against any airport in the state of Florida. They are some of the finest general aviation facilities that you will see, and the airport has put a tremendous amount of money into ensuring that we keep these airport facilities world-class.”

Juggling Closures

The Aviation Authority issued bid requests in 2019 for the Runway 5-23 and connector taxiways project at VDF. AVCON Inc. was selected to lead the design and construction administration, with provisions that gave the Aviation Authority flexibility to expand the project’s scope as needed. The construction contract, bid separately, was awarded to C.W. Roberts Contracting, which had expertise in large-scale airfield pavement projects.

AVCON Associate Vice President Michael Coppage, who has been working with the airport for several years, explains that VDF’s recent growth has included larger aircraft, so project planners and engineers incorporated pavement strengthening to handle the additional weight. In addition, they adjusted the intersection geometry of all taxiways.

“With larger aircraft come larger main gear width, which means you need more pavement for those aircraft to travel on, particularly in turns and intersections,” Coppage explains. “During the later phases of this effort, the Authority’s efforts to secure tenant developments, combined with the FBO’s growth, began to accelerate noticeably. So it was a privilege to assist the Authority with delivering these improvements to support that growth.”

The multi-phase rehabilitation required careful planning and coordination to minimize operational disruptions. Runway 5-23 was closed for eight weeks, divided evenly across two project phases, while the shorter crosswind runway, 18-36, was closed for 12 consecutive weeks for runway construction and to avoid unsafe back-taxi during taxiway construction. But Parris says the biggest challenge was managing construction on the airport’s main apron.

Apron C is where bigger jets connect to the VDF’s sole fixed-based operator, Skyport Aviation. Rather than shutting down the entire apron at once, AVCON worked with the Aviation Authority to split the job into two sections to keep operations flowing smoothly.

“We knew there would be some impact on our tenants, and we worked to minimize it through weekly construction meetings,” Parris adds. “We coordinated with our FBO, Planning and Development team, and AVCON to predict how much of an impact we would cause through each particular closure so we could prepare.”

Temporary Air Traffic Control 

To further minimize the impact to tenants and transient aircraft during various airfield improvement projects, the Aviation Authority hired a team of contract air traffic controllers from John-Wayne Air Cavalry, LLC. The controllers operated in an advisory capacity from a temporary advisory tower the airport already owned. Typically, traffic at the airfield comes and goes without guidance from a control tower, with pilots coordinating their own movements via standard traffic advisories. However, airport management wanted to provide an extra layer of situational awareness during the runway, taxiway and apron projects to minimize disruptions and ensure smooth traffic flow and enhanced operational safety.

The airport’s temporary advisory tower is equipped with a radio system and hooks up to a trailer, so it can be deployed anywhere on the airfield with accessible power. The portable tower unit had previously demonstrated its utility on multiple occasions when major sporting events such as the National College Football Championship and Super Bowl were held in Tampa.

“We closed down our crosswind runway and used it to park jets,” Fay remembers. “Our temporary air traffic control tower staff provided services to get everybody in and out safely.”

The portable unit again proved its worth during recent runway and taxiway projects.

Fay and Parris say that coordination with stakeholders is first and foremost for success during construction. It can be especially vital at general aviation airports like VDF, where there are limited alternate runways and taxiways, they add.

“We are all working together to minimize impact, and that starts very early in the planning process,” Parris says. “But also, flexibility is important. Things pop up, plans change, and we were able to make alterations to the phasing plan to improve the outcome for tenants and users.”

Lighting the Way

In addition to improving its airfield pavement, VDF took the opportunity during construction to replace existing incandescent lights with what Parris calls “more eco-friendly” LEDs. One key place was in its medium-intensity approach lighting system (MALSR).

“We didn’t install LED lights just on our runways and in the [airfield] signage,” Fay says. “They are around our hangars, too, and the entire airport. From a security perspective, that’s so critically important to have those facilities well lit.”

The visual difference is almost unbelievable, he adds, noting that the new LEDs are much brighter and crisper. Drone footage taken at night before and after the lighting upgrade show the dramatic improvement.

“You could almost see that airport from space,” Fay jokes. “It’s that bright.”

Before the project team could get to that point, however, it had to clear one big hurdle: part of the approach lighting system in the median between the northbound and southbound lanes of a nearby interstate highway. Crews discovered that the conduits carrying the signal and power cables for the MALSR lights under I-75 were obstructed, likely crushed or impacted when Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) widened the road several years ago.

AVCON coordinated with the FDOT to secure expedited approval for plans to replace the underground cables. After crews used subsurface utility engineering to locate existing FDOT-owned infrastructure like highway lighting and fiber-optic lines, they replaced conduits using directional drilling under the highway. The design team also coordinated with Florida Gas to avoid conflicts with its underground transmission lines and easements in the corridor. The Aviation Authority engaged Aviation Construction & Electric LLC, which had performed work at Plant City Airport (PCM), to complete the underground boring.

“It ended up being a bit of a challenge,” Coppage remarks. “We had to quickly get some approvals in place through the DOT and coordinate a new construction agreement between HCAA and FDOT to allow for new utilities to be placed within the DOT’s right-of-way.”

Ultimately, the directional drilling was successful, which enabled other crews to move ahead and complete replacement of the MALSR. Coppage credits FDOT for working closely with the airport’s project team and expediting the review process when possible.

Funding Improvements

Fay notes that the Airport Authority values its general aviation airports and invests accordingly. He stresses that the process starts at the top with leaders who devote tremendous resources to keep Tampa’s three general aviation facilities in top condition. Fay also credits strong partnerships for creating a model collaboration between federal, state and local partners for the multi-phase improvements, which required a combined investment of approximately $33 million.

The runway, taxiway and apron improvements were supported through contributions from the FAA, Florida Department of Transportation and the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.

Of this total, approximately $7.5 million was directed toward the Runway 5-23 and Connector Taxiways Rehabilitation; $11.4 million supported the Taxiways A, D, E and J Rehabilitation; and $14.5 million funded the Apron C, Taxiways C and F, and Runway 18-36 Rehabilitation. Fay emphasizes that these achievements reflect a deep institutional commitment to general aviation, starting with leaders at the Aviation Authority who dedicate substantial resources to ensure facilities are the best in the state, which is a lofty goal.

“The state of Florida invests more into its airports than any other state transportation department,” he notes. “FDOT has been an extraordinary partner, and our relationship with the FAA is equally critical. We could not execute projects of this scale without the federal Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) funding.”

Among upcoming capital projects are three privately developed hangars. The first, an 18,850-square-foot facility valued at approximately $1.85 million, is currently under construction and slated for completion in April 2026. The second, developed by Skyport Aviation, is an 11,994-square-foot hangar featuring 20 new vehicle parking spaces. It began construction in August 2025 and is expected to be completed in February 2026. Lastly, an 11,999 square-foot hangar developed by J.T. Keiser, LLC is expected to be completed by late 2026.

Brighter LED lighting was installed throughout the airport.

When tenants move into the new facilities, they will undoubtedly enjoy the enhanced hangar space, fresh airfield pavement, newly configured taxiways and brighter LED lighting—all investments to support safe, efficient and sustainable operations.