Major Milestones in Valkaria Airport History

• Valkaria Airport was built during World War Two as an auxiliary field for the Melbourne Naval Air Station (now Melbourne International Airport.)
• Valkaria Airport helped to train thousands of brave pilots who went on to serve in World War II.
• In 1959, the federal government gave Valkaria Airport to Brevard County, on the condition it be kept open as an airport forever.
• In 1962, land on the south side of Valkaria Airport became the site for the MISTRAM I (MISsile TRAjectory Measurement) tracking station. The MISTRAM system was highly advanced for it's day and was able to track rocket trajectories to a still-impressive degree of accuracy... despite being an analog system, MISTRAM could measure velocities from 0 to 50,000 fps at a range from 20 to 1,000 miles... with an amazing accuracy of 0.4 feet in range and 0.02 fps in velocity!
• Part of the 1995 Disney movie Operation Dumbo Drop was filmed at Valkaria Airport.
• Valkaria Airport's official mascot, known as Valkaria Bob (pictured at right), has been an airport resident for many years.
• In August 2007, Valkaria Airport got a newly updated Airport Master Plan after fourteen public input meetings and two year's work. This plan provides a great roadmap for the next twenty years of success!
• 2008 marks the 50th anniversary of Brevard County's ownership and operation of Valkaria Airport as a public-use facility!
• In May 2008, a massive outbreak of drought-fed wildfires spread throughout South Brevard including Palm Bay, Grant-Valkaria, Malabar, and other areas, destroying many homes and scorching thousands of acres. During this emergency, Valkaria Airport served as a main base for the many helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft involved in the firefighting efforts, and the airport office served as an emergency command center. Because of the ability to use Valkaria Airport, which was right in the middle of the fire zone, countless homes and businesses were saved. Much of the scrub land on the airport grounds was burned (periodic wildfires are actually a necessary and natural part of the local scrub ecosystem) but there was little other damage to the airport.