Why There’s a Massive Runway in the Middle of Florida’s Swamplands

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  • Опубликовано: 3 авг 2022
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    Video written by Corinne Neustadter and Ben Doyle
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Комментарии • 914

  • @Fail.Better
    @Fail.Better Год назад +2132

    As person raised in Florida, I found myself asking "but why would they build X in the middle of an inhospitable jungle?" almost daily.

    • @patrickmanasco8772
      @patrickmanasco8772 Год назад +31

      Relatable especially spending so much time around Naples and Miami

    • @jakenh8264
      @jakenh8264 Год назад +29

      Cough cough Disney cough cough

    • @not_an_arg_
      @not_an_arg_ Год назад +10

      Because it's Florida

    • @jorceshaman
      @jorceshaman Год назад +15

      @@jakenh8264 Cheap land and running their own city.

    • @99certain45
      @99certain45 Год назад +42

      When you get rid of the inhospitable jungle, and you spray the mosquitoes with enough cancer causing chemicals, Florida is actually one of the most comfortable places in America.

  • @nicolasrios5736
    @nicolasrios5736 Год назад +1965

    I’m a commercial pilot (in progress) here in Florida and I remember going to this airport once while trining as a Private Pilot. It is so in the middle of nowhere that I passed by a turtle taking a sunbath in the middle of the taxiway while exiting the runway

    • @christopherbazaka1564
      @christopherbazaka1564 Год назад +30

      thats so cool, what airline do you fly for?

    • @aiz3n0
      @aiz3n0 Год назад +9

      @whaaa t bruh

    • @marywegrzyn506
      @marywegrzyn506 Год назад +9

      Awwww, how cool was that that you got to experience that?! Something you will never forget !!!

    • @nicolasrios5736
      @nicolasrios5736 Год назад +41

      @@christopherbazaka1564 actually I’m just about to finish my commercial pilot training 😅

    • @derrickstorm6976
      @derrickstorm6976 Год назад +16

      What a weird example, "there was an animal on the runway so it must be a really remote area"

  • @jerry3790
    @jerry3790 Год назад +1378

    Despite not having the biggest airport, Florida still has the honour of one of the worlds longest runways, used to land the space shuttle. Despite being nearly 5km long, many astronauts have still complained about it being too short, which is understandable when you have to land from space while initially going almost 8km/s

    • @hitenshah821
      @hitenshah821 Год назад +41

      Yes jerry.
      Thank you for that nugget of wisdom

    • @Raptor747
      @Raptor747 Год назад +59

      And also when the words "go around" are likely to evoke thoughts of going around the globe before re-entering the atmosphere...

    • @maxdona2452
      @maxdona2452 Год назад +48

      Also, the space shuttle was a flying brick with insanely high landing speed, so they couldn't slow down too much before touch down

    • @zaphod4245
      @zaphod4245 Год назад +52

      The vast majority of the 8km/s was bled off as it descended due to air resistance and re-entry, so that isn't really relevant.
      But most planes a) have large wings and are relatively light, so can land at relatively slow speeds, and b) use reverse thrust to slow themselves when they land, to assist the brakes to stop quickly. The space shuttle with all of it's ceramic heat shielding, was very heavy, and had small wings so as not to cause too much drag during launch, so had to fly at a much higher speed to maintain enough lift, meaning a higher approach speed. Plus, it's lack of any thrust when landing meant that the only things it had were its brakes and parachute, which aren't nearly as effective as reverse thrust. Hence the need for a very long runway.
      But there are long runways around the world for the space shuttle, which it never even used, while Cape Canaveral was almost always the planned landing site, should there be some problem, and the space shuttle goes off course, it could need to land anywhere, and with no engines it couldn't just glide all the way back to florida. Some examples of alternate landing sites include RAF Fairford in the UK, Bermuda airport (formerly an Air base), Diego Garcia and Edwards AFB.

    • @maxdona2452
      @maxdona2452 Год назад +11

      @@zaphod4245 yes, it's was basically the world worst glider when in re-entry phase xD
      I seem to remember more runways than that, with other countries cooperation (France come to mind), am I wrong ?

  • @v1_rotate638
    @v1_rotate638 Год назад +370

    As a corporate pilot, I fly over this airport going all the time and I’ve always wondered why it’s there but I’ve always used it as my emergency landing plan if we need to land over the swamp lands out there. I appreciate its existence

    • @katiesiouxlamoureaux7757
      @katiesiouxlamoureaux7757 Год назад +3

      Well at least it wasn't a waste

    • @dieseldragon6756
      @dieseldragon6756 3 месяца назад +1

      Thinking about the size of the Florida swamplands (Which have more area than my entire _country_ 🇬🇧) having a usable runway in the middle of it makes a lot of sense for emergency purposes, even if there's no possibility of a scheduled passenger service... ✈⚠👍

    • @cooltwittertag
      @cooltwittertag 27 дней назад +1

      ​@@dieseldragon6756the florida wetlands are 1/40th of the size of the uk

    • @bertblue9683
      @bertblue9683 14 дней назад

      As a = douchebag

  • @ericrudd
    @ericrudd Год назад +77

    I’m amazed that I happened to stumble across this video. My father, James Rudd, was ATC tower chief at this airport in the mid-70’s. I was in fifth grade at the time. He and I would go out here to go fishing together. He would often come home in the evening to share, “Found an alligator next to the tower today,” or, “Saw a bobcat on the runway today.” Very fun to see this video. It’s part of my childhood.

  • @suzannegarrison5944
    @suzannegarrison5944 Год назад +96

    My father was lured into buying 10 acres of swamp land in the Everglades. He did finally recognize his mistake but who else would buy it? Than he was contacted (I'm not sure who it was) to sell his land(yippie) for this group building an airport. I always wondered what happened to that airport, and now I know. I am also happy that it gets some use.

    • @katiesiouxlamoureaux7757
      @katiesiouxlamoureaux7757 Год назад

      Nice backstory, thankyou

    • @Trevor-gu8bb
      @Trevor-gu8bb Год назад +2

      It's more likely that land went to some tiny strip being built. The Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport covers an area of 24,960 acres.

    • @ninehundreddollarluxuryyac5958
      @ninehundreddollarluxuryyac5958 Год назад +3

      Glad your family was able to sell the swampland.
      Most Florida "land owners" are not so fortunate.

  • @thestateofalaska
    @thestateofalaska Год назад +220

    I did some training there. Really weird flying over miles of nothing then suddenly a massive runway appears in front of you.

    • @mrpw1402
      @mrpw1402 Год назад +7

      Almost like a mirage for pilots

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад +5

      If you think the 'Glades are "miles of nothing", you clearly didn't spend any time there outside of your cushy airplane. The 'Glades are probably Florida's greatest natural treasure.

    • @thestateofalaska
      @thestateofalaska Год назад +10

      @@SkunkApe407 Oh I’ve been there before. It’s quite lovely. Doesn’t change the fact that it all looks the same from a plane.
      And I think it’d be weirder if I was outside of my cushy airplane given the fact that I was doing airplane school, not everglades school. Time and place.

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад +2

      @@thestateofalaska I spent quite a few years in the Navy, which entailed a good bit of schooling. I still managed to find time to explore the surrounding areas. If you were training there, you were most likely staying close by. Had you spent any time actually exploring the 'Glades, you'd know that there's actually quite a lot there.

    • @thejackbox
      @thejackbox 2 месяца назад

      @@SkunkApe407I spent years there in the navy. There’s nothing there bud

  • @Luckyleol
    @Luckyleol Год назад +107

    Btw the everglades aren't really swamp lands or a jungle, they're wetlands or a marsh. Also the everglades is technically a large and very slow river. Though some coasts do have mangrove swamps.

    • @wingracer1614
      @wingracer1614 Год назад +14

      It's also not in Orlando as his little map animation showed.

    • @Luckyleol
      @Luckyleol Год назад +2

      @@wingracer1614 yea. But many people pointed that out already

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад

      @@wingracer1614 what do you expect? Most non-Floridians think that Orlando and Miami are the only two cities in Florida. Heck, most people think Florida is nothing more than a giant theme park. Every year, we have at least one person severely injured or killed by wildlife, and people inevitably ask why wild animals are allowed to be near humans. Like we're supposed to sterilize our entire state so that mashed potato looking Michiganders and frumpy, pale New Yorkers aren't scared by nature. Even the vast majority of "Florida Man" stories are about out-of-state transplants who come here thinking our state is a no rules free-for-all.

    • @I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music
      @I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music Год назад +1

      And swamp lands are different from wetlands or a marsh because...

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад +9

      @@I_Have_The_Most_Japanese_Music marshes tend to be filled with grasses and other herbaceous plants, whereas swamps tend to be home to woody plants like trees.
      Wetland is a general term that encompasses both marshes and swamps.

  • @douglasboyle6544
    @douglasboyle6544 Год назад +103

    One of the most interesting things to come out of the "Supersonic" age of jet flight was Boeing jumping in with both feet so hard to build supersonic planes that when Seattle got their NBA franchise in 1967 they named them the SuperSonics shortly before the whole thing at Boeing got shut down because the FAA did testing over Oklahoma City that showed people didn't want Sonic Booms dooming Boeing's Supersonic planes. This led to the ultimate irony when the Seattle Supersonics left Seattle in 2006 because they were bought by a consortium to move them to, you guessed it, Oklahoma City.

    • @TreiPani
      @TreiPani Год назад +1

      99pi does a great episode on this

    • @richardjacques1731
      @richardjacques1731 Год назад +4

      And Seattle got to keep the SuperSonics name, and OKC named their team....wait for it....THE THUNDER!

    • @kappaman1994
      @kappaman1994 Год назад +2

      Damn… great irony & great comment

    • @hkray
      @hkray Год назад +1

      Damn… great irony & great comment
      Yes, and so tangential to all the other great comments... from swamp land to thunder yet all connected to planes....

  • @maxsmodels
    @maxsmodels Год назад +54

    I gave elder care to Bob Sampson, the former airport commander (yes , that was his official title) of KTNT (the airports FAA designation). Bob has passed away now but it was interesting to hear you tell the story which is more or less they way he told it to me.

  • @mbarker
    @mbarker Год назад +275

    This was one reason Montreal's Mirabel airport was built. The airport would have been the 'eastern gateway' for super sonic jets entering Canada, feeding Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto with short-haul flights. (Another potential location for this airport was in Ontario, closer to Toronto, but Montreal got the airport because politics.)

    • @fuzzwork
      @fuzzwork Год назад +6

      Mirabel was supposed to replace both YUL and YOW with a 4 lane expressway and a high speed rail line running between the downtowns. Expressway got sort of half built, train didn't get built a all, leaving YMQ in the middle of nowhere between the two cities

    • @thezackast2752
      @thezackast2752 Год назад +2

      @@fuzzwork I'm sorry to sound uneducated, but could you tell me what all the stuff starting with Ys are? I am rather confused

    • @ethanleclerc4879
      @ethanleclerc4879 Год назад +3

      @@thezackast2752 airports codes. YUL is Montreal's Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau airport.

    • @thezackast2752
      @thezackast2752 Год назад

      @@ethanleclerc4879 ok, thanks for the clarification

    • @michaela6156
      @michaela6156 Год назад +5

      Along with the Big “O(we)”, Montreal has a bit of a reputation for expensive white elephants

  • @bootblacking
    @bootblacking Год назад +443

    "Crocodile to human ratio" There are about a thousand crocodiles left in Florida, they are extremely endangered.
    There are 1.3 million alligators, however.

    • @SearTrip
      @SearTrip Год назад +49

      True, still, compared to the rest of the U.S., the area has an insanely high crocodile to human ratio.

    • @vacafuega
      @vacafuega Год назад +10

      Most important comment

    • @coyoteartist
      @coyoteartist Год назад +5

      @@SearTrip Actually it's currently between 1,500 and 2,000 so you're more right then you were.

    • @User31129
      @User31129 Год назад +19

      Really? I thought there were as many Crocodiles in Florida as there are penguins in Alaska.

    • @ClarinoI
      @ClarinoI Год назад +1

      All alligators are crocodiles, not all crocodiles are alligators.

  • @paolo4277
    @paolo4277 Год назад +432

    I'm a 17 year old private pilot, and my examiner actually made me do a few takeoffs and landings at this exact runway on my pilot test!

    • @1224chrisng
      @1224chrisng Год назад +11

      I heard that Chuck Yeager got his pilot's license before his driving license, has other pilots done the same?

    • @nodical802
      @nodical802 Год назад +19

      @time to leave earth reported for spam

    • @andrew04207
      @andrew04207 Год назад +22

      @@1224chrisng I am sure that plenty have. Need to be 17 to finish a pilot's license which is the same as a driver's license in many states. So, if somebody wanted to be a pilot but didn't rush to get their driver's license then it's totally possible

    • @paolo4277
      @paolo4277 Год назад +8

      @@1224chrisng I actually don’t have a drivers license, but I am an instrument rated private pilot.

    • @christopherbazaka1564
      @christopherbazaka1564 Год назад +1

      @@1224chrisng actually no, he was the best and nobody can beat him even today :O

  • @DigitalCasm
    @DigitalCasm Год назад +56

    To this day, nobody has crossed an alligator picket line.

  • @Andyxoxx
    @Andyxoxx Год назад +46

    Looking forward to seeing this on the annual HAI mistakes video since the marked location of the Everglades @2:49 was about 250 miles north of its actual location. Love the videos and I am subscribed to Nebula!

    • @jojbenedoot7459
      @jojbenedoot7459 Год назад +12

      As someone from Orlando it was very weird to see my city listed as the Everglades lol

    • @Uneedhelp91
      @Uneedhelp91 Год назад +3

      As someone who lives in central Florida, I was awestruck to see that the everglades went above lake Okeechobee.

    • @Uneedhelp91
      @Uneedhelp91 Год назад +1

      That dot is basically Lakeland....some 300miles north of the everglades.

    • @tonymagona334
      @tonymagona334 Год назад +1

      @@Uneedhelp91 300?! Nah man Lakeland is at most 100 miles from Lake Okeechobee (starting point of the Everglades). 300 miles is more like the distance between Miami and St. Augustine.

  • @NittWitt
    @NittWitt Год назад +38

    Pretty sure that your map with the Everglades annotated is about 300 miles too far north of the actual Everglades.

    • @soundscape26
      @soundscape26 Год назад +3

      It definitely is.

    • @wingracer1614
      @wingracer1614 Год назад +3

      Yeah Everglades is not in Orlando.

    • @5roundsrapid263
      @5roundsrapid263 Год назад +1

      They got the Everglades and the Magic Kingdom mixed up!

  • @Add_Infinitum
    @Add_Infinitum Год назад +157

    My favorite part of this is the fact that they were going to build a huge airport in the middle of the swamp and then someone asked "Wait, would that hurt the swamp?" like there was any doubt.
    And yeah, I know the real reason for the study was probably just to have it officially written down, but still

    • @gogglez.
      @gogglez. Год назад +21

      Its literally a National park and they were like “yeah let’s put a airport in here for super sonic jets that totally would be fine”

    • @marvindebot3264
      @marvindebot3264 Год назад +2

      @@gogglez. Quite, I'm sure even gators don't like sonic booms much.

    • @MotorolaTriumphUser
      @MotorolaTriumphUser Год назад +1

      @@marvindebot3264 the gators don’t mind as long as they are underwater I’m pretty sure. I think it’s one of the reasons we launch space shuttles from an island and not the mainland

    • @marvindebot3264
      @marvindebot3264 Год назад +3

      @@MotorolaTriumphUser You realise sound travels thru water faster and better than it does thru air, right?

    • @MatthijsvanDuin
      @MatthijsvanDuin Год назад +4

      @@marvindebot3264 But they transfer very very poorly across a water-air interface, sound waves coming from the air will just bounce off the water instead of being conducted into it.

  • @robertzeurunkl8401
    @robertzeurunkl8401 Год назад +16

    2:48 - that label is about 200 miles from the actual location. The everglades are down at the south tip of the state alongside Miami.

  • @ole0510
    @ole0510 Год назад +79

    The question is would the generic weird traveller have been able to get drunk on local liquor in those expensive bars?

    • @czechslovakian
      @czechslovakian Год назад +14

      They would gamble their money away by betting on 17

    • @ole0510
      @ole0510 Год назад +5

      @@czechslovakian that sounds about right

    • @FelixGraye
      @FelixGraye Год назад +7

      Would they have a good time while doing so?

    • @joermnyc
      @joermnyc Год назад +5

      And could they catch a fish nearby?

    • @ravinmarokef
      @ravinmarokef Год назад +3

      Would they be able to eat at a local Michelin-star restaurant as well?

  • @davidmedlin8562
    @davidmedlin8562 Год назад +23

    You showed. Red dot in the middle of Florida that says everglades. I grew up where that dot is it is not the glades. The glades are at the south western "tip" of Florida

    • @joon3900
      @joon3900 Год назад

      yeah

    • @RocTroller
      @RocTroller Год назад +2

      Non Floridians too lazy to look up where the glades are smh

    • @PFBM86
      @PFBM86 Год назад +1

      He did it on purpose so that a bunch of rubes would rush to the comment section to correct him, thereby increasing the video's engagement metrics and making the Almighty Algorithm more likely to recommend it.

  • @elpepe2136
    @elpepe2136 Год назад +51

    Fun fact there is a big triangle shaped runway in the middle of a swamp about 100 miles north, it is used by lockheed martin to test missiles and radar devices.

    • @firstlast9731
      @firstlast9731 Год назад

      actually is about 50 miles south and i think was abandoned after the cold war

    • @seanthesheep
      @seanthesheep Год назад

      Illuminati... confirmed??

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад +1

      That's been gone for almost 30 years, bud. Even their Dynamic Testing Range in Orlando is gone. Actually, Universal Studios bought the DTR, and is in the process of turning it into a new resort called Epic Universe. I did the initial survey work, as well as following an EOD crew to help locate, map, and destroy any unexploded ordinance prior to construction. Sometimes I love my job.

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад +1

      @@seanthesheep nope, just simple flight logistics. Multiple runways allows you to launch and recover aircraft simultaneously. Also, a triangular layout would allow pilots to mitigate wind direction and the sun in their eyes during launches and landings.

  • @petersmythe6462
    @petersmythe6462 Год назад +73

    "Emergency space shuttle landing site." Imagine the runway gets infested with alligators and all four staff have to try to scare them away so the shuttle can land safely?

    • @DoABarrelRol1l
      @DoABarrelRol1l Год назад +11

      I can see the sequel to Sully now…
      ‘Houston, we have a problem’
      >4 hicks Out there with brooms
      ‘Go on get! Damn gators’

    • @F-Man
      @F-Man Год назад +4

      The Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center often had to deal with wildlife on the runway - gators included!

    • @johnp139
      @johnp139 Год назад +1

      Like a hundred miles (away from KSC) will really matter.

    • @ronaldharris6569
      @ronaldharris6569 Год назад

      That is what the crocodiles are for they have the instincts for herding alligators like an Australian Shepard. All airports in Florida hire them

    • @classifiedad1
      @classifiedad1 Год назад +1

      A Soviet Cosmonaut had the lovely experience of landing in the middle of Siberia several days away from civilization in a half-functioning capsule and a hungry bear outside.
      Now cosmonauts are indeed armed for such occasions, except the weapon he had was a 9mm Makarov pistol, a small handgun with 8 shots firing a less powerful round than standard 9mm Parabellum. And 9mm Parabellum works against people, but not a bear five times bigger, stronger, considerably hungrier, and has things like claws and sharp teeth.
      Naturally he stayed inside and waited several days for rescuers in a helicopter, who had proper guns, to arrive. They were able to scare off the bear with rifle shots.

  • @christopherstarnes9933
    @christopherstarnes9933 Год назад +24

    On the graphic around 2:55, the location for the Everglades is incorrect. It’s south of lake Okeechobee, not north of it

    • @bitterbuick
      @bitterbuick Год назад +4

      I came to say the same. Video mentions Everglades then puts a map pin on freaking Orlando basically.

    • @jimdennis2451
      @jimdennis2451 Год назад +3

      @@bitterbuick Which is a swamp of a different sort.

    • @mgriff39
      @mgriff39 Год назад

      That pin is basically where Walt Disney World is…

  • @noahstabler3561
    @noahstabler3561 Год назад +21

    02:47 that is not where the Everglades are. It’s MUCH further south

    • @gilonkravatsky458
      @gilonkravatsky458 Год назад +3

      Yeah lol, off by 150 miles or so.

    • @paul9299
      @paul9299 Год назад +1

      Yup, caught that too, last time I checked the everglades are not in the Orlando area

    • @Luckyleol
      @Luckyleol Год назад

      Well before urbanization, most of Florida was wetlands or the everglades. Which is technically a big slow river. But iirc that starts on lake Okeechobee.

  • @holasoyalejandro9822
    @holasoyalejandro9822 Год назад +28

    2:50 you put the everglades in the wrong place; it’s in South Florida not Central Florida

    • @the_ratmeister
      @the_ratmeister Год назад +2

      It's about where Orlando is on the map in the video

    • @joon3900
      @joon3900 Год назад

      yep

  • @datboichris6974
    @datboichris6974 Год назад +7

    hello there, I am a student pilot in miami. I have landed here plenty of times. this runway, while never being used for its original intention, is awesome these days. love the huge length that allows me to freely practice here.

  • @DrumBum561
    @DrumBum561 Год назад +55

    I drive past this airport when heading to the west coast all the time, and it's truly in the middle of nowhere. Even with a monorail it's a good 40-45 minutes from Miami's city center.

    • @zacharytracy3797
      @zacharytracy3797 Год назад +5

      Wait that monorail ACTUALLY RUNS?

    • @DrumBum561
      @DrumBum561 Год назад +3

      @@zacharytracy3797 no, but the initial plans had wanted one. And even driving around 75 mph still takes about 40 minutes, but if you factor in the stops they would have inserted it would take longer.

    • @zacharytracy3797
      @zacharytracy3797 Год назад +2

      @@DrumBum561 ah got it. Thanks Spence.

  • @9sunstar9
    @9sunstar9 Год назад +39

    I think you confused alligators and crocodiles. There are over a million gators in Florida (with an estimate 200,000 in the evergaldes) relative to maybe a few thousand crocodiles in the entire state. You also made a comment calling the everglades a jungle, it's actually considered a very large, slow moving river.

    • @koboldparty4708
      @koboldparty4708 Год назад +3

      Maybe he meant to say “crocodilians?” He did correctly refer to them as alligators later.

    • @Luckyleol
      @Luckyleol Год назад +1

      We do have crocs but those are footwear.
      Jk, lol.
      But yea our crocs are salt water crocs. So they are on the coast or the keys iirc.

    • @michaelcampbell6820
      @michaelcampbell6820 Год назад +1

      He also showed 7 or 8 different airplanes when describing "Supersonic airplanes" but only 3 of them are actually capable of supersonic flight. Why let technical accuracy ruin a perfectly good story?

    • @j-train13
      @j-train13 Год назад

      @@Luckyleol there are actually a couple thousand crocs in the Everglades though, just not nearly as many as many as crocodiles (The Everglades actually being the only place in the world where both exist)

  • @N9830G
    @N9830G Год назад +10

    Dade Collier Training and Transition (KTNT) had a period of time when it absolutely had flight per minute use. Following the familure of the domestic SST program, TNT found a new purpose as a training center for pilots transitioning to larger aircraft. Prior to the advent of modern full-motion flight simulators, pilots gained transition training in the actual aircraft on which they were transitioning, hence the airport's name. Historically done in the US southwest due to sparse population centers and hospitable flying weather year-round, TNT provided that for airlines based on the US East Coast as well as European and South American carriers.

  • @fissionabledolphin
    @fissionabledolphin Год назад +19

    Why is this a question? It’s obviously for people to drive their Alligators on

    • @trimeta
      @trimeta Год назад

      South Florida already has an Alligator Alley. (That's the common name for the highway running through the Everglades.)

    • @syxepop
      @syxepop Год назад

      @@trimeta - wonder if a large plane can land on US-27.... 🤔🤔🤔

  • @andrewdiamond2697
    @andrewdiamond2697 Год назад +32

    There are a number of airports that have overbuilt runways that exist for weather situations, aircraft emergencies, and diversions. I had always heard that this was one of those. I had no idea that there was more planned.

  • @xzeroangelx
    @xzeroangelx Год назад +5

    I did my Commercial check ride at this airport. It's the best airport for practicing every maneuver. Nice to see you give it some attention.

  • @mattgarnham
    @mattgarnham Год назад +10

    Alligators-to-humans ratio is much higher than crocodiles-to-humans and the location of the airport is much further South than it looks to shown at 2:50.

    • @thokim84
      @thokim84 Год назад

      How about crocodilians?

    • @WITCEAS
      @WITCEAS Год назад +1

      As a new resident of Florida, I can confirm that there isn't swamp right outside my door when I leave Tampa.

  • @XeonAlpha
    @XeonAlpha Год назад +4

    2:49 I see the Everglades have been moved Orlando... that's news to this Floridian.

  • @patrickjoyce2276
    @patrickjoyce2276 Год назад +1

    I started out as a controller at TMB in 1975, when it was one of busiest GA airports in the US. TMB also staffed TNT on an "as needed basis" when the airlines at that time did not have sims to checkout pilots. We worked out of an old Air Force temporary tower about 30 feet up. It was fun working a pattern of 3 Eastern Air Lines baby 9's & TriStars and 4 National Air Lines DC10's & B727's doing T&G's and instrument approaches. No radar, no tape recorders, just "plane" fun.

  • @KGBSpyGeorgeCostanza
    @KGBSpyGeorgeCostanza Год назад +34

    Has that airfield been used for....nefarious purposes, you know Miami has a history of....import and export

  • @Haunter-pl3zt
    @Haunter-pl3zt Год назад +5

    I love this guy’s videos. You’ll forget whatever useful information he told you the next day but the way it’s presented it’s so entertaining I usually save to watch them when going to sleep or when pooping :)

  • @lamborghini4268
    @lamborghini4268 Год назад +5

    Love the video however, to add to the things we got wrong video at the end of the year, at 2:48 the Everglades are in south florida between Naples and Miami, not in orlando, where you show it on the graphic.

  • @baxtercat5462
    @baxtercat5462 Год назад +2

    I used to do some training out at this airport. My flight instructor and I flew there when I was 12 years old and we practiced landings. My father is an airline pilot, and when he got his first airline job for Caribbean Express in the 1980s, they flew around this airport giving trainings on how to land the plane and fly instrument approaches. My dad has still got an aerial photo of his plane on final approach for the runway. I, personally, believe this airport is the site of some current military activity. Last time I landed there, there were Army trucks on the apron.

  • @southronjr1570
    @southronjr1570 3 месяца назад +1

    My father went through flight school back in the late 60's and early 70's in south Florida and used to shot touch and go's on that runway right after they shut down the project. He told me about another abandoned WW2 field further south that was used as a bomber training base and was completely abandoned, not even a road able to access it, where he and his buddies would go out over and do some really crazy flying. One such time, about 6 of them got together one Sat because they were going to have a competition of who could do the most spins in a Cesena 150. They all flew out there, he and his room mate, who oddly enough was afraid of heights (he was crop duster pilot and wanted to expand his certs but would get nervous whenever they would climb above 500 feet), went up to 12,000 ft, the highest they could get to, and put it into a spin directly above the abandoned strip, he said he counted 18 before they started to pull out and when they got out of the spin, they were less than 150 feet above the ground. They both decided they were done for the day and flew back to the school. When they got out of the plane they notice the wings were bent in an upward angle by about 5 degrees.needless to say they had some explaining to do, they convinced the school director that they were caught in a downdraft further north and he believed it, the plane had to be written off by the ins company bc the wing spar and all the control rods were damaged and it would have cost more to fix than the plane had been worth brand new. Seeing as how the school had over 200 planes, it didn't interrupt operations at all. He had several other wild stories about flying in school, especially when his primary instructor woukd take him up, the instructor was an old WW2 8th AirForce B17 pilot with 62 missions plus another career as a TWA pilot.

  • @FacterinoCommenterino
    @FacterinoCommenterino Год назад +81

    Today's fact: Like humans, plants recognize their siblings and give them preferential treatment.

    • @indecipherable22
      @indecipherable22 Год назад

      Amogus

    • @drpepperdrowner
      @drpepperdrowner Год назад

      among us

    • @hiramsicles5580
      @hiramsicles5580 Год назад +2

      Guys he’s a bot I saw him on the penguinz0 video posted like 5 minutes ago

    • @drpepperdrowner
      @drpepperdrowner Год назад +6

      @@hiramsicles5580 it’s a good bot
      1. informative
      2. doesn’t spam every comment
      3. isn’t offensive

    • @hiramsicles5580
      @hiramsicles5580 Год назад +1

      @@drpepperdrowner I know I was just saying

  • @barelyalivebobcat8380
    @barelyalivebobcat8380 Год назад +5

    I knew this was KTNT before even opening it up! Learning to fly in south Florida, we flew in here a bunch for landing pratace and generalized flight training. Even saw a gator off of one of the taxiways there. Really cool to hear the true story why this strange massive runway popped up in the middle of the Everglades!

  • @TheLiamster
    @TheLiamster Год назад +7

    This reminds me of the Mirabel airport in Montreal which was going to be Canadas largest airport and also had a monorail connecting to downtown Montreal

  • @owenpapsdorf29
    @owenpapsdorf29 Год назад +1

    Great video! Can’t wait for the follow up about how cinderblocks will fix it, or we’re used for it, or should’ve been used for it? Idk, I just know you been working on this cinderblock video for awhile now and it’s gonna be good

  • @blaster-zy7xx
    @blaster-zy7xx Год назад +5

    The location given at 2:50 is REALLY wrong. The video shows it almost up to Orlando while the actual airport is way down on the southern tip just west of Miami.

  • @DiniM
    @DiniM Год назад +3

    I used to fish those lakes around the runway 20 years ago! A bit of a walk from where we had to park (gated) but extremely good fishing for bass and oscars. We did have to mind the many gators tho

  • @josephpearlman4010
    @josephpearlman4010 Год назад +2

    @2:49 your map showing the Everglades is a couple of hundred miles North of where it is. The Everglades starts under Lake Okeechobee.

  • @TS_Mind_Swept
    @TS_Mind_Swept Год назад +2

    Let's not forget about the whole supersonic boom thing not just being a single boom, but continuous booms as it goes by..

  • @shine111
    @shine111 Год назад +11

    now tbf I've heard of much dumber places to put an airport in. at least a swamp is guaranteed to be mostly flat. and the alligators are such convenient speedbumps, airlines would save billions on brakes!

  • @palm1986
    @palm1986 Год назад +3

    I flew into this quite a bit in FSX because I liked how big the airport was compared to most places in south Florida, I always thought huh this is just a big airport in the middle of nowhere and didn’t think anything of it

  • @TobyMole
    @TobyMole Год назад +4

    As a (mostly) human being raised in somewhere, I highly appreciate the increasing levels of sardonic humor in your infotainment videos. Keep it up.

  • @dougvillegas8303
    @dougvillegas8303 Год назад +1

    I never would have imagined a Skunk Ape reference in a Half As Interesting video.

  • @jlpack62
    @jlpack62 Год назад +3

    In that particular location, you are more likely to encounter alligators than crocs. In either case, neither of the two species is naturally aggressive toward humans and attacks are quite rare.

  • @Anne91000
    @Anne91000 Год назад +5

    Not really a jungle, a swamp.

    • @wingracer1614
      @wingracer1614 Год назад

      Technically, the everglades is not a swamp

  • @fldon2306
    @fldon2306 Год назад +2

    I remember when the Concord used to land at MIA… Everglades Airport? Private pilots can practice touch-and-gos or an emergency strip when needed….
    Better yet, for drag racing Teslas!

  • @zooly132
    @zooly132 Год назад +2

    2:50 The map pin there is pretty much near Orlando and the Everglades is almost 200 miles south. Good stuff though!

  • @phant0m597
    @phant0m597 Год назад +7

    The sentiment behind this video is great, but so much of the information is flawed or misspoken. The Everglades are not a jungle. They are wetlands. Also, several of the graphics depict the Everglades being smack dab in the middle of Florida, around Lake okeechobee? I’ve lived in Florida the majority of my life, I’m not sure if you made these graphics or if somebody else did but they are horribly misinformed. Aside from all of that, awesome video!

  • @achecase
    @achecase Год назад +6

    Concise format is choice!

  • @louiearmstrong
    @louiearmstrong Год назад +1

    I remember living under a daily Concorde flight path in the 90s. Even at subsonic, over land speeds, it sounded like a fighter jet crashing. It is hard to describe how loud it was

  • @edenjumper5958
    @edenjumper5958 Год назад +2

    Great vid! 👌 but also other than alligators the Miccosukee Tribe of Florida does also occupy that area of the Everglades. As do the Seminoles a little more north.

  • @chl_ca
    @chl_ca Год назад +4

    Florida man builds a runway in the middle of a swamp

  • @rebasack21
    @rebasack21 Год назад +5

    i have heard the stories of sonic booms breaking glass and other fragile items but this was the first time i heard that they killed any animals. poor things, its not actually a surprise i can only imagine the terror they must have felt.

  • @kennyr5906
    @kennyr5906 Год назад +1

    Dade Collier (KTNT) is nowadays a commonly used training airport for new pilots, I remember doing up to 4 touch and goes in a 172 lol. I wonder if this airport could make a comeback now that supersonic transports might be a thing once again.

  • @RedRocket4000
    @RedRocket4000 Год назад +2

    Turns out there still a important need for that landing strip. And it's remote location great for practicing as there almost no one to crash into.

  • @stephen3164
    @stephen3164 Год назад +4

    Supersonic trans ocean travel would not bother many, if you hit that sound barrier 30,000’ over ocean waters, but the Concorde had its run, and I think was deemed just too expensive to be profitable. Or something like that.
    One thing I’d worry about on that Everglades runway would be to hit a gator on takeoff or landing!

    • @syxepop
      @syxepop Год назад

      Actually, the last 5-7 years of Concorde were PROFITABLE for BA and AF (the TAXPAYERS of both countries were the ones to "RECEIVE THE BOOM") when they found how much to raise the rates to make it profitable.

    • @User31129
      @User31129 Год назад +1

      The Concorde couldn't spread it's ridiculous fuel costs over 400 people like the 747 could. I think the Concorde max seating was like 180. They had to keep the cabin thin for minimizing heat creation while moving at 1,000 MPH. So cheap tickets on it were like $3,000 a seat, upwards to over $10,000 a seat I hear. More and more seats started going empty because people were like "screw that. I can travel at half the speed for a quarter of the price."

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад

      There are gators in literally every body of fresh water in Florida. We have several international airports in the state already, and gators have never been a problem. They wouldn't have been an issue at this airport either. You see, we Floridians have spent our entire lives around these lizards, and we really don't mind them. We'd simply move the big sonofagun, just like we do all the others. And if it is too big or ornery to move, we'll eat 'em. Trust me, the only people in Florida that worry about gators are tourists.

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад

      @@syxepop if it was profitable, it wouldn't have been scrapped. The tickets were well over $1000 for a one way trip, the seats sucked, and there was really nothing to justify the cost. Most Concorde flights never sold out seating, meaning virtually every flight resulted in lost revenue. It was a gimmick that lost its appeal once you looked past the flashy "go-fast" coat of paint.

    • @flybyairplane3528
      @flybyairplane3528 Год назад

      @@User31129 hello, my brother &I left LONDON - DULLES ONE WAY, So that was so long ago, BEFORE they were allowed into JFK,THE SEATS WERE QUITE COMFORTABLE, AND FOOD WAS EXCELLENT,but you needed a cab to WASHINGTON NATIONAL, TO NEWARK, picked up my car from long time parking,,drove home, close to EWR, ,,,🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

  • @ATXevolutionz
    @ATXevolutionz Год назад +3

    while yes the sonic booms were a problem, its sort of incorrect. Concord almost never flew supersonic over land and the actual sound that could be heard was not much louder than a conversation in a crowded area. most sonic boom complaints were on military aircraft as they trained over land more often. Simon Whistler talked about it on this Concord MegaProjects video

    • @I-Teee
      @I-Teee Год назад

      Likely correct, but I saw a Concord jet take off from London-Heathrow way back and that thing shook the glass exterior walls of the terminal. Some people ran for cover. It was wild.

    • @wingracer1614
      @wingracer1614 Год назад +1

      @@I-Teee Yes it was EXTREMELY load on takeoff but that is not a sonic boom. That's just really load engines at full throttle.

    • @I-Teee
      @I-Teee Год назад +1

      @@wingracer1614 I know. You’re talking about breaking the sound barrier. This dude said the Concord was never “much louder than a conversation”. That’s completely wrong.

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад

      Fact Boi did an amazing video on the Concorde! Simon's writing staff is easily one of the best on this platform.

  • @pigmaster4151
    @pigmaster4151 Год назад +2

    The everglades have a crocodile population of roughly 2,000 and depending on what you consider the everglades a human population between 500-200,000, therefore, having a low crocodile-to-people ratio

  • @TheHavnmonkey
    @TheHavnmonkey Год назад

    Related fun fact for most who think it's crazy to build an airport in the middle of the swamp.... In the late 1800's and early 1900's the plan was to drain all the everglades for farmland, urban development, and petroleum/resource extraction. Fortunately (due to WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII) this was only partially realized. From satellite images you can still see abandoned development sites and canals. Collier petroleum companies still own the mineral rights under several federal and state protected wilderness preserves and are actively drilling for oil and gas. Today, only 50 percent of the everglades remain.

  • @tanman99
    @tanman99 Год назад +3

    Huh…I didn’t know the Everglades were all the way up there in Winter Haven instead of 300 miles south like I always thought it was. Guess all those crocodiles in Florida must be confused.

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад +1

      Well, I'd be happy if they could bring Sanibel a little closer, too. Sometimes I really want to go to my beach house, but the drive from Orlando to Sanibel is a drag.

  • @apollosaturn5
    @apollosaturn5 Год назад +4

    When I saw the title, "There’s a Massive Runway in the Middle of Florida’s Swamplands", I though: "PABLO ESCOBAR!". It's Miami, it's Florida, draw your own conclusions.

  • @jadsalloum5879
    @jadsalloum5879 Год назад +1

    Floridian here. Love you Mr. Wendover but I have to point out some mistakes:
    - The Everglades is not a jungle or a swamp, it is a wetland prairie.
    - We have alligators 🐊 not crocodiles
    - Your map places the glades in Orlando and not South Florida!

    • @Trtevoorryu
      @Trtevoorryu Год назад

      A quick Google search says Florida does have Crocs

  • @artbobik3516
    @artbobik3516 Год назад

    TNT was the best runway I ever landed on - never had to worry about landing a little long or floating - when they first built it, they had a L-1049 Super Constellation (1st Plane I ever flew in) sitting on top of a building back in the day -

  • @Thebreakdownshow1
    @Thebreakdownshow1 Год назад +9

    Because FLORIDA.

    • @jiya6531
      @jiya6531 Год назад +4

      LOL that is funny. BTW just checked your channel, subscribed.

  • @cashburn26
    @cashburn26 Год назад +7

    How does this man still find interesting plane-related topics to talk about

  • @travisnorton9288
    @travisnorton9288 Год назад +1

    I have a camp out by there, the conservation club I’m in helps cut and spray melaleuca trees in the airport and sometimes help the military with airdrop search practice and picking up paratroopers

  • @Tom-od5kk
    @Tom-od5kk Год назад +2

    00:34 300 seat Jets (showing an shorthaul aircraft)

  • @mehtabdhanoa9349
    @mehtabdhanoa9349 Год назад +3

    The average Florida man would definitely make that airport into a hangout while the planes are landing and taking off

    • @christopherbazaka1564
      @christopherbazaka1564 Год назад

      youre pretty much describing what the airport attendant actually does here all day lol

  • @General12th
    @General12th Год назад +10

    Well, it could _have_ landed the Space Shuttle in an emergency -- past tense emphasized. The Space Shuttle program ended over a decade ago.

  • @EvilGav
    @EvilGav Год назад +2

    Most of those complaints about sonic booms came from the Oklahoma City tests in the 1960s - where they generated 8 sonic booms at lower altitudes every day for 6 months. The class action lawsuit that that created and the politics involved are why Concorde and super-sonic flight over land was killed.

    • @gladitsnotme
      @gladitsnotme Год назад

      Concorde was ended bc of unfounded safety concerns and lack of profit.

  • @SJohnTrombley
    @SJohnTrombley Год назад +2

    Nobody tell Sam that commercial jets still go around 500 mph.

  • @TesserId
    @TesserId Год назад +3

    So, when someone says "I have some swamp land in Florida to sell", there are people with some serious money who fall for it?

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад +1

      Why do you think there are so many New Yorkers in South Florida? Ain't a single Floridian gonna pay a million dollars for a patch of sinkholes and quicksand.

    • @wertiaaudit5746
      @wertiaaudit5746 Год назад +1

      I wouldn't spend serious money on it but if it's cheap

  • @Disco45Sound
    @Disco45Sound Год назад +3

    "concorde hitting the scene with backing from British and French companies". It was a state-funded though an agreement between the British and French governments. But you generally don't let facts get in your way of your flimsly research.

  • @christopherbazaka1564
    @christopherbazaka1564 Год назад +2

    0:04 "10,500ft RUNWAY"
    as he shows a picture of Everglades airpark which is one of the shortest runways in Florida lol

    • @wingracer1614
      @wingracer1614 Год назад +1

      I was saw a quite large plane land there once. Not sure exactly what it was but some sort of WWII vintage cargo plane looking thing. That poor pilot literally made a dozen attempts and wave offs before finally putting it down and just barely getting it stopped in time.

  • @ColorNerdChris
    @ColorNerdChris Год назад +1

    Ask a South Floridian: 2:40 That's an alligator, not a crocodile.

  • @zyansheep
    @zyansheep Год назад +5

    4:38 I love how Half as Interesting and Wendover Productions always like to tease each other in their videos.
    I'm starting to think Sam might have a fetish for auto-humiliation.

  • @jonasdatlas4668
    @jonasdatlas4668 Год назад +3

    ...why wouldn't you build one there? If there ever was a place to want to escape from by plane, this is it.

  • @orangeradishneo
    @orangeradishneo Год назад +1

    My mom used to work near the Toronto airport when the Concorde would come through… she tells me stories about how they’d get notified ahead of time before takeoff and landing, as they were unable to hear their own phones, inside their office!

    • @marvindebot3264
      @marvindebot3264 Год назад

      I only ever saw one once, the loudest takeoff I've ever heard but then I never got to see a Vulcan.

  • @peytonprice4915
    @peytonprice4915 Год назад +2

    Ay Sam, it’s alligators in FL, Crocs are invasive.

    • @matthewwelsh294
      @matthewwelsh294 Год назад +1

      There is a native species, the American Crocodile

  • @robnunya572
    @robnunya572 Год назад +3

    Chuck Yeager didn't have diddly to do with designing or constructing the X-1. He just flew it. (The design was stolen as well, but that's another story). I appreciate that it's hyperbole for storytelling purposes, but that kind of statement can, and does, get taken out of context and becomes 'internet fact'. And that is a bad thing.

  • @ClarinoI
    @ClarinoI Год назад +3

    Why, when speaking of supersonic flights, does nobody ever point out the obvious in relation to airports? Namely that you slow down to well below Mach 1 for the landing phase.
    Having transatlantic supersonic flights from this airport wouldn't have involved any over land supersonic flights, therefore no sonic booms over residential areas.
    Mind you, the same could be said for Miami International Airport.

    • @wingracer1614
      @wingracer1614 Год назад +2

      Very true but there is another problem, at least for Concorde. It was extremely effing LOUD on takeoff and landing despite being subsonic. It couldn't fly into a lot of airports just for that reason. So an airport near the coast but in the middle of nowhere kinda makes sense.

    • @ClarinoI
      @ClarinoI Год назад

      @@wingracer1614 Concorde may have been loud, but so are most other jets. The engines in Concorde were Rolls Royce Olympus engines which were developed in the 1950s. Engines developed later are more powerful and far quieter. It's not beyond our current technology to have engines which are capable of powering a supersonic aircraft without causing significant noise pollution at ground level.

  • @mururoa7024
    @mururoa7024 Год назад +1

    For the same reason that "Florida man attacks convenience store with alligator" or "Florida woman tries stealing chainsaw by hiding it in her pants". 😂👍

  • @lucykwiatek5159
    @lucykwiatek5159 Год назад +1

    There's a great corollary to this about the time that Oklahoma City was the site of major supersonic testing, which made the FAA head's visit there very precarious, safety-wise.

  • @alex_zetsu
    @alex_zetsu Год назад +9

    I know this isn't the reason this project failed but why do futurists like monorails so much? The most obvious reason is that it looks cool to have rails in the skyline. On a more practical note, sometimes the obvious underground option doesn't work. But... can't you just make an elevated viaduct for a light rail if you want an above ground line?

    • @samiraperi467
      @samiraperi467 Год назад +1

      Some European cities apparently have elevated light rail.

    • @Decipher13
      @Decipher13 Год назад +1

      Quite a few North American cities have elevated light rail as well.

    • @nunya___
      @nunya___ Год назад +2

      They've been around almost 100 years. Monorails are very quite and have a smoother ride but can't switch tracks as easily as traditional rail so, perfect for dedicated low speed loops.

    • @alex_zetsu
      @alex_zetsu Год назад

      @@samiraperi467 So from an empirical point of view, do elevated light rail or monorails work when you need to be above ground? I think a strong case can be made monorails don't offer much over viaducts unless you want to minimize noise. And to be honest, in a city your rails aren't even going to be the biggest source of noise anyways.

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад

      Now, take a moment to think about those things called hurricanes, and ask that question again. I appreciate the thought, but as a Floridian, a flying boxcar is the last thing I want to add to the list of "Ways to Die in Florida". Thanks anyway!

  • @arnbrandy
    @arnbrandy Год назад +3

    Friendly reminder that a thumbnail with the sentence "This was a mistake" pointing to a runway in Florida is also a thumbnail with the sentence "This was a mistake" pointing to Florida.

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 Год назад +1

      The only mistake in Florida history was allowing non-Floridians to settle here. I'm sick and tired of hearing how things are done in New York and Michigan. If northern states are so much better, the borders are open, and we have two interstates aimed in that direction. I'd be so much happier if my beaches weren't packed with amorphous flesh blobs that smell like pastrami and suntan lotion.

  • @christianwestling2019
    @christianwestling2019 Год назад +1

    The idea wasn't too bad.
    Speaking of Florida airports; the location of Miami Airport is very unfortunate since they want to build skyskrapers in downtown, which just so happens to be right in the flightpath.

  • @fyukfy2366
    @fyukfy2366 Год назад +3

    2:38 the everglades, just like the rest of the US, does not naturally have crocodiles, it has alligators

    • @trimeta
      @trimeta Год назад +4

      Actually, the Everglades does have crocodiles, in addition to alligators. In fact, it's the only place with both (or at least, both the American Alligator and the American Crocodile).

    • @BrilliantDesignOnline
      @BrilliantDesignOnline Год назад +3

      Science Tip: you can tell the difference between alligators and crocodiles by whether they see you later or after a while.

    • @wingracer1614
      @wingracer1614 Год назад

      @@trimeta Yes indeed though the crocs wouldn't be anywhere near the airport. That's freshwater that far inland. The crocs will be in the saltwater at the coast.

  • @hongkongbros7656
    @hongkongbros7656 Год назад +3

    2:50 it ain’t the Everglades but Lakeland is a pretty close second 🤷🏼‍♀️

  • @shashwatdwivedi9025
    @shashwatdwivedi9025 Год назад

    Been to this airport and overflown it like 100s of times during my pilot training. Massive runway in middle of nowhere.

  • @fakshen1973
    @fakshen1973 Год назад +1

    The faster that you fly the more fuel you must burn just to compensate for the increased friction. Supersonic travel gives no free lunches. It gets vastly more exoensive getting there fast.

  • @ihavetowait90daystochangem67
    @ihavetowait90daystochangem67 Год назад +4

    You can still remove the Runway and still the whole was a mistake