This is a great park for aviation buffs as you can get up close with a retired B-52 Stratofortress Bomber. The plane is located inside the B-52 Memorial Park at the north end of the airport.
The B-52 Stratofortress from the Strategic Air Command was at one time assigned to the 306th Bomb Wing of the now-defunct McCoy Air Force Base which is now known as the Orlando International Airport. The airport is still using the base’s original FAA LID airport code of MCO.
The Stratofortress was built in 1956 and retired 28 years later in 1984. The final flight was on 20. February 1984 from the 7th Bomb Wing at Carswell AFB in Ft. Worth Texas, to the former McCoy AFB.
The park is open from 7:00 a.m. until sunset and is located next to the ride-share waiting lot of the airport. Besides the many rideshare drivers at the parking lot nearby, nobody else was visiting the park. The plane itself can’t be accessed. The park is close to the 528 Florida State Highway but the plane is hard to see or recognize.
As you are heading to the airport, take the first exit towards Cargo Road and make a left on Cargo Road and shortly after a right onto Bear Road. The park will be on your ride hand side. Follow the signs to TNC staging area. If you have an overlay in Orlando, you might need to get an Uber, Lyft or Taxi to get to the park. You could try to take the parking shuttle to the North Parking Place (Economy Parking) and walk from there, which isn’t that far anymore.
Peter has a passion for Traveling, Photography, and Geocaching. These are the best ingredients for amazing adventures all over the globe. “Traveling is fun, no matter if you stay in a luxury hotel or travel like a backpacker.” Peter shares his experiences on his Blog www.gatetoadventures.com
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