Sebastian Municipal Airport is a public-use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

located west of the central business district of the city of Sebastian in

Indian River County Indian River County ( es, Condado de Río Indio, link=) is a county located in the Treasure Coast region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 159,788. Its seat is Vero Beach. It is Florida's 7th richest county ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The airport is publicly owned.

History

Similar to other airfields established in Florida during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the approximate 1,025-acre airport was built by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1943 (known then as Roseland Satellite Field or Outlying Field Roseland) in support of naval flight training operations at nearby

Naval Air Station Vero Beach Vero Beach Regional Airport is a public airport one mile northwest of Vero Beach in Indian River County, Florida, United States. The airport is publicly owned and is the home of Piper Aircraft. History 1929–1941 In 1929, Bud Holman, whose so ...

and

Naval Air Station Melbourne Naval Air Station (NAS) Melbourne was a United States Naval Base in Melbourne, Florida. The Navy used NAS Melbourne for gunnery training for pilots of carrier-based fighter aircraft and as a base for WAVES during World War II. While operation ...

. The military paid approximately $1,300 for the property in 1943. Inactivated as a naval facility following the end of World War II, the aviation facility was transferred by the War Assets Administration, as part of the Surplus Property Act of 1944, on January 29, 1959, to the City of Sebastian. Upon taking responsibility, a provision was written in reference to the Federal Surplus Property Act, that the airport would be used without unfair discrimination solely for aviation purposes. This provision provided that the property be given back to the United States in the event of noncompliance with any terms and conditions of the deed.

Operations

Since its acquisition in 1959, Sebastian Municipal Airport (now 620 acres) has been maintained and operated by the City of Sebastian. Since the transfer of ownership from the U.S. Government, Sebastian Municipal Airport has undergone numerous facility changes and improvements. The noted championship Sebastian Municipal Golf Course was built in 1981 on a 155-acre plot of land occupying a large portion of the airport property and local area flight training greatly increased operations at the airport in the mid- to late 1980s. Currently, a

fixed-base operator A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...

(FBO) occupies the west side of the airfield, and frequent skydiving activity accounts for a large portion of operations at the airport. The addition of a number of commercial and private general aviation hangars and related aprons were developed along the west quadrant of the field. No identifiable existing structures remain from the airport's days as a naval installation.

References

External links

{{Florida airports Airports in Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Indian River County, Florida 1943 establishments in Florida