Florida's weather has lured everybody from Walt Disney to exiles from northern winters. Tourists flock to Orlando and coastal resorts. But with 1,700 businesses employing 80,000, the Sunshine State has one of the biggest aerospace communities in the USA. Defence firms set up camp around its air bases during the Second World War and stayed. The Apollo program­me created the Space Coast in the 1960s. Later, the area around Miami became a hub for the maintenance and after­market sector. Aviation colleges and flying schools, high-tech companies and general aviation manufac­turers have also been attracted to Florida by the climate and talent pool. In the following feature, we look at what makes the Sunshine State shine for aerospace companies that call Florida home.

Related articles in the Florida Aerospace special  

Business aviation

Aircraft sellers

Maintenance

Space

Investment

Training

Aftermarket

Defence

 

FLORIDA FACTS

  • 27,554 people employed in aerospace
  • 51,777 employed in aviation
  • 1,703 companies involved in aerospace and aviation
  • Average annual wage in aerospace and aviation $51,245
  • Florida's exports of aerospace products $2.7 billion
  • Percentage of world's flight training in Florida 20%
  • Florida's ranks third in US MRO clusters
  • 129 public airports
  • 14,000 general aviation aircraft based in Florida

Source: Enterprise Florida

Notes: aerospace comprises manufacturing and R&T aviation comprises airline and airport operations, including freight, and flight training 




Source: Flight International

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