AFB throughout the early 1970s. Joint Civil-Military Use: McCoy AFB and the Orlando-McCoy Jetport In the early 1960s, the then-Orlando Herndon Airport began to start providing commercial jet service. However, its World War II era 6,000-foot runways were dangerously short to handle the new Boeing 707, Convair 880 and Douglas DC-8 commercial passenger jets. In addition, the air terminal built in 1951 was inadequate to accommodate the increasing number of passengers. McCoy Air Force Base, with its two 12,000-foot runways, was more than capable of safely accommodating the passenger jets. In 1962 an agreement was worked out between the Air Force and the City of Orlando for the joint-use of one of the runways (18L/36R) for airline operations, and the purchase of two former AGM-28 Hound Dog missile storage hangars in the northeast corner of the installation by the city for conversion into a passenger air terminal for use by Delta, Eastern, and National Airlines. The Orlando-McCoy Jetport opened in 1964, with Delta Air Lines being the first airline to offer jet passenger service to the new Orlando-McCoy Jetport with Delta's DC-8 Fanjet aircraft. By 1968, all airline operations had moved from Herndon Airport to the new Orlando-McCoy Jetport. With the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, the amount of air traffic increased substantially, especially with Boeing 727, Boeing 737 and Douglas DC-9 aircraft. As a result, the agreement with the Air Force was amended to allow for an expansion of the civil airport facilities. Additional acreage was provided to Orlando east of the airfield in 1972 and two modern airport terminals were constructed between 1978 and 1981, along with improved parking and other infrastructure. With the improved civil airport at McCoy, the new wide-body Boeing 747, Douglas DC-10, and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar airliners began scheduled service. Cuban Missile Crisis On 14 October 1962, a Lockheed U-2 from the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas piloted by Major Richard S. Heyser, USAF, launched from Edwards AFB, California for a high altitude reconnaissance flight over Cuba. Arriving over the island an hour after sunrise, Heyser photographed the Soviet military installing nuclear armed SS-4 medium range and SS-5 intermediate range ballistic missiles in Cuba, thereby precipitating the Cuban Missile Crisis. Heyser concluded this flight at McCoy AFB and the 4080th subsequently established a U-2 operating location at McCoy AFB, launching and recovering numerous flights over Cuba for