If you've ever flown out of Orlando International Airport, you know the skies over central Florida are busy.

But one of the busiest airports in our area may surprise you.

Roy Sieger, the director of the Flagler County Airport for the past five years, has been busy ever since he hit the ground.

“In the last five years," Sieger said, "we've completed or are going right now, almost $18 million in projects to bring better infrastructure to this airport.”

All of that money has come from grants or fees collected from the airport customers.

As a county enterprise fund, not a dime has come from local taxes.

The work is paying off, as the airport is busier than ever.

Sieger is happy to brag about the growth: "There's 252 contract towers in the whole United States. We're the busiest contract tower in the state of Florida and we're the 3rd busiest contract tower in the country."

The air traffic control tower here is manned by retired FAA or military personnel and is run for the county under a contract.

That's a little different than how the towers are run at the larger, commercial airports.

Is this airport as busy as say, Orlando International Airport? No. But when you compare all the airports with an air traffic control tower, including Orlando International, this little county airport ranks in the top third.

That's in the entire country.

And that means the airport here has reached capacity.

Sieger now has to find a way to relieve the potential pressure which could include an additional runway in the next decade.

He also expects a new name: the Flagler Executive Airport.

It better reflects the growth around the facility.

"We're right in the middle of everything," Sieger said. "We're right off of State Road 100, we're right off I-95.”

And Sieger believes that makes the airport attractive for companies that aren't even in the aviation sector.

And if you'd like a better view of the airport from inside the security fence, next weekend is the return of the "Wings Over Flagler" airshow and music festival.

It runs Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26.