What is Cudjoe Key?
Q: What is Cudjoe Key?
A: Cudjoe Key is a census-designated place in Monroe County, Florida. It is on an island of the same name in the lower Florida Keys.
Q: When was Cudjoe Key Air Force Station activated?
A: The United States Army activated Cudjoe Key Air Force Station in 1959.
Q: What purpose does "Fat Albert" serve?
A: "Fat Albert" is a white radar aerostat that is used for drug interdiction missions by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Q: What happened to "Fat Albert" on April 20, 2007?
A: On April 20, 2007 a Cessna 182 crashed after its left wing struck the tether anchoring "Fat Albert".
Q: How is "Fat Albert" marked on air navigation charts?
A: On air navigation charts, "Fat Albert" is marked inside a restricted area with the warning, "Caution: Unmarked balloon on cable to 14,000 [feet]."
Q: Where did the name “Cudjoe” come from?
A: It is possibly named after the Joewood tree (Jacquinia keyensis), a native species also known as cudjoewood. However writer John Viele of Summerland Key believes that Cudjoe was the name of a fugitive slave or free negro who lived on the island at some point before Gerdes' survey in 1849.
