ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- The Missouri Air National Guard's 139th Airlift Wing hosted a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction for an aircraft simulator facility at the north development site of Rosecrans Air National Guard Base Oct. 20, 2020.
The building will house a $25 million full-motion C-130H Hercules Weapons System Trainer simulator provided by Air Mobility Command.
The new facility will be approximately 10,600 square feet. It will include administrative space, training rooms, restrooms, break area, mechanical and electrical support space, and a simulator bay.
Aircrew are required to conduct simulator training annually. That training primarily focuses on emergency procedures that can't be conducted in an actual aircraft. Many other aircrew proficiency requirements can also be accomplished in a simulator. Having a simulator at Rosecrans will alleviate the need to send aircrew to another installation to accomplish training.
About 100 pilots, navigators and flight engineers from Rosecrans will train on the simulator. The simulator will also be available to other C-130H units who wish to travel to Rosecrans and conduct their training on site.
Once complete, approximately 14 people will work out of the facility to include simulator instructors and maintainers, a site manager, and a contracting representative.
A contract of $5.69 million for the construction of the building was awarded to Lee Grover Construction Company.
Construction is expected to be completed by December of 2021 followed by installation of the simulator.