Photos Courtesy of TDC Marketing
On Dec. 8, SIMCOM Aviation Training, a comprehensive aviation learning center, broke ground on a new 90,000-square-foot flight training center and global headquarters on Nemours Parkway in the Lake Nona Town Center.
SIMCOM’s president and CEO, Eric Hinson, said that breaking ground on the new training center is “a great step forward in SIMCOM’s continuing growth in the rapidly-expanding aviation training market.”
“The new SIMCOM Lake Nona Training Center is scheduled to open in early 2023,” continued Hinson, “and its location in Lake Nona’s downtown area, within walking distance of premium hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues, will offer customers a uniquely-enhanced training experience not offered by any other training provider in the world.”
The training center will be home to up to 12 full-flight simulators representing the most capable aircraft in business aviation. Some of the full-flight simulators that will be housed there include the Gulfstream G650, Bombardier Challenger 350, and Embraer Phenom and Praetor aircrafts. Once the training center is complete, approximately 10,000 pilots will travel to Lake Nona each year for both initial type and recurrent training. The Lake Nona facility will employ about 100 employees, most of whom will fill high-wage positions that are new to both SIMCOM and the Orlando area workforce.
“We extend our most sincere thanks to everyone who has supported our efforts to develop this new facility,” Hinson stated. “These include Tavistock Development, together with Enterprise Florida and Space Florida, as well as SIMCOM’s shareholders, all of which have been instrumental in supporting our move to the new center. We’re honored to continue to thrive here in Orlando and to contribute to local economic growth while providing our services to the global aviation community.”
“SIMCOM’s continued investment in Orlando and now Lake Nona is a testament to our city’s growing reputation as a thriving epicenter for the modeling and simulation and … aviation industries,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “SIMCOM’s new training center will bring people from all over the globe to Orlando for pilot and aircraft maintenance training, creating an additional impact on our community’s economy and in our local businesses, where visitors will experience the world-class hospitality for which Orlando is known.”
“We’re thrilled to be here with SIMCOM to begin building the industry’s most advanced headquarters and full-flight simulation training center in Lake Nona,” commented Tavistock managing director Ben Weaver. “Orlando has a longstanding legacy as a hub for the world’s top aviation, simulation and training companies, and we’re excited to build on that legacy with SIMCOM.”
