McCarthy Grows Aviation Portfolio with Helisim Project

McCarthy Building Companies is working with HPM Leadership and Airbus Helicopters Inc. and Helisim (a French joint venture of Airbus, Thales AVS and DCI), to build a helicopter pilot simulation training center in Grand Prairie, Texas. The Helisim Simulation Center is the company’s first helicopter training facility in North America and serves as its North American headquarters. McCarthy broke ground in May 2019, topped out last month and is expected to complete the project March 2020.

The 18,000-square-foot training facility will house two helicopter flight simulators, the first Level D full-motion flight simulators in North America for Airbus H145 and H175 helicopters. The pre-engineered metal building includes three levels with 6,000 square feet of office space, a 12,000-square-foot simulator hall with a tech room as well as computer rooms and workshop and meeting spaces.

A Design-Build project, McCarthy worked with BOKA Powell, LA Fuess, Reed Wells Benson and Pacheco Koch – the same team that built Southwest Airlines’ simulator facilities in Dallas, Texas – for this facility. The Airbus Helicopter simulator project extends McCarthy’s deep expertise in the aviation sector.