Departure
91%
vs 95% ▼ 4
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Whiteman Air Force Base lies just south of Knob Noster in west-central Missouri, roughly 60 miles east-southeast of Kansas City, and is the sole home of the United States Air Force's fleet of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers. Operated by Air Force Global Strike Command's 509th Bomb Wing, with A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and a Missouri Air National Guard presence also based here, it offers a single very long, ILS-equipped runway that reflects its heavy-bomber mission. The field traces its origins to a 1942 glider training base and later served as a Minuteman ICBM installation during the Cold War.
Whiteman Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force installation situated near Knob Noster, Missouri, and operated by Air Force Global Strike Command's 509th Bomb Wing. It is the only base for the Air Force's fleet of B-2 Spirit nuclear-capable stealth bombers and also hosts A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft and a sizeable Missouri Air National Guard presence. For a simulator pilot, the base is notable for its single, exceptionally long and heavily equipped runway built to support heavy bomber operations, and for its layered history running from glider training through the Cold War missile era to today's stealth bomber mission.
The base sits just south of the town of Knob Noster in Johnson County, Missouri, approximately 60 miles east-southeast of Kansas City. As an active military airfield supporting strategic bomber operations, it lies within controlled airspace appropriate to its status and is equipped with a full instrument approach capability. The field is located in rural west-central Missouri, with Knob Noster immediately to the north.
Whiteman has a single physical runway, 01/19, oriented north-northeast to south-southwest. It is a hard-surfaced, lit runway measuring 12,395 feet in length, and is equipped with an ILS, reflecting the need to support heavy, long-range aircraft such as the B-2 Spirit in all weather conditions.
Air-to-ground communication is available on 49.65 MHz (ARNG HAWK OPS). Approach is on 127.45 MHz, with ATIS broadcast on 139.3 MHz. Tower operates on 132.4 MHz and Ground on 128.275 MHz, with Departure on 125.925 MHz and a separate Clearance Delivery frequency also provided. Other frequencies include CLD 121.75 MHz, OPS 22.78 MHz (303 TFS OPS), PMSV 34.46 MHz (PMSV METRO), Command Post on 31.1 MHz, and PTD on 118.725 MHz. The field is equipped with an ILS to support instrument approaches to runway 01/19.
The site began life in 1942 as Sedalia Glider Base, established by the United States Army Air Corps to train pilots on WACO gliders, with construction supported by a purpose-built Missouri Pacific Railroad spur into the area then known locally as the "Blue Flats." The base opened on 6 August 1942 and was renamed Sedalia Army Air Field later that year. Activity declined after the Second World War and the base was placed on inactive status in December 1947. It was reactivated as Sedalia Air Force Base in August 1951 and, from October 1952, was home to the 340th Bombardment Wing flying B-47 Stratojets and KC-97 Stratofreighters, with the first B-47 arriving in March 1954. On 3 December 1955 the base was renamed Whiteman Air Force Base in honour of 2nd Lieutenant George A. Whiteman, a Missouri-born Army Air Corps pilot killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while attempting to take off from Bellows Field. In 1963 the base transitioned to a strategic missile role when Strategic Air Command activated the 351st Strategic Missile Wing, operating LGM-30 Minuteman ICBMs from underground launch facilities and control centres built around the base; Minuteman I missiles were later replaced by the improved Minuteman II. In the 1980s Whiteman became the first missile base to field an all-female Minuteman missile crew, as well as the first mixed male and female crew. The 351st Missile Wing and its Minuteman II squadrons were inactivated on 31 July 1995 as the system was phased out, paving the way for the base's later bomber mission.
Whiteman Air Force Base today is the host and only home of the Air Force's operational fleet of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, flown by the 509th Bomb Wing, which has launched non-stop combat missions from the base against targets in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Iran. Since 1 April 1994 the base has also hosted the Air Force Reserve Command's 442nd Fighter Wing flying A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, following the closure of Richards-Gebaur AFB, along with a Missouri Air National Guard presence. As an active military installation, Whiteman is not open to the public and prior permission is required for any access to the airfield.