ROCHESTER, Minn. - Two C-130 aircraft flew from Southwest to East, looping over downtown Rochester Wednesday afternoon. This was the second time the Minnesota National Guard along with the 934th Air Wing of the Air Force Reserve has made a cross-state trip in the last two weeks.
These flights were prescheduled flight trainings, but the courses were adjusted slightly to fly over hospitals to take part in Operation American Resolve, the mission to honor COVID-19 frontline workers. Air National Guard F-16 pilots are required to fly a minimum of 6-8 times per months depending on experience to maintain readiness.
There are costs to these training flights, but Rochester nor the state is footing the bill. For example, the training flight of an F-16 costs $8,300-to$8,800. Almost 95% of the money is federally funded.
