Two weeks after it was officially launched during the Sun-n-Fun aviation show in Lakeland, FL, the new Pilot Proficiency Network, created to promote instrument flying, proficiency, and safety, opened its 22nd location at the Norwood Memorial Airport in Norwood, Massachusetts. The Norwood Chapter is organized by a group of pilots involved with the original IMC Club program over a decade ago. Norwood Memorial Airport is the birthplace of the IMC Club. Radek Wyrzykowski, who founded IMC Club in 2010, has launched the Pilot Proficiency Network (PPN), designed to expose all pilots to IFR flying, improve their proficiency, and serve as a universal hub for aviation proficiency initiatives.
Pilots gathered at Flight Level Aviation in Norwood, MA, on Wednesday, April 20, to hear a presentation about the Pilot Proficiency Network objectives and for the official inaugural meeting of the new Norwood Chapter. The meeting was in a hybrid online and in-person format.
“Wherever we find strong communities in aviation, we are also likely to find more committed and engaged pilots. There is no reason why the entire pilot population could not become just that one strong community.” – said Radek Wyrzykowski. “Unfortunately, all proficiency programs (as IMC Club) are always ending up like one page among many pages in this “large book,” if you will, of other initiatives and programs, and they don’t get the attention and support they deserve. I believe the main cause of aviation accidents and fatalities in GA is the lack of proficiency. The intent of this organization is to be dedicated solely to aviation proficiency. We are not going to be stopping with one program or resource only. And will not be distracted by anything that does not fulfill our mission of exposing pilots to instrument flying. Whether you are or are not instrument rated.” – he continued.
The monthly PPN meetings will follow a format of discussing flying scenarios based on ClimaDrive-created weather. First, participants will review a ClimaDrive-generated weather scenario, including a comprehensive preflight aviation weather briefing. Next, a group will have to make a go/no-go decision about the trip anticipated in the scenario. Then they will have to discuss the impending unexpected situation or failure included in the presentation in the realm of the realistic meteorological environment. The ClimaDrive system captures the real-world dynamic weather situation, instead of just a static set of weather conditions, to make this decision-making more lifelike.
Anyone can become a PPN member. PPN accounts for all economic situations, with its membership plan appropriate to everyone’s pocketbooks. The network permits everyone to determine how much they want to contribute, with membership fees from a dollar per year and up.
For more information: www.radeks.org
