IMC Club Celebrate 10th Anniversary, Substantial Growth in Support of Pilot Proficiency

October 15, 2020 – The IMC/VMC Club concept, now part of the EAA’s pilot proficiency resources, celebrates its 10th anniversary this month with sustained and substantial growth in recent years bringing flight safety scenarios to local pilots.

More than 400 local clubs in communities throughout the country now provide and promote flying, proficiency, and safety. Those clubs meet monthly, allowing pilots to share information and resources, using their flying experiences as shared knowledge to enhance safety for all who fly.

"What started as an informal conversation at a restaurant in Norwood, Massachusetts, in 2010 has now grown into an impressive network of clubs throughout the nation," said Radek Wyrzykowski, EAA's manager of flight proficiency, who conceived of the IMC Club concept. "Over the past decade, the initial concept has not only grown and thrived, but has created a suite of resources through EAA's Proficiency365® initiative to take flight safety and pilot proficiency to the next level. This success would not have been possible without all who have been involved, from EAA members and friends, to donors, volunteers, and program coordinators. Thanks to all of them, whether they have been with the program since its start or have joined recently."

The IMC Club provides organized "hangar flying" focused on building proficiency in instrument flying. It is the only organization of its kind. The IMC Club concept is to bring together IFR-rated pilots who fly in real-world "actual IMC" and provide them an opportunity to share stories, network with the larger pilot community, and gain valuable insights and tips for their IFR flying. IMC Club meetings provide a forum for promoting participation and discussion of IFR flying.

The success of the IMC Club concept led to the creation of the VMC Club, which brings similar safety- and proficiency-based scenarios for pilots primarily flying under visual flight conditions (VFR).

The IMC/VMC Clubs are part of EAA's wide-ranging pilot proficiency resources under the Proficiency365® banner, which also includes the EAA SkillScore Tracker, Virtual Flight Academy, the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, and much more. Since becoming part of EAA’s programming in 2015, the number of IMC/VMC Clubs has almost quadrupled, with most of them affiliated with local EAA chapters that promote and support grassroots flying in local communities.

The EAA IMC Club is presented by Bose Corporation and supported by Jeppesen. For more information on IMC Clubs and all of EAA Proficiency resources, go to EAA.org/Proficiency.