IMC Club, the organization that popularized "organized hangar flying" for instrument pilots through its network of local chapters, announced the establishment of its first chapter in Canada.
The initial meeting of the new chapter was set for May 7 at Springbank Airport in Springbank, Alberta, near Calgary. The session was to be hosted by the Calgary Flying Club, with IMC Club Founder and President Radek Wyrzykowski in attendance.
"It is going to be a privilege for me to meet with our pilot friends in Calgary," Wyrzykowski said, adding that the Calgary Flying Club "has been a hub of aviation activity, friendship and learning since 1927."
Steve Peach, a Royal Canadian Air Force veteran, engineer, pilot, and owner of a four-place Grumman Tiger single-engine airplane, is president of the newly created Calgary chapter of IMC Club.
During its two-year existence, IMC Club has experienced rapid growth from "four pilots in Norwood, Mass.," to more than 2,000 members globally, the organization said. Club meetings are open to all current, non-current, and future instrument pilots. Registered members pay $36 a year, which affords them access to Web modules and club activities.
Through its chapters’ meetings and the organization’s online resources, nonprofit IMC Club focuses on instrument pilot proficiency by providing participants "an opportunity to share stories, network with the larger pilot community, and gain insights and tips for their IFR flying."
Wyrzykowski, an instrument flight instructor, developed the club concept after earning his instrument rating and finding that he still had many questions about real-life IFR operations. His efforts to discuss his questions and seek advice led to the organization of regular discussion sessions, he told AOPA in a June 2013 interview.
Last year, AOPA’s Frederick, Md., headquarters became the seventy-second IMC Club chapter.
As the organization’s growth continues, it now has more than 100 chapters in North America, South America, Europe,and Africa, IMC Club said.
Dan Namowitz
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