News

Good evening, aviation weather aficionados!

Matthias and I will be making our way to DAB tomorrow, me by car, him by air and car, with the ultimate goal of meeting up at our hotel and making sure we have at least Day 1 of the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting under control. What happens after that...we'll see :).

You may be thinking, "Well, crud, I failed to register for the meeting, and now I'm going to miss all the outstanding presentations and conversations about Airmen Aviation Weather Education, Training and Certification (the theme of the meeting). But, wait, you can still register (even in person!) at this 11th hour. You just have to send me (mfronzak@mitre.org) an email (like my good friend Gordon Brooks did earlier today), grovel just a little bit (Gordon hardly groveled), and then you'll be registered and, most importantly, receive meeting invitations for the three days of EXCELLENT FPAW presentations and conversations. Please note that, while I'm on the road, there may be some delay in getting you registered. But, I will, eventually, I promise!

So, do not delay, send me that email and let me get you hooked up with the presentations and conversations of the best aviation weather industry group in existence!

Oh, and if you're wondering what's going to be discussed at the upcoming FPAW meeting, head to the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting web page and take a look.

Matt Fronzak
FPAW Co-Chair, Road Warrior, Welcome and Opening Remarks Deliverer, and Sessions 5&6 Co-Lead

Good evening aviation weather wonks (and I use that term lovingly)!

The registration form on the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting web page is now officially CLOSED. 

I'm happy to report that we have 161, yes, 161 registrants for next week's excellent FPAW meeting. There are 54 In-Person registrants and an amazing 107 Remote registrants. We will definitely be able to claim that we had a good slice of the aviation weather community at, or dialed into, the meeting.

Now, you may be asking yourself "What if, even though the registration form is closed, I absolutely, positively want to register for and participate in the meeting? Is it absolutely, positively too late to register for the meeting and get the virtual connection information?"

I am pleased to report that the answer is "No, it's not too late." However, you'll have to email me, Matt Fronzak, at mfronzak@mitre.org, to accomplish this. And I cannot guarantee what kind of turn time I'll be able to provide (although I'm pretty quick for an old guy).

So, do not bemoan the fact that you've missed the opportunity to register. Reach out to me and I'll hook you up, as they say.

For those of you who have already registered, and especially those who are planning to attend in person, I look forward to hearing or seeing you next week!

Matt Fronzak
FPAW Co-Chair

Hello, FPAW Fans.

You should be able to tell what I'm watching on TV by that salutation (hint - it's Opening Day!)

Registration for the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting will end TOMORROW, at COB PDT (that's Close Of Business Pacific Daylight Time for you acronym-challenged people). We have an amazing 147 folks registered right now (excellent numbers, given relatively few Feds), and I'm guessing that we'll have another dozen or so before the registration form closes down. So, don't wait. Don't hesitate. Get your registration form filled out in the next 24 or so hours and join us for what is shaping up to be another OUTSTANDING FPAW meeting.

Speaking of that - the agenda has been slightly tweaked in the last day and the updated version is now online. Take a peek - we'll be having a GREAT conversation next week at ERAU in DAB. (Some more acronyms thrown your way - yet another hint).

Matt Fronzak
FPAW Co-Chair 

Good morning, fellow aviation weather enthusiasts.

If everyone correctly listed their desired email addresses when they registered (it doesn't happen often, but sometimes...), and if I transcribed all that information accurately (a BIG if), and IF I have done everything correctly (a VERY BIG big if), the 119 of you who have registered for the upcoming Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting will have received three separate calendar invitations from me late yesterday.

So, on that note, here are two items for you:

1. If you believe you've registered, but have not received those calendar invitations, you can either re-register, or send me (mfronzak@mitre.org) an email letting me know you've registered but have not received the calendar invitations.
2. If you haven't registered, well, register before COB this coming Friday, 3-28-25, when the online registration form will close.

I look forward to seeing you next week in DAB!

Matt Fronzak
FPAW Co-Chair 

Hello, fellow aviation weather enthusiasts.

The Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! It will take place at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, FL from Tuesday, April 1, 2025 (no kidding!!) through Thursday, April 3, 2025, for both in-person (preferred!) and virtual attendees.

In spite of the current uncertainty impacting our federal partners and friends, the agenda has shaped up very, very nicely. We expect to have yet another world-class, critical meeting of Aviation Weather Users, Providers, Regulators and REDs/Academicians.

Has this somehow slipped by you? We have good news - it's not too late to register for the meeting. Go to the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting web page at https://fpaw.aero/events/2025/fpaw-2025-spring-meeting, where a detailed agenda has been posted, and register today. But, do hurry. Registration will close on Friday, 3-28-25 at 1700E.

If you're planning to attend in-person, your attention is drawn to the fact that ERAU, like many college campuses, has very limited parking for visitors. If practical, please plan to walk, carpool or take a rideshare service to the meeting (Matthias and I will be walking!). See the documents on the meeting web page for key logistical information for in-person attendees.

We sure hope to see you in Daytona Beach in 10 days!

Matt Fronzak and Matthias Steiner
FPAW Co-Chairs

Happy Last Week of February Hump Day to you all.

The Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting web page, including the agenda, has been updated. We daresay that, given the current state of affairs, this will not be the last update. So, check back in to the web page periodically (or, multiple times per day, as we do) and spot the changes before anyone else!

Speaking of changes, we have several FAA and NOAA/NWS presenters/panelists in the program. It should surprise nobody that we may have to find substitutes for one or more of them, right up to the start of the meeting. We're going to be very, very tactical (kind of like we were for the Spring 2020 meeting), with the ultimate goal of delivering, as always, a first class, free FPAW meeting in early April. Know also that we asked the FPAW Steering Committee and the Spring FPAW 2025 Session Leads to offer their opinions on what we should do if NONE of the Feds were allowed to attend. The unanimous answer: Press On! And, so we shall.

There are 50 registrants for the meeting so far, including Feds. I'm hoping we'll get up to 100 +/- before all is said and done, even with all the ongoing churn, because the meeting topics and outcomes are just so important. So, if you haven't signed up yet, please do so ASAP. And, needless to say, we'd encourage in-person participation if at all possible in beautiful, sunny, warm Daytona Beach, FL.

Matt Fronzak and Matthias Steiner
FPAW Co-Chairs

Happy Friday to you all! May we live in dull, boring times.

Failing that, we'd like to provide you with some updates to the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting. We're still meeting at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) from April 1-3, 2025. We're still competing head-to-head with the Sun 'n No Fun (tongue firmly in cheek) Fly-In in Lakeland. And we continue to attract a bevy of excellent speakers and presenters as we explore the topic of Airmen Weather Education, Training and Certification.

We have updated the high-level agenda contained on the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting web page. Folks, ERAU is making some heavy hitters available, who will be welcoming us to their campus, providing keynote thoughts on the relationship between Weather and Aviation Safety, and then inviting us to and sponsoring a Day 1 Mixer social event!

And, we know, we know, FPAW gets in the way of your real work, and even if you attend in person, you just need to cut out midday on Day 3. But, wait! FPAW will be putting on a colloquium for the second time at one of our meetings, on Thursday, Day 3, immediately after lunch. The speaker at that event will be FPAW Steering Committee member Rex Alexander, whose talk is titled "Low Altitude Aviation Weather - The Rodney Dangerfield of the Weather World."  We can assure you, having heard Rex speak on his adventures in bug-smashing, rotary-winged aircraft, you won't want to miss it!

So, all of this is to say that you need to register for the meeting ASAP, and preferably in-person. We know that we said that last Fall's meeting at the FAATC may have set a new high bar for FPAW gatherings; we're here to tell you that our upcoming meeting may shove the bar even higher!

Matt Fronzak and Matthias Steiner
FPAW Co-Chairs

Good Friday to you all.  Because I so want you to register for the upcoming FPAW Meeting (preferably as an in-person participant), and because I messed up the URL for the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting in the original message (thank you to Eagle-Eye Frank Brody for the point-out), I'm going to spam you with a repeat of yesterday's message.

The Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting will take place just under SEVEN WEEKS FROM NOW, from Tuesday, April 1, 2025 through Thursday, April 3, 2025. Our host will be one of my alma maters, namely the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, FL, and that's no April Fool's joke! Come join us!!

Considering what goes on at ERAU on a daily basis, and given that a significant portion of the aviation weather gaps identified and discussed at last Spring's meeting were about airmen weather education, training and certification, it should come as no surprise that the theme of the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting will be (drum roll, please) "Airmen Weather Education, Training and Certification." And, in case you were wondering, the term "Airmen," as used here, is a gender-neutral term that includes but is not limited to pilots (in-aircraft), remote pilots (UAS operators), aircraft dispatchers and air traffic controllers.

The goal of this meeting will be to develop 1-2 (or 7?) important positions that FPAW can take up and pursue, either through the creation and dissemination of white/position papers, or by providing relevant problem statements to the appropriate authorities.

A high-level, subject-to-change agenda has been posted on the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting web page, located at https://fpaw.aero/events/2025/fpaw-2025-spring-meeting. Please take a few minutes to look it over and, importantly, if you consider yourself qualified, capable and willing to fill the one of the small handful of TBD slots on that agenda, or if you think you'd be a good panelist or presenter candidate for the first two major sessions, reach out to me or Matthias and let us connect you with the right folks.

The registration form has been activated and is available for your immediate use! Meanwhile, urban legend has it that the six-week mark is the best time to book airline seats. And you may want to take a peek at the hotel offer advertised on the Spring 2025 FPAW Meeting web page, especially if you're a Marriott frequent stayer.

Matt Fronzak and Matthias Steiner
FPAW Co-Chairs