News

Good evening, folks.

Registration is open for the Spring 2026 FPAW Meeting at the meeting webpage here. Have we ever mentioned that registration is free?

You can use the Click for Registration button near the top of the page to bypass the agenda and go straight to the registration form, or scroll through the agenda (which we would suggest you do if you haven't done so previously) until you reach the registration form directly beneath it.

There is a new question in the registration form concerning sharing your email with other FPAW meeting registrants who are willing to share the same information, probably via an emailed spreadsheet after the conclusion of the meeting.

Finally, we had a great meeting today with a key member of the FAA Safety Team (FAAST). We are fairly confident that FPAW will be able to offer Wings Credits to FPAW meeting participants sometime in the not-too-distant future (and maybe, if everything goes well, in time for the Spring meeting)! We're really excited about this opportunity to potentially expand our GA participant numbers.

Matt Fronzak and Nathan Polderman
FPAW Co-Chairs

FPAW colleagues,

We wanted to share with you an op-ed in support of NCAR that our friends at Campbell Scientific recently published in the Deseret News (Utah's largest newspaper). Matt and I worked with FPAW member and Campbell Scientific Director of Business Development, Jesse Heers, to provide some aviation-specific insights which they were able to incorporate into the article.

https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2026/02/15/protect-national-center-for-atmospheric-research-utah-safety/

We also met recently with External Engagement / Media Relations folks at UCAR and NCAR to strategize how best to advocate for continued NCAR support from the broader FPAW community. We are in the process of compiling some additional resources, which we look forward to sharing with you all in a future newsletter very soon.

Thanks,

Nathan Polderman and Matt Fronzak

FPAW Co-Chairs

Good evening, aviation weather enthusiasts.

Nathan and I are pleased to advise that the Draft High Level Agenda for the Spring 2026 FPAW Meeting is now available on the meeting web page. Please spend a few minutes reviewing the meeting topics, and start making plans to join us IN-PERSON in Stillwater, OK in April. 

We'll be adding details to the meeting itself, and to meeting logistics, in the coming days. Meanwhile, if you think you have what it takes to add value as a presenter or panelist, reach out to the Session Leads/Co-Leads and let them know that you're ready to take the discussion to a whole new level.

All the best,

Matt Fronzak and Nathan Polderman
FPAW Co-Chairs

To our Friends and Partners in Aviation Weather,

Nathan and I wish you the Happiest of Holidays on this, the evening of December 25, 2025. We trust the weather has fully cooperated with and enhanced today's activities for you, regardless of where you are (fat chance, we know, but it was a lovely mid-70s day under partly cloudy skies in central GA, where one of us is right now).

We'll be pushing out our first Spring 2026 FPAW Meeting agenda in the next few weeks. We know it's a long way off but, believe us, you'll really want to be thinking about making plans to travel to Stillwater, OK for the April 21-23, 2026 meeting.

In the meantime, we hope you have a chance to recharge and reset over the next 1-2 weeks, and jump straight into 2026 with vim and vigor!

Matt Fronzak and Nathan Polderman
FPAW Co-Chairs

Hello, fellow aviation weather enthusiasts.

This week, the federal Office of Management and Budget announced plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). There are lots of comments we could make right now, but few of them would be either appropriate or fitting for this newsletter.

What we will do, however, is duplicate the contents of a forwarded AGU email one of us received just a few minutes ago, and ask every one of you to do what the email suggests, via either of the two blue hyperlinks (both go to the same AGU web page), as we'll be doing as soon as we finish this newsletter.

Let's add the voices of FPAW's 600+ members to the 2,600 folks who have already weighed in with their congressional representatives!

Matt Fronzak and Nathan Polderman
FPAW Co-Chairs

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Connect with Your Legislators

The Earth and Space Science community heard NCAR was in trouble and showed up en masse.
Your effort has already made an impact. Members of Congress are working on language to
protect NCAR in Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations and Colorado Representatives Neguse and 
Herd are circulating a bipartisan, bicameral Dear Colleague Letter to show support for NCAR.
Your members of Congress can show their support for NCAR by signing onto this letter and
voting for NCAR funding in appropriations.

Even if you've already reached out, you can call and email again, or share with your colleagues
and institutions.

Contact Congress Now

More than 2600 scientists have contacted Congress to save NCAR. Let's keep up the momentum!