EAA Giving Pilot Proficiency Center Permanent Home

The Pilot Proficiency Center, one of the popular temporary educational exhibits at EAA AirVenture will soon have a permanent home at the EAA Museum. A 30,000-square-foot addition is under construction as part of Project 21, an endeavor to increase and improve the museum’s educational offerings.

It is located on the south side of the building near the Eagle Hangar.

According to Jack Pelton, EAA Chairman and CEO, the new facility will provide the opportunity to take two of the most popular educational features of AirVenture namely KidVenture and the Pilot Proficiency Center and offer them year round.

“We have these wonderful assets that are only used for AirVenture. The Redbird simulators for example, sit in storage for an entire year except for that one week,” Pelton explains. “Wouldn’t it be great to be able to use them year round?”

During AirVenture, the Redbird simulators are placed in the Pilot Proficiency Center, a tent located on the midway. During the week, specially trained flight instructors put hundreds of pilots through a series of scenarios designed to improve their pilot skills. Meanwhile, KidVenture, the program that allows children to explore different aspects of flight, is housed under tents located near the museum.

According to Pelton the permanent facility, while attached to the museum, will have a separate entrance, allowing it to be in operation when the museum is closed. In addition to KidVenture and the PPC, the facility will be utilized for quarterly flight instructor academies, FAA Wings presentations and by type clubs and industry groups seeking to hold safety seminars.

Pelton notes Project 21, as it’s called internally, is part of an overall effort to improve the museum’s educational experience. The new center is the first phase of a three-phase project. Phase II includes digital upgrades for more of the exhibits in the main museum and Phase III will create an interactive experience focusing on the grassroots movement of experimental homebuilt aircraft.

The EAA foundation is taking donations to help fund the facility, which it hopes to have open by Spring 2022. If you would like to contribute, reach out to the EAA here.