Culver Academy Avation School Fate  

John N. Buxton, Culver Academies’ current and 12th head of schools. Issued a press release of the aviation program - before publicly doing it in the newspapers and the Culver Alumni he sent a letter to Culver Summer school alumni and supporters sometime in January annoucing the aviation programs fate - Academies close air program.

Dear ____________:
At its fall meeting, the Board of Trustees voted to discontinue the Aviation program at Culver. A general announcement of this decision has not been shared with the alumni or the student body, but an announcement will appear in the next edition of the Culver Alumni Magazine. I am writing so you have advance notice of this and so that you will not be surprised when the formal notification is made. You have been close to the Aviation program at Culver, and you need to understand why we have reached this very unfortunate conclusion. Obviously, the tragedy that occurred on August 10, 2005 was extremely difficult for the school, the staff, and the families involved. The accident led to 12 months of intense examination and questioning and a thorough analysis of every aspect of our program. We had all of our planes examined; we did benchmarking with other aviation schools; we worked with the FAA and the NTSB closely as we tried to get answers to our questions; and we worked closely with the insurance company to see what the future might look like. In the final analysis, it was clear that it would be too great a commitment of assets to one program in order to bring aviation back to Culver as we have known it.

You may know that this past summer we offered a ground school program for aviation students. We created a state of the art aviation lab so students could participate and practice in a “virtual” environment. The program was actually quite successful even though no one left the ground. We provided transportation for students to travel to local airports for their flight training, but most students seemed content to work in the lab for their training, knowing that they would be able to pursue individual pilot lessons after they attain the age of 16.

In the meantime, we have thoroughly researched the cost and the limits for insurance coverage, the costs of new planes, the cost of relocating the airport and runway operation farther away from the Woodcraft Campus. We concluded we were unable to conduct the program at the level we would want with the protection we would need. Clearly this is a financial more than a philosophical decision.

I imagine you will be disappointed, but I certainly hope you will understand and support our decision. I wanted you to know that this decision to discontinue the program has been reached and that the official announcement will be coming out in a few months.

I hope this letter finds you well, and I appreciate your understanding.
Sincerely yours,
John N. Buxton

2007 - The issue dated Thursday , February 22 of the Culver Citizen headline proclaimed:

Culver Academies close Air Program
"We concluded that we would be unable to conduct the program at the level we would want with the (insurance) protection we would need." Culver Academies Head of Schools John Buxton.



Academies close air program
The issue dated Thursday, February 22 of the Culver
the issue dated February of the Plymouth Pilot - reads
the issue dated Friday, February 16 of the South Bend Tribune - reads:
CULVER — Following 12 months of intense self-examination and a thorough analysis of every aspect of the program, Culver Academies’ trustees have decided to discontinue the aviation program.

At its fall 2006 meeting, The Culver Educational Foundation Board of Trustees voted to permanently disband the program in the aftermath of the Aug. 10, 2005 plane crash that killed a 21-year-old instructor and a 14-year-old student pilot.

The cause of that crash remains under investigation by federal agencies.

The decision was more financial than philosophical, Head of Schools John N. Buxton said.

“The tragedy that occurred on August 10, 2005, was extremely difficult for the school, the staff, and the families involved,” Buxton said. “We had all of our planes examined. We did benchmarking with other aviation schools. We worked with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board closely as we tried to get answers to our questions.”

In the months since the crash Buxton said the school had explored cost and the limits for insurance coverage, the costs of new planes, and the cost of relocating the airport and runways farther away from the campus.

“We concluded that we would be unable to conduct the program at the level we would want with the (insurance) protection we would need,” Buxton said.

The Academies’ Fleet Field, with asphalt and grass runways, has been closed to all air traffic since the crash and the schools’ fleet of four aircraft has been sold. Buxton said no decisions have been made regarding the future of the airport property or whether or not ground school will be offered to high school students.

During the past summer, Culver Summer Schools and Camps provided its aviation students with ground school classes and the opportunity to “fly” via computerized simulation and to study flight through the use of radio-controlled airplanes.

That program was quite successful, even though no one left the ground. Culver will continue to offer this program, Buxton said. Most students seemed content to work in the lab for their training, knowing that they would be able to pursue individual pilot lessons after they attain the age of 16, he said.

Culver Military Academy cadets first took to the air in 1920 - only 17 years after the Wright brothers’ flight at Kitty Hawk, N.C. - when float planes were introduced on Lake Maxinkuckee. That short-lived experiment ceased in 1925. The aviation program resumed in 1971 with conventional aircraft and, in the ensuing years, Culver’s program had developed into the only high school program in the country with its own aircraft, its own airport, and a full-time staff.

Note by an added note the South Bend Tribune article was the original article that first appeared in the Culver Alumni Magazine.