Aviation Announcement Letter Feb. 2006

From Culverpedia

The following is the text of a letter sent out to all Summer Camp parents in February 2006 from Tony Mayfield, Summer Camps Director, regarding changes to the Aviation Program in the wake of the August 2005 Specialty Camp Plane Crash incident:

January 30, 2006

Dear Culver Summer Patron:

Over the past several months there have been numerous inquiries concerning the future of Culver’s Aviation program. This letter is a follow-up to the letter written to Aviation patrons last November and to all summer families to inform you of Culver’s decisions regarding our aviation program for the summer.

Since the aviation accident this past August the Culver Academies have been cooperating with the FAA and NTSB investigation of the accident. As of this date there has been no formal report submitted to the Academies, and it could still be some time before a report is received. As we await a formal report, the Academies have been conducting an internal investigation, and the Culver Educational Foundation has determined that there will be no ‘in air’ flight instruction in the immediate future, and at least through the end of the summer.

However, it is the intent of the Culver Summer Schools and Camps to maintain the integrity of the Summer Aviation units. It is our hope that the young men in these units will continue their Culver summer experience as leaders and officers, and graduate as members of the Culver Summer School of Aviation. Certainly, one of the most important aspects of the Culver experience is the leadership, camaraderie, and values gained as a member of a unit. The friendships made with classmates in a living unit are friends for a lifetime, and we hope all of our aviation cadets will return once again to their respective units and to their Culver friends.

While we are still finalizing the aviation program for this summer, we plan for the Aviation School to offer classes in Fundamentals of Aviation, Aviation Ground School, and to make greater use of the Frasca 131 Flight Simulator. Up to 15 hours of FAA certified instrument flight training can be obtained on a flight simulator and all aviation students will be scheduled to work towards obtaining at least 5 hours of flight training on the simulator during the summer. We also plan to add an aviation computer lab where students will work with Microsoft Flight Simulator programs. In addition to this we are considering offering elective classes in meteorology and in the building and flying of remote airplanes.

Although we understand this is a significant departure from earning flight hours in a plane, we will provide a meaningful aviation experience for our aviation cadets and for any student from across campus interested in pursuing aviation training.

We hope to hear from our aviation campers, as well as from campers in other units who enjoy aviation, that you will be returning to continue your Culver experience and your enjoyment of aviation.

Thank you for your continued interest in Culver and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely, Anthony T. Mayfield Director, Culver Summer Schools and Camps