On October 3, 1994 Jim Wagner applied and was accepted into the Falcon Squadron 40 stationed at the United States Marine Corps Air Base El Toro, California. He went back to flight school under Dr. Ernie Maurer at Orange Coast College Technology Division and joined the El Toro Marine Aero Club for flight training. To be a member of the aero club one had to be an active member of the military or reserve. Several months later Jim succeeded in getting his Single Engine Propeller Private Pilot’s License through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and becoming a pilot for the CAP.
Senior Member Jim Wagner remained with the El Toro Marine Aero Club until the air base was permanently closed on July 2, 1999.
Jim Wagner’s flight training took place in Southern California which contains 60% of the air traffic in the United States within a 60 mile radius of Los Angeles International Airport. When Jim Wagner was 17 years old he did his first solo flight out of John Wayne Airport, the nation’s third busiest airport at the time, and later learned military aviation procedures out of El Toro. Senior Member Jim Wagner operated in the same air space with F-18 and Harrier Jump Jet fighter jets, CH-53 Sea Stallion, and UH-1 Huey helicopters. Jim Wagner flew the Cessna 150 (two seat) and 172 (four seat).
In May of 2002 Agent Jim Wagner returned to the Marine Corps Air Base El Toro, which was still owned by the United States Navy, and which served as a temporary headquarters for the United States Air Marshal Service Los Angeles Field Office. The actual office was the building that housed the still standing old control tower.
Courses that pilot Jim Wagner attended include:
October 10, 1994
U.S. Customs Drug Interdiction
Instructor: Steve Damascus
October 17, 1994
Electrical system and control failure
November 5, 1994
E/S Level I
Instructor: LTC Brian Wolf (CAP)
November 6, 1994
E/S Level II
Cadet Protection Course
Instructor: 1 LT Edward Tracey (CAP)
November 11, 1994
Crew and passenger emergency procedures
Instructor: John Kaylor, Group Commander
July 31, 1995
Fuel management
Jim Wagner’s Ground School training included the following courses:
Aerodynamics
Power plant and aircraft systems
Flight instruments
Airplane weight and balance
Airplane performance and preflight procedures
Airports and airspace, radio communications
Meteorology
Aviation weather services and computer flight planning
Flight information publications
Federal Aviation regulations
Basics of air navigation
Radio navigation
Cross-country navigation
Physiology of flight
Airborne emergencies
Preparation for FAA exam
|
