A Career's Worth of Memories
James Fuhrer leaves a family legacy at the tower in Casper
When James Fuhrer finishes his career this summer, it will mark the first time in 65 years that a Fuhrer hasn’t been part of the FAA family in Casper, Wyoming. Frank Fuhrer moved his family there in 1958 and worked as an air traffic controller for 20 years, followed by a short post-retirement stint in the early 1980s. Then about the time he retired for good, James landed his first job as a controller at Casper Tower. Frank handed off his headset to his son to continue the family tradition of air traffic control.
“There were two slots for Casper in my class,” James recalled about graduating from the FAA Academy. “And I picked one of them. ... It took me a few years to realize that of most everybody I worked with, they weren't going back home. They were going someplace that was foreign to them. And so it really was a luxury for me.”
After serving in WWII as a B-17 pilot, flying people around at county fairs, and working for Frontier Airlines, Frank transitioned to the FAA via the flight service station that used to be in Casper and then transferred to the tower. That is where James got the aviation bug one night when he joined his father on a midnight shift. “I was just amazed at all the lights and buzzers and whistles, and just looking out the window and seeing the airplanes,” James said.
Besides the family connection, Casper appealed to him because it is an up/down facility, where controllers get certified to work traffic both from the tower and via radar from the TRACON in the same building. James didn’t plan to stay at Casper Tower his entire career. Although he initially stayed in Casper to be close to his parents, he did periodically explore other FAA jobs in the Northwest and Alaska. Then he and his wife decided Casper was a great place to raise their own family.
One of the most satisfying aspects of managing a small FAA facility, he said, is helping controllers and supervisors develop the skills necessary to excel at larger facilities. People who have worked for James over the past nine years have gone on to Dallas TRACON, Denver Center and Los Angeles Tower, among others. “These are all folks who have done well here and gone on to meet their career goals,” he said. “... Your favorite memories frequently revolve around the people.”
Read more about the Fuhrer's family history in Casper in FocusFAA.
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