The Story of Noel Wien and Cessna Aircraft in Alaska

Noel Wien, Alaska's pioneer aviator, learned to fly in Minnesota in 1921, soloed in a Curtiss JN-4 after eight hours at the Curtiss Company Flying School, and spent the next two years barnstorming with the Federated Flying Circus. In the spring of 1924, Jimmy Rodebaugh of the Alaska Railroad persuaded him to move to Fairbanks and fly a Hisso Standard for the Alaska Aerial Transportation Company, reflecting investors' belief that aviation had a future in Alaska. By the time Wien arrived, he had accumulated 538.5 hours of flying time. He traveled to Seward by boat and Anchorage by rail, assembled the aircraft there, gave 120 people ten-minute rides at ten dollars per person, and then flew to Fairbanks on July 6, 1924, making the first flight between the two cities. In 1924 and 1925, as the only pilot in Alaska, he established aviation as a viable commercial enterprise for many bush communities, hauling passengers, mail, freight, gold, fuel, and other cargo. During those two years, he flew 351 hours in one season and made 67 cross-country flights, mostly in the Hisso Standard J-1 or a Fokker F-111 monoplane that could carry five passengers, which he purchased in 1925 on behalf of the investors. In the fall of 1925, Orville Wright signed the Aeronautic Association pilot license issued to Wien on November 25, 1925. In 1927, Noel and his brother Ralph formed Wien Alaska Airways and acquired from Sir Hubert Wilkens a Stinson Detroiter originally intended for a North Pole flight; with its more modern design and Wright air-cooled engine, it could operate in winter, allowing Noel to provide year-round service to Nome. After Ralph was killed in an accident in Kotzebue in 1930, Noel brought his brothers Fritz and Sig to Alaska to help grow Wien Alaska Airlines into a major Alaskan airline. In the early 1940's, Noel purchased five Cessna Airmasters because he considered them fast and efficient, and after World War II he became Cessna's distributor in Alaska, bringing in and selling many Cessna aircraft throughout the Territory of Alaska.

Chena Ridge, Alaska · United States