The Story of Noel Wien and Cessna Aircraft in Alaska

The Story of Noel Wien and Cessna Aircraft in Alaska. . , Alaska's Pioneer Aviator Noel Wien, learned to fly in Minnesota in 1921. In eight hours, he learned to fly and soloed in a Curtiss JN-4 at the Curtiss Company Flying School. He then spent the next two years with the Federated Flying Circus doing "barnstorming" events., In the spring of 1924 Jimmy Rodebaugh, a senior railroad conductor with the Alaska Railroad in Fairbanks, contacted Noel and convinced him to relocate to Fairbanks and fly a Hisso Standard for the Alaska Aerial Transportation Company. Rodebaugh and his fellow investors strongly felt that aviation had a future in Alaska. By the time Noel arrived in Alaska he had accumulated 538.5 hours of flying time, which was high time for the period. He traveled to Seward by boat, then to Anchorage by rail. After assembling the aircraft in Anchorage, Wien took 120 people for ten-minute rides, at ten dollars per person. Afterwards, he flew the aircraft to Fairbanks on July 6,1924, making the first flight between the two cities., In 1924 and 1925, being the only pilot in Alaska, Noel established aviation as a viable commercial enterprise to Alaska's numerous bush communities. He hauled passengers, mail, freight, gold, fuel, and anything else you could put in an airplane. During those two years he flew 351 hours in one season and made 67 cross-country flights, most of which were made in the Hisso Standard J-1, or the Fokker F-111 monoplane that could carry five passengers. Wien had purchased the Fokker in 1925 on behalf of the investors., In the fall of 1925 Orville Wright of the famous Wright brothers, had signed the Aeronautic Association's Pilot License that was issued to Noel Wien on November 25, 1925., Two years later, in 1927 along with his brother Ralph Wien, Noel formed Wien Alaska Airways. At that time, they had the opportunity to purchase from Sir Hubert Wilkens, a Stinson Detroiter that Wilkens had planned to use to fly to the North Pole. Compared to the Hisso Standard, it was much more modern as it could be flown in the winter with its Wright air-cooled engine. With that aircraft Noel was able to provide year-round service to Nome, which was iced in for most of the year., Noel's older brother Ralph was killed in an accident in Kotzebue in 1930. Noel brought two other brothers, Fritz and Sig, to Alaska to join him in growing Wien Alaska Airlines into becoming a major Alaskan airline., In the early 1940's Noel purchased five Cessna Airmasters. He liked the Cessna brand as they were fast and efficient. As a result, Noel was granted the Cessna distributorship for Alaska after World War II. He brought in many Cessna aircraft and sold them within the Territory of Alaska. One of these Cessnas is displayed outside this building, and the original bill of sale in the image above is for the purchase of that same aircraft in July 1946., [Signature of] Richard Wien , Noel Wien's son, Richard Wien , March 2024, [Captions:] , Noel Wien's Pet License signed by Orville Wright (bottom left)!, 1946 Bill of Sale of Case 140, Cessna Aircraft Plant, Wichita, Kansas, Cessna 140 on display at Pike's Landing, Fairbanks, Alaska