Wien, Noel Merrill

Merrill Wien's life of aviation began shortly after his birth in 1930 when the infant Wien flew with his parents in a laundry basket aboard his father s new Stinson. Son of pioneer bush pilot Noel Wien, Merrill soloed at sixteen years old, and got his commercial aviation license at nineteen, and his instrument rating at twenty years old.

He flew DC-3s for the family airline Wien Alaska Airlines until 1951 when he flew DC-4s for Pan American Airlines to Hawaii or Alaska and back. He joined the US Air Force in 1952, and he flew a C-119 Troop Carrier. Merrill flew top secret missions in Asia r...