Foreword Introduction 1. The Early Years 2. Young Pilot 3. Paid to Fly 4. In the Army Now 5. Aircraft Commander 6. Special Assignments 7. A Civilian Again 8. Alaskan Adventures 9. Branching Out 10. A New Bush Plane 11. Ice Island Flying 12. From the Turboprop to the Jet Age 13. Turbulence for Wien Air Alaska 14. Life After Wien Air Alaska 15. For the Love of Flying Epilogue Acknowledgments Further Reading Aircraft Flown by Noel Merrill Wien
Advertising: Ingram e-comm Awards: Submitted to American Historical Association to be considered for Dunning Prize Blurbs: Targeted blurbs from Alaskan and Political VIPs Events: Targeted events at stores in Alaska and Washington State and at the renowned Great Alaska Aviation Gathering/ANC, Aviation Geek Festival/SEA, Boeing SeaFair Air Show/Puget Sound, Seattle Aviation Museum Materials: ARCs, event posters, aviation cross-sell flyer Online: Featured on www.graphicartsbooks.com, and dedicated Facebook fan page, YouTube trailer Promos: ARC giveaways on Goodreads and The Reading Room, Father’s Day gift promotion Publicity: targeted Alaska and Washington broadcast interviews/features on Alaska Public Radio Network, KTOO, KTUU, KINGtv, NPR, etc. Reviews: Features, reviews, and excerpts targeted for trade, Alaska regional, and national history media such as Alaska Magazine, Alaska Airlines Magazine, History Channel producers, etc. Sales: special promotion to aviation museums including Seattle, Palm Springs, Pima, National Airforce Museum in Ohio, Smithsonian, Anchorage Rasmussen Tradeshows: Featured at ReadAlaska Book Fair, PNBA, Alaska Wholesale Gift Show, Seattle Wholesale Gift Show, and AKLA
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 recovering parachutes with cameras in midair that had drifted over Russia tethered to balloons. After the Air Force, Wien returned to the family airline, and flew everything from bush planes to the four-prop engine Constellation, and Boeing 737 jets.
With his brother, Richard, and two friends, they started Merric Inc. which was an early Alaskan helicopter company flying the new Hiller UH-12E choppers. Later, Merrill flew the Lockheed L-1101 jumbo jet worldwide for a charter airline.
In retirement, he became a Confederate Air Force pilot, flying historic military planes including the cargo C-46, and the B-24, B-25 and B-29 bombers. Merrill is one of the most accomplished and experienced pilots of his time. He received the Wright Brothers “Master Pilot” award for fifty years of accident-free flying, and in 2014 he was inducted into the Alaska Aviation Legends for logging more than 33,000 hours in some 150 aircraft including helicopters. He is recognized for mentoring hundreds of young men and women and helping them pursue their own aviation dreams.
Major General William “Bill” Anders was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 8, the first manned voyage to orbit the moon. Anders shot the now famous photograph, Earthrise, the first picture taken of the earth from the moon.
Over a long and accomplished career Anders has received many awards, including the Distinguished Service Medals from the Air Force, NASA, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; the Air Force Commendation Medal; the National Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal for Exploration; and the American Astronautical Society's Flight Achievement Award.
Anders serves on the advisory committee to Seattle’s nonprofit Museum of Flight, one of the largest independent air and space museums in the world. The museum's collection includes more than 150 historically significant air and spacecraft, and more than 140,000 students are served annually by the Museum's on-site and outreach educational programs.“I first had the pleasure of flying with Merrill in ’56. He is the
greatest pilot I have ever shared a cockpit with. I learned a great
deal from Merrill about professionalism as a pilot. Not just in how
he flew, but in how he treated everyone in his crew. Merrill’s
story is a must read by anyone interested in aviation and
Alaska.”—Holger "Jorgy" Jorgensen, legendary Alaska bush pilot and
airline captain
“The best pilot anywhere. Need a Metalplane, need a Widgeon, need a
B-29? Call Merrill!” —Phil Makanna, author of Ghosts: Vintage
Aircraft of World War II
“A book of seat-of-the-pants flying stories that keeps readers on
the edge of their seat!”—Lowell Thomas Jr., author, statesman, bush
pilot
"It’s like listening to [Merrill]. . . A truly amazing book."
—Richard Bach, bestselling author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull
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