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Another Alaskan pioneer has passed. RIP Merrill.
Merrill Wien Obituary
On Sunday, January 8th, 2023, notable Alaskan pilot Merrill Wien, a loving husband, father and grandfather passed away at age 92 with his family at his side.
Merrill was born on April 4th, 1930 to Noel and Ada Wien and into a famous flying family in Alaska. Merrill inherited the love of aviation and had a career that spanned the post war period in Alaska. He flew round engine 1930s-era bush planes, WWII trainers, bombers and transports in the Air Force, and airliners later as a pilot for Pan Am and Wien Air Alaska. He ushered in the jet age to the 49th state and later flew wide-body aircraft all around the world.
Merrill embraced all of aviation. To fly was what he wanted to do ever since the days of sitting in his classroom and watching airplanes land at Weeks Field in Fairbanks. He could hardly wait for school to get out so he could run to the airport. By the time he was 16, he even had the opportunity to fly borrowed airplanes on his lunch break. Merrill’s days of flying for a living couldn’t come soon enough.
And quickly it did. While taking a break from flying for Wien to attend the University of Washington in his early 20s, Merrill was asked if he’d like to fly for Pan Am out of Seattle. He jumped at the chance, even though he knew he could be drafted now that he wasn’t in school. Soon he found himself flying in the 4-engine DC-4 on trips to Hawaii. He thought it couldn’t get better. It wouldn’t last long though.
While at Pan Am, Merrill was drafted into the Army for the Korean War. He wanted to fly, so he enlisted in the Air Force. Because he was two weeks short of his degree, he wasn’t eligible for flight training, even though he had been flying commercially in large transport category airplanes. He eventually found a way into the cockpit and went through Air Force primary training and eventually found himself as an aircraft commander in the C-119 Flying Boxcar in a top secret reconnaissance effort to photograph Russia. It turned out to be a harrowing assignment––catching balloons out of the air and from the water using a hook from the back of the airplanes. Those years in the military turned out to be some of the most difficult flying of his career.
After getting out of the service, Merrill had offers to come back to either Pan Am or work at the airline his father had started. He chose to stay in Alaska and fly for Wien, with his original 1950 date of hire. Flying for Wien would continue the adventure as he found himself occasionally landing a DC-4 on ice islands just shy of the North Pole instead of the tropical islands of Hawaii.
He never regretted his decision to return to Wien and he loved also flying the DC-3, C-46, Lockheed Constellation and Fokker F-27 out of Fairbanks and then the Boeing 737 and 727 from Anchorage and Seattle well into the 1980s before the airline was liquidated by a corporate raider.
While at Wien, he and his brother saw an opportunity to use B-25’s to fight forest fires and shortly after brought helicopters in their operation. They along with Doug Millard and Stan Halverson started the company called Merric and built it into a successful service for the state before they merged with Era Helicopters.
Merrill finished his airline career with a charter company operating the Lockheed L-1011, an airplane he thoroughly enjoyed even though the long-haul flying to Europe, the Middle East and Asia took a toll on him.
Upon reaching the mandatory retirement age for the airlines, he went to work for his friend Lowell Thomas Jr., offering sightseeing flights over Denali, as well as working as a test pilot for the Soloy Corporation in Olympia, Washington. Later Merrill flew freight in a C-46 out of Fairbanks for Evert’s Air Cargo as a ‘retirement job.'
His hobby on days off usually involved flying of some sort. He took the family on fishing trips out of Anchorage, and over the years acquired a number of WWII aircraft and brought them back to active flying status including two B-25s, a T-6, P-38, Stearman and Grumman Widgeon. Merrill also volunteered as an instructor pilot with the Commemorative Air Force, flying their B-29, “FiFi” to airshows across the country for 7 years and performing check rides for other pilots in all types of warbirds as a designated FAA examiner. Merrill also became involved in the flying community in the Seattle area where he and his wife Barbara have lived since the mid 1980’s. He managed to complete his career with many thousands of hours of accident free flying.
On the first page of his book Born to Fly, Wien says, "I never went looking for adventure, but my early interest in flying brought adventure to me. I suppose I was somewhat destined to become a pilot.”
Recently he said, “I’ve had a wonderful and full life—don’t be sad when I go.”
Merrill and former wife, Kathy had three children, Kimberlee, Kurt and Kent while living in Fairbanks and then Anchorage. Later Merrill married his current spouse, Barbara and helped raise her two children Eric Guina and Suzanne Guina Sagiao. They were married in Seattle and have been together for forty years.
He is survived by his wife Barbara, his brother Richard and his wife Sally as well as his five children, six grand children and his nieces Dona, Robyn, Kelly and Leslie and nephew Loren. He was preceded in death by his parents Noel and Ada, sister Jean and nephew Michael.
A celebration of his life is planned for later this spring in Seattle.
Merrill Wien Obituary
On Sunday, January 8th, 2023, notable Alaskan pilot Merrill Wien, a loving husband, father and grandfather passed away at age 92 with his family at his side.
Merrill was born on April 4th, 1930 to Noel and Ada Wien and into a famous flying family in Alaska. Merrill inherited the love of aviation and had a career that spanned the post war period in Alaska. He flew round engine 1930s-era bush planes, WWII trainers, bombers and transports in the Air Force, and airliners later as a pilot for Pan Am and Wien Air Alaska. He ushered in the jet age to the 49th state and later flew wide-body aircraft all around the world.
Merrill embraced all of aviation. To fly was what he wanted to do ever since the days of sitting in his classroom and watching airplanes land at Weeks Field in Fairbanks. He could hardly wait for school to get out so he could run to the airport. By the time he was 16, he even had the opportunity to fly borrowed airplanes on his lunch break. Merrill’s days of flying for a living couldn’t come soon enough.
And quickly it did. While taking a break from flying for Wien to attend the University of Washington in his early 20s, Merrill was asked if he’d like to fly for Pan Am out of Seattle. He jumped at the chance, even though he knew he could be drafted now that he wasn’t in school. Soon he found himself flying in the 4-engine DC-4 on trips to Hawaii. He thought it couldn’t get better. It wouldn’t last long though.
While at Pan Am, Merrill was drafted into the Army for the Korean War. He wanted to fly, so he enlisted in the Air Force. Because he was two weeks short of his degree, he wasn’t eligible for flight training, even though he had been flying commercially in large transport category airplanes. He eventually found a way into the cockpit and went through Air Force primary training and eventually found himself as an aircraft commander in the C-119 Flying Boxcar in a top secret reconnaissance effort to photograph Russia. It turned out to be a harrowing assignment––catching balloons out of the air and from the water using a hook from the back of the airplanes. Those years in the military turned out to be some of the most difficult flying of his career.
After getting out of the service, Merrill had offers to come back to either Pan Am or work at the airline his father had started. He chose to stay in Alaska and fly for Wien, with his original 1950 date of hire. Flying for Wien would continue the adventure as he found himself occasionally landing a DC-4 on ice islands just shy of the North Pole instead of the tropical islands of Hawaii.
He never regretted his decision to return to Wien and he loved also flying the DC-3, C-46, Lockheed Constellation and Fokker F-27 out of Fairbanks and then the Boeing 737 and 727 from Anchorage and Seattle well into the 1980s before the airline was liquidated by a corporate raider.
While at Wien, he and his brother saw an opportunity to use B-25’s to fight forest fires and shortly after brought helicopters in their operation. They along with Doug Millard and Stan Halverson started the company called Merric and built it into a successful service for the state before they merged with Era Helicopters.
Merrill finished his airline career with a charter company operating the Lockheed L-1011, an airplane he thoroughly enjoyed even though the long-haul flying to Europe, the Middle East and Asia took a toll on him.
Upon reaching the mandatory retirement age for the airlines, he went to work for his friend Lowell Thomas Jr., offering sightseeing flights over Denali, as well as working as a test pilot for the Soloy Corporation in Olympia, Washington. Later Merrill flew freight in a C-46 out of Fairbanks for Evert’s Air Cargo as a ‘retirement job.'
His hobby on days off usually involved flying of some sort. He took the family on fishing trips out of Anchorage, and over the years acquired a number of WWII aircraft and brought them back to active flying status including two B-25s, a T-6, P-38, Stearman and Grumman Widgeon. Merrill also volunteered as an instructor pilot with the Commemorative Air Force, flying their B-29, “FiFi” to airshows across the country for 7 years and performing check rides for other pilots in all types of warbirds as a designated FAA examiner. Merrill also became involved in the flying community in the Seattle area where he and his wife Barbara have lived since the mid 1980’s. He managed to complete his career with many thousands of hours of accident free flying.
On the first page of his book Born to Fly, Wien says, "I never went looking for adventure, but my early interest in flying brought adventure to me. I suppose I was somewhat destined to become a pilot.”
Recently he said, “I’ve had a wonderful and full life—don’t be sad when I go.”
Merrill and former wife, Kathy had three children, Kimberlee, Kurt and Kent while living in Fairbanks and then Anchorage. Later Merrill married his current spouse, Barbara and helped raise her two children Eric Guina and Suzanne Guina Sagiao. They were married in Seattle and have been together for forty years.
He is survived by his wife Barbara, his brother Richard and his wife Sally as well as his five children, six grand children and his nieces Dona, Robyn, Kelly and Leslie and nephew Loren. He was preceded in death by his parents Noel and Ada, sister Jean and nephew Michael.
A celebration of his life is planned for later this spring in Seattle.
It was back in 1980 when I was there.
