Flying around recently in the vicinity of Wein Lake- started me wondering the history of that name. Obviously the Wein legacy in Alaska is huge- but why that lake? Is there some history that played out there? I've probably got the answer in my library if I took the time to look, but I thought someone here might know. Seems like it would have made a good landmark en route from Fairbanks to McGrath, if nothing else.

Also some really neat vegetated sand dunes from the old glacial sediments in that region. Really lovely meandering rivers that I could photograph all day. Just no place to put down a wheel plane for any direction in dang near 50 miles.

Thanks- happy flying to all.

-DP

Denali Pilot,

I'm not sure the origin of the name of the lake, but if you go over just east of the Toklat River, just east of Mucha Lake, you'll find a little promontory that's called "Wien's Lookout". Noel Wien was flying a Hisso Standard from the gold mines north of FAI back to FAI, and got on top of a cloud deck.

He ran out of gas, and dead stick landed the airplane on a sand bar on the Toklat. He damaged the plane in the landing. He didn't know exactly where he was, due to being on top for quite a while.

He hiked over to that little promontory, climbed it, and could see the bluff just above Nenana, 25 miles or so to the NE. He then hiked in to Nenana. He was the only pilot in Alaska at the time, and had the only two airplanes in Alaska. From Nenana (there was a railroad, and telegraph, but no road then) he telegraphed to FAI telling friends to see if there were any other pilots recenly arrived. There was an ex WWI pilot just arrived, so they put him in Wien's spare plane, and he flew to Nenana, landing in the baseball field to pick up Wien. The two then flew to the Toklat, landed and repaired the Standard, and flew both airplanes back to FAI.

There is a landing strip on the north shore of Mucha Lake, and there is a wheel strip at Wien Lake as well.

MTV

Thanks MTV-

I figured you might be able to weigh in on this one- part of your old stomping grounds, I gather. I had read about that same forced landing episode in the Noel Wien biography, but I don't recall any mention of the lake in that book. Figured it might have a similar good story behind it's naming.

Thanks for the pointing out those strips- I'll look for them.

-DP

"Pioneer Bush Pilot: The Story of Noel Wien" by Ira Harkey is a great read. Well written and interesting, it pretty much covers his life from a kid in Minnesota to travelling barnstormer, to Alaskan pioneer. That story about deadsticking the Hisso Standard is one of many

Yeah, and if you ever get a chance to take a look at the Toklat, you'll REALLY appreciate that feat. It is a jumbled up mess of downed trees, rocks, etc. It was always hard to find a place to land there, at least out in the valley, anyway.

The really interesting thing about Noel Wien's "hike" from the Toklat is that he did it right at breakup, so he was walking in really deep, punchy snow, and crossing iffy frozen rivers. An amazing feat.

I've flown past one of the domes north of Fairbanks where he used to land the Standard to support a mine there, and always wondered where the hell he landed there. I never found a place I'd even think about landing a Cub.

Oh, yeah, the Standard didn't have any brakes.

As Zane noted--that's a great book, and a story about a phenomenal aviator, who made aviation WORK in Alaska. And, he didn't die in a plane crash.

MTV

This is what the USGS Dictionary of Alaska Place Names has to say on it:

Wien Lake: lake, 4.5 mi. long, 22 mi. SE of Bitzshtini Mts., Kilbuck-Kuskokwim Mts.; 64* 21' N, 151*18' W.

Locally named for "Sig or Noel Wien who once landed here with a float plane"; reported in 1952 by USGS

Zane- come on up sometime and we can overfly that country

-DP