Summary Noonan spent years at sea before transferring his navigation skills to the air in the 1930s and becoming a Long Range Aerial Navigator. His navigational skills allowed for the first direct flight from San Fransisco to Honolulu. The renowned navigator is responsible for many of Pan Am's routes across the Pacific Ocean.
If you are an AvGeek, chances are you have heard of the legendary Amelia Earhart, who is among the most celebrated aviators in history and the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic. However, a closely related yet lesser-known name is that of Fredrick Joseph Noonan (Fred Noonan), who was Earhart's aerial navigator and quite an expert in his own right. Here are five interesting facts about the navigational expert himself.
1 Love of the sea Leaving home at 13, he started his career as a merchant marine While his career, later in life, was in aviation, Noonan, according to History , started off his career as a merchant marine at the age of 13 in 1906. Over the course of two decades, Noonan worked on various ships, ferrying goods while rising through the ranks to eventually become a captain, sailing around the world. It was in the 1930s when Noonan entered the world of aviation, but he still kept his love for the sea alive.
It is reported that the sea captain kept renewing his sea captain's license well into the 1930s, right before his tragic disappearance during the around-the-world voyage with Amelia Earhart . Year 1893 1906 1930 1935 1937 Even.