Fred Noonan author of an article in "Journal of Navigation", Vol. 9, No. 3, December 2011, avers that due to insufficient fuel reserves from 1912 GMT, no land other than Howland itself and Baker at 45 miles could be reached. With a maximum ferry range of 2,740 statute miles even the closest islands Winslow Reef and McKean Island at 210 and 350 miles away respectively, were unreachable. Although Fred Noonan has left a much smaller mark in popular culture than Amelia Earhart's, his legacy is remembered sporadically. Noonan is often mentioned in W.P. Kinsella's novels. Noonan was portrayed by actor David Graf
Paul Noonan in Juniper and contributed to backing vocals as well. In 1997, the band signed a six-album deal with PolyGram. Their only two singles – "Weatherman" and "World Is Dead" – charted in Ireland when released in 1998. That same year, Rice quit the band just as they were about to begin recording their debut album. With a body of songs already accumulated, Noonan, Geraghty, Phillips and Crosby decided to continue under the name Bell X1, with Noonan taking over lead vocal duties and Paul "Binzer" Brennan coming in on drums. Rice, meanwhile, moved to Tuscany, Italy to write songs for