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
Fred Noonan in "The 37s", an episode of "". The character of an aircraft pilot named Fred Noonan is portrayed by actor Eddie Firestone in "The Long Train", a 1961 episode of the television series "The Untouchables". Both a baseball stadium and an aircraft rental agency are named after Fred Noonan. A 1990 episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" featured Mark Stitham as Noonan. In addition, Rutger Hauer has portrayed Noonan in the TV movie "" (1994) starring Diane Keaton, and Christopher Eccleston portrayed Noonan in the 2009 biographical movie "Amelia" (2009). It is also possible that the character of Freddy Noonan in the