Catherine Chambers - Neil Armstrong

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Imagine a world where the solar system was just a mystery seen through a telescope,and where the Moon was a ball of blue mountains and valleys. Passenger flights acrossthe Atlantic Ocean were a new thrill. Jet airplanes were only just making their firsttrails in the skies.

Into this world was born the first man to step out onto the Moon. A man who was alsoa remarkable pilot, engineer, and astronaut. His name was Neil Alden Armstrong,and he was born on August 5, 1930.

This is Neil Armstrong inside the vehicle that landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

Seaplanes like this one took passengers across massive lakes in North America andAfrica.

Neil started life in the country town of Wapakoneta, Ohio. His parents were Stephenand Viola Armstrong. Neil had a sister, June, and a brother, Dean. Neil got the qualitiesof inventiveness, concentration, organization, and perseverance from his mother.He got his passion for airplanes from his father.

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What inspired Neil to take to the air? His father took him to the Cleveland Air Raceat the age of just two. Neil also enjoyed playing with a tin toy airplane that hismother bought for him. At the age of six, he went on his first flight, in a FordTrimotor plane. His brother, Dean, recalled that this was the most important earlyexperience of Neils life.

The Tin Goose

The Ford Trimotor was built in 1927 as one of the first all-metal planes.It was nicknamed the Tin Goose. The planes three engines took it higher and fasterthan others of the time. In 1929, the Norwegian pilot Berndt Balehen (18991973)flew it over the South Pole.

Neil himself said his deep interest in flight grew from the age of eight or nine.He spent hours making model airplanes. More than this, he drew designs never seenbefore, with retractable landing gear. That is where the wheels pull up under theairplanes belly at takeoff. With this incredible imagination, it is no surprisethat Neil wanted to be a designer, not a pilot!

Neil loved music and played the baritone horna heavy instrument for a small boy!Here he is in his band uniform.

Neils father was an for the state of Ohio. The job meant that he traveleda lot with his family, checking how the state was spending its money. The Armstrongshad to move 20 times!

When Neil was 14, the family returned to Wapakoneta, and Neil settled down well atBlume High School. He joined the Scout movement and was encouraged to explore. Thislove of exploring his own country and beyond never left him.

Wapakonetas Armstrong Air & Space Museum displays Neils flying history.

FIRST FLIGHT

At just 15, Neil and his friends took flying lessons at an airfield in Wapakoneta.The lessons were expensive, so Neil worked in a pharmacy for 40 cents an hour topay for them. He passed his test on his 16th birthday, and he took his just a week later!

First aircraft

At Wapakoneta, there were old World War II planes and training craftsuch as the Vultee BT-13 and the Fairchild PT-19. There was also the new AeroncaChief training aircraft. Neil flew this basic Aeronca model called Champ (above).The pilots seat is at the front and raised above a dipped nose, for good visibility.

Neil applied to college to study aerospace engineering, following his true passion.He hoped the U.S. Navy would help pay for his studies. So, at the age of just 16,Neil calmly flew 300 miles (480 kilometers) to register for the U.S. Navy scholarship-qualifyingexam!