Ohio's Aviation Heritage Audio Tour

Walk through the Cold War Gallery and stand near the Apollo 15 Command Module at the entrance to the Missile and Space Gallery. Wapakoneta native Neil Armstrong took his first airplane ride in a Ford Tri-Motor at the age of 6. As a young boy, he developed an interest in aviation and astronomy and earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16, before he learned to drive an automobile. In 1949 the U.S. Navy called him to active duty, and he served during the Korean War, flying 78 combat missions in Navy Panther jets. After earning a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955, he joined NASA’s Lewis Research Center and later transferred to the NASA High Speed Flight Station (now NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center) at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as an aeronautical research pilot. In this capacity, he performed as an X-15 project pilot. Other flight test work included piloting the X-1, F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, B-47 and others. Armstrong was selected as the first civilian astronaut