The impact of Neil Armstrong on Aviation and the world in general is not one to be taken lightly. Neil Armstrong was a pilot and engineer who’s accomplishments laid out a groundwork for history to build on. The first big impacts he had was as a military pilot. Flying for the Navy, Armstrong was sent on combat missions in the Korean War. This service he did for the country may not have been as recognizable as his other achievements but this was where he first began to have an impact on the world and on aviation. After his time in the military, he joined an organization called the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). This was a committee dedicated to the advancement and progression of aviation and aeronautics in general. As he continued to work for NACA, the organization was transformed into one much more recognizable in today’s world: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. Armstrong worked for NASA as a test pilot and an Engineer. His expertise in both these fields made him the perfect candidate for the missions and procedures he ran. Armstrong would test fly crafts such as the Bell X-1B, the X-15 jet which was capable of reaching speeds exceeding four thousand miles per hour, and many other prototype planes and jets. This work he did for the government allowed for advances in aviation and the science and procedures that went with it. He was able to learn about interacting with the atmosphere and circumstances that would have been unpredictable without his testing. Armstrong also worked as an astronaut for NASA. In his years there, he flew missions that pushed what we knew about and were able to do in space. Armstrong’s most notable achievement, however, is that of being the first man to walk on the moon. It is hard to put into words how monumental this achievement was to the world of aviation as well as the world in general. This achievement impacted many things, one of those being how the world viewed America. This event proved that America was the strongest nation in the world and put us at the forefront of leadership in all matters aeronautics. This also opened the door to begin looking farther into space and ask what was possible. Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, leaving our world behind and standing on another planet, made possible so much more research and advancement in the depths of space. This impact alone is enough to put him into the Aviation Hall of Fame.
Another reason he had such an impact on aviation was that he was the image of an ideal aviator. Armstrong was a top-notch pilot, many would describe him as the greatest pilot they had ever know, and this expertise in flight allowed for him to fly missions and collect data integral to moving forward in aviation. He was also a brilliant engineer. This background in the science and processes that affect flight allowed Armstrong to work both sides of missions, flying in the morning and collecting data, writing reports, and pursuing a better solution in the afternoon. Being on both sides also allowed him to have a ‘no-big-deal’ demeanor that every challenge and mission he faced was just another mission that he could analyze and confront without overcomplicating things. Armstrong was also an extremely modest man who always pointed to someone else to receive glory when he was being praised. For these reasons, Neil Armstrong is today respected as one of the greatest aviators in human history and setting forth this example of what to strive for as an aviator has led to better pilots and engineers today.
Neil Armstrong was born to Viola and Stephan Armstrong in Wapakoneta Ohio. The oldest of three children, Neil grew up fascinated by the achievements of the Wright Brothers and always had a burning desire to fly. Armstrong earned his pilot’s license at the age of 15, prior even to earning his driver’s license. Out of high school, he earned a scholarship from the Navy and enrolled at Purdue University. It was here that Neil discovered engineering as he pursued his undergraduate degree in Aeronautical Engineering. While in school, he received training as a pilot from the Navy and was eventually deployed to Korea. In his time fighting in the Korean War, Armstrong flew 78 missions in combat and earned the respect of many as a fine pilot. With a young reputation and a strong background in both flight and science, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, or NACA. This organization soon after became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. Armstrong worked for NASA for a number of years before entering the astronaut program. While there, he did intensive work as a test pilot and flight engineer. He flew many of the government’s fastest and most high-tech planes. While doing this he had a few experiences handling things such as bouncing off of the atmosphere and see landing modules crash. This background allowed him to be a natural choice for the astronaut program where he made his biggest impact on history. As an astronaut, Neil Armstrong flew missions to dock multiple ships in space, experience orbit, and other things as he was just getting used to space. In one particular mission, Armstrong was attempting to dock two ships together in space when there was a wiring failure. One source describes this incident by saying: “the whole assembly started to tumble— in zero gravity, with no ejection seat. Because of his ability to concentrate and his extensive experience and confidence. He righted his ship and got back to Earth. If it hadn’t been an expert test pilot at the helm, well, humankind’s journey to the Moon might have happened a long time later” (Nye 2012).
This background allowed Armstrong to have the impact he did because it was all simply training for the one mission that mattered: the mission to the moon. It would clearly take an exceptional pilot, analytical engineer, and a confident cool-headed man to pull off the mission that landed Armstrong in the history books. Being the eldest of his siblings gave him confidence and leadership, beginning flying from such a young age allowed him to become one of the greatest pilots in history, along with his training from the Navy. His combat experience allowed him to remain calm and analytical even in the most stressful scenarios. His engineering degree allowed him to understand the science behind what he was doing. Without all of this, he may never have made it to the moon.
The biggest challenge that Neil Armstrong faced was that of pioneering. Since no one in history had ever attempted what he would go on to do, he had nothing to learn from or guide his steps. This meant that nearly all of the procedures, many of the craft used, and the entire concept of the Apollo 11 mission that successfully landed on the moon was completely new. This made Armstrong train much harder, study different scenarios over and over, test different ideas, procedures, and systems more than any mission prior would have required. Another challenge that Neil Armstrong and this mission had to overcome was that of time. The era that the mission to the moon flew in was one of tension as the cold war raged between the United States of America and the Soviet Union. This tension led to what today is called ‘The Space Race.’ This nearly-literal race was an unspoken competition between the US and USSR, each one challenging the other and pushing each other to see who would emerge on top of the competition for Space. This competition led to short deadlines and the overall feeling of rushing to beat the Soviet Union to Space. Working in an environment of constant tension and haste would prove a worthy challenge to Armstrong and the members of the Apollo 11 mission.