Neil Armstrong passed today

[RoNaf]

Godspeed Sir.

[GEH737]

After July 1969, our view of the world changed forever. Not many people leave such an indelible mark on history... My short story. In the early 90's, I was a Flight Engineer on a 727 flying on a nice day from Cincinnati to Salt Lake City. The Captain was saying the "Goodbye's" - and shortly after the process started - he turned around and said; "Neil Armstrong just got off the plane!" I asked the lead Flight Attendant why he didn't think it was worth mentioning that little fact to us - his response was (roughly) - "what's the big deal?" I thought it was a very big deal personally - and if you'd like to know more about the man, read his biography "First Man" - it really explains a lot. Strange fact - there really aren't any direct pictures of Neil on the moon. There's the well known reflection in Buzz's famous photo, and this image of his shadow with Buzz next to the Eagle.

Edited August 26, 2012 by GEH737

[janman]

Wars don't make heros. Great endeavours and adventures, such as the one he participated in, truly make.

[HOLMES]

I heard the news last night with a heavy heart and with great sorrow . :crying2:

Then they showed his speech of acceptance from last November 2011 in the rotunda when he was awarded the CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ,and I watched transfixed by his speech and how wonderful and unassuming gentleman he was.

He paid tribute to the Wright Brothers and thanked everyone and being only one of nine recipients of this Honor,which is truly

Inspirational to those that followed him.

Very worthy ,inspiring gentleman,a truly wonderful Aviator and Astronaut

Rest in peace, sir

There will never be another like Neil Armstrong.

[HOLMES]

I heard the news last night with a heavy heart and with great sorrow . :

Double post.sorry.

Edited August 26, 2012 by HOLMES

[Tony Stark]

"No one, it has been said, will ever look at the Moon in the same way again. More significantly can one say that no one will ever look at the earth in the same way. Man had to free himself from earth to perceive both its diminutive place in a solar system and its inestimable value as a life-fostering planet. As earthmen, we may have taken another step into adulthood. We can see our planet earth with detachment, with tenderness, with some shame and pity, but at last also with love."

- Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Tonight, I'm drinking a toast to Neil and respecting his family's wishes and giving the moon a wink.

[ya-gabor]

A great pioneer! RIP.

Gabor

[Python]

My childhood hero... He is now on the supreme exploration adventure...

[Tom G]

I heard the news last night with a heavy heart and with great sorrow . :

Double post.sorry.

Well said, Holmes. I feel the same way. He is an American hero.

Tom

[aerofan]

Truly sad news to hear yesterday. I remember scratchbuilding an Eagle Lunar lander Tranquility base diorama in 1984 to commemorate and honour the achievement and the Apollo 11 crew. It was a school science project that I used to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the moon landing. Sadly I don't have any pictures of it nor do I know what happened to it but it was my tribute to the event and the three man crew; Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Micheal Collins.

RIP Mr Neil Armstrong

[Jay Chladek]

Good to see that NBC news is up to its normal high standard of fact-checking:

"Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were".

Are you sure that was a legit image? Reason I ask is NBC News yesterday had a whole photo montage up of Neil at the end of their newscast.

[model junky]

A very sad passing. Mr. Armstrong has always been one of my idles.

Being the first man to walk on the moon was a big deal. It still is.

However, what has always inspired me about Mr. Armstrong was his can-do attitude, the fact that he lived his life working to further man's knowledge of the universe as well as teaching the next generation. His motivation was not fame and fortune, in fact he tried to avoid it if he could.

He will be a source of inspiration for many generations to come.

Godspeed Neil Armstrong, thank you for your service.

[Adam]

Mr Armstrong was convinced to do a series of interviews for the CPA. Armstrong's father was a auditor and he amazingly agreed to this interview. It was suggested to Mr. Armstrong that is was vital for future generations.

The host, Alex Malley commented on Australian TV this morning and said how Armstrong's eyes would light up when talking about any of his favourite topics. The two of them snuck away from Neil's security people one night in Sydney and walked around town, which he loved.

The world has lost it's greatest - a brilliant engineer and pilot, a man with a incredible mind with the precision of a Swiss watch! I think deep down he was a passionate man and perhaps a bit of a romantic. I think anyone in love with flying is like this and Mr. Armstrong was the greatest.

Please check out this website for Mr. Armstrong's last interview.

http://thebottomline.cpaaustralia.com.au/?utm_source=The+Bottom+Line&utm_campaign=3ef2654208-20120508_TBLNeil_Armstrong_Part_25_7_2012&utm_medium=email

[Steve N]

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in his hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio is well worth a visit if you get a chance. I've driven past it countless times on my way to and from the USAF Museum in Dayton, but only made time to stop a few years ago. It's a beautiful facility..the architecture is intended to resemble a set of pilot's wings (the dome in the center is a planetarium.) You can see pretty much everything in a couple of hours, but it's still very fascinating.

I was happily surprised to find the gift shop had these for sale. They were originally given away at Marathon gas stations during the Apollo program..we had the first three when I was a kid, but one got broken. I inherited the two survivors when my mother moved some years back, and found a third at a flea market. Thanks to the Armstrong Museum I was able to complete the set, plus get the bonus museum commemorative glass in the center. Glasses for Apollo 11, 12, 13 and 14 were made, but in a bit of a sad commentary about waning public support for the Lunar missions, no glasses were produced for 15, 16 or 17. There was also a juice carafe with the first four missions on it, but I understand it's hard to find and expensive, since they tended to get broken more easily.

SN

SN

[Neo]

Godspeed

RIP to a awesome man

[Chappie]

Wars don't make heros. Great endeavours and adventures, such as the one he participated in, truly make.

Hmm, nobody mentioned war until now. Well Godspeed to Neil Armstrong. To do many of the things he did in the space program- Gemini 8, LLTV, and Apollo 11- required great piloting skills and Neil had them in spades. I will miss him and I echo the sediment that we all seemed to think that these men would live forever.

If you want to read a good book about Apollo 11 get - FIRST ON THE MOON. It was written by all thre astronauts in 1970 when it was still fresh, raw, and exciting. It's excellent.

Chappie

Edited September 9, 2012 by Chappie