NEIL ARMSTRONG - DOCUMENT DOUBLE SIGNED 06/25/1964 - HFSID 314413

NEIL ARMSTRONG
Two years before his first spaceflight, and five years before he set the first human foot on the moon, Armstrong fills out a flight plan, preparing to pilot a NASA jet from Ohio to Texas.
Document signed twice: "N. A. Armstrong", 1 page, 8x12¾. Port Columbus, Naval Air Station [Ohio], 1964 June 25. Department of Defense flight aircraft clearance form. Details filled in by another hand, including mileage, transponder code, and equipment, but Armstrong has penned this notation: "Request radar vector climb on course." Armstrong plans to pilot a T-33 ("Shooting Star") aircraft from Port Columbus to Ellington Air Force Base in Texas, by way of Dayton. The co-pilot is J. F. Stegall, another NASA employee. Civilian Neil Alden Armstrong (1930-2012) had entered the U.S. space program as a senior NASA research pilot in 1962. A fan of aviation from the age of nine, Armstrong had his pilot's license by the age of 16, and, after studying aeronautical engineering at Purdue for two years, went to Pensacola, Florida for Navy flight training. Serving in Korea at the age of 21, Armstrong flew 78 combat missions and won three Air Medals. For the seven years prior to his selection by NASA, Armstrong was a civilian pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, testing experimental aircraft and working as an engineer. A veteran of Gemini 8, Armstrong thrilled the world on July 20, 1969, when, as commander of Apollo 11, he stepped off the ladder of the Lunar Excursion Module Eagle and spoke the first words heard from the surface of the Moon: "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind." Tears at binding holes on top margin. Light surface creases. Corners and edges lightly worn. Lightly toned. Light, multiple folds. Otherwise, fine condition.