Long before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969, he flew Navy jets in combat during the Korean War, and later piloted NASA’s X-15 rocket planes at more than five times the speed of sound. Neil was one very hot pilot.
I was the astronauts’ public affairs officer at NASA Houston.
On occasion Neil flew as my co-pilot in a number of private aircraft. Yes, of course he was the more experienced aviator, but whenever we flew together his famous modesty would kick in and he’d climb into the co-pilot’s right seat, ceding the left, pilot-in-command seat to me.
Neil Armstrong was a devoted pilot, including in gliders.
Neil could find pleasure in anything that flew – he piloted sailplanes and held Silver, Gold and Diamond awards for flying them to extreme altitudes over long distances. “Gliders, sailplanes are wonderful machines,” Neil once told me. “It’s the closest you can come to being a bird. Silent flight – it’s wonderful.”
One day I was taxiing a small, private four-seater past a hangar at Clover Field near Pearland, Texas, where Neil and a crew were pushing their sailplane into its hangar – Neil had been soaring for two hours in that little engineless glider.
“Hi,” I shouted.
“Wait a minute,” Neil hollered back.
They closed the big hangar doors and Neil came over and jumped into the right seat of my idling Piper Tri-Pacer. “Let’s go,” he said. It was fun having Neil Armstrong as my co-pilot. He was already very well known in aviation, and soon he’d be the most famous man on the planet.
I didn’t know that at the time, thank God… I was nervous enough with him sitting next to me.
We took off and flew an hour or so, each taking the controls while sight-seeing all over southeast Texas. Neil’s house near the NASA space center had recently burned to the ground so we over-flew its remains so Neil could survey the damage. We flew well below legal altitude, but his neighbors were also astronauts and didn’t mind a bit.
It was getting dark when Neil said, “Let’s head out over the Gulf.” He was happy up there and wasn’t ready to come down. The Gulf was vast so I added power to climb to a safe altitude for night flight over water. By now the horizon ahead was stark black; the lights of Houston twinkled dimly behind us. I kept us in a climb ‘til we approached 10,000 feet in that tiny airplane. Houston’s lights had disappeared. We were suspended in a giant bowl of ink under a starless sky.
Finally Neil said, “Let’s head home.”
In a Tri-Pacer over the Gulf of Mexico at night is not the time to grab the wrong knob.
By now we were very high over black water in a black sky with Houston out of sight behind us. I pulled the carburetor heat knob so the engine wouldn’t ice up on the long descent. SILENCE!
The engine quit… I had pulled the wrong knob, starving the engine of air.
I pushed at the panel, hoping to find the right control to restore carb heat. Finally I hit the right knob and the engine burst into song. Neil knew I had done a truly stupid thing, but he never uttered a word… just gave me that tiny, knowing smile
We were never in danger, given our extreme altitude, but I had surely “screwed the pooch,” to use a test pilot’s vernacular. I had to make sure that once back over terra firma my landing, at least, would be perfect.
As we parked the old Tri-Pacer and signed the logs, Neil whispered: “Bob, as a test pilot I learned that once you activate an aircraft’s control you hang on to its handle to make sure it does what you told it to do. Only then do you turn it loose ‘cause you might not be able to find it again when the stuff hits the fan.”
- Neil Armstrong was my co-pilot - January 21, 2019
Nice story. Wow, you really were there! Is that attached photo of Neil Armstrong show him flying a Pratt Read glider?
That’s exactly what I concluded it was upon stumbling onto this nifty life-vignette a few moments ago. Maybe Mr. Button or someone more directly knowledgeable will see fit to inform us! I’m merely a longtime sailplane pilot/aficionado…
I’m not at all familiar with gliders (Neil always corrected me… “sailplanes”… That photo was supplied by Air Facts so you would know better than I. bb
Great story Bob. Keep them coming.
I miss our flying days in the USCG Aux.
One thing we also have together is the FAA Master Pilots Award.
All the best,
Frank Tangel
Keep your hand on the control until you know it is doing what it is supposed too. Gotta remember that
Love the article.
Phil Hoy
Board Member, Piper Museum
Bob Button and Jack Riley in NASA Houston Public Affairs and me as an aerospace engineer in NASA Houston Landing and Recovery Division were partners in the Gemini Flying Club, flying our 1957 Champion 7EC taildragger in which I got my private in 1965. We were flying out of LaPorte airport, LaPorte, TX.
Hey Bob, long time no see! Great article.
Dean Thomas, Liberty, SC
Commercial pilot license, instrument and multi-engine ratings
Commercial glider license, glider instructor rating
Competition aerobatic pilot
Dean..
Talk to me at [email protected]
Great hearing from you at last… bb
Why is the Tri Pacer in the picture not of American registration?
It was originally registered as N2610P until November 1989 when it moved to the UK and eventually became G-BRNX. Don’t know if this is just a stock photo, or was actually the aircraft referred to in this story…
Stock Photo
Hi Bob, might be a bit late to join this thread but here goes, as a UK pilot who used to fly motor gliders for the military I was awe inspired by a magazine article which showed a photo purported to be Neil (Armstrong) Flying a glider just before his Apollo 11 flight. I felt humbled that he had chosen this activity as possibly one of his last acts on earth! I would love a copy of that picture to keep in my log book, do you know of it’s existance and where I could get a copy, or just a scan?
Stay well,
Steve
Steve Whyatt
CFIe RAF Brize Norton UK
My great uncle taught Neil to fly. He said he was a very quick learner and absolutely loved it. My uncle remembered him specifically among all the other students he had over the years, so he did make an impression.
What a wonderful story! Thanks for writing it Bob. I’m a long time glider pilot and that is a Pratt Reid glider…..trust me, glider is one that does not have a good L/D! but great visibility and being side by side one can converse with the passenger or pilot as the case maybe. Big wings, but fun to fly. A sailplane is newer and better glide ratio, the ships today have at least 50/1 glide, plus all the bells and whistles. I learned in a TG-3 no radio just an altimeter, airspeed and turn and bank. Those were the best days to fly!
I’m always happy to hear a power pilot has glider time. My flying days in gliders started in 1954, soaring was and is my first love but I did get my power rating to tow my Dad. I’m now in my 80’s and still love flying even though it’s not as often.
Write more Bob, wonderful to read about someone’s life!
Such lovely story. Amazing to realise later in life that someone who humbly took a right seat on the aircraft would one day make history by stepping on the moon’s surface and say ” This is a small step for a man….but a giant leap for mankind “.
Nice story; good advice! Many parallels in aviation; change fuel tanks, watch the fuel pressure. Drop the flaps, keep your hand there until they are fully extended, symmetrically; Extend the gear, stay focused until you see 3 green; Engage the autopilot, stay focused until it proves that is doing what was commanded. Etc, etc…..