The Guild of Air Pilots has presented the Guild’s Award of Honour to
Neil Armstrong.
The
Guild Award of Honour is presented on rare occasions
“to individuals who have made an outstanding lifetime contribution to aviation.”
Mr Armstrong flew over from his home in Cincinatti especially to receive the Award - which was presented at a ceremony at the London Guildhall attended by more than 500 pilots. Now aged 76, he still has a very busy schedule and had to fly back the next day because of other commitments in the United States.
The Citation
Neil Armstrong is one of aviation’s ‘household names’. He is one of the few people in the world who requires no introduction and one of the few who have literally seen the world from a different perspective.
From 1949 to 1952, Neil Armstrong served as a naval aviator, flying 78 combat missions during the Korean War. He subsequently joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, NASA's predecessor, as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, where he was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the 4,000 mph X-15.
He has flown over 200 different types of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters, and gliders.
In 1962, he was transferred to astronaut status and served as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission, launched in March 1966, and performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space. In 1969, he was commander of Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, and gained the uniquely famous distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the Moon and the first man to step on its surface.
Following this, he held the position of Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics at NASA Headquarters Office of Advanced Research and Technology, after which he resigned from NASA in 1971.
From 1971-1979, he was Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati, where he was involved in both teaching and research. Currently, he serves as Chairman of AIL Systems.
Neil obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University, a Master of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California and holds an honorary doctorate from a number of universities.
He is the recipient of many special honours, including the Presidential Medal for Freedom in 1969 and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978.
For his outstanding lifetime contribution to aviation and the advancement of the aerospace profession, Neil Armstrong is awarded the Guild’s Award of Honour.
Even to be in the same room as the first man to walk on the moon was an honour - to hear him talk to us about it was very special.
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The respect and awe in which he's still held was very obvious. He received the longest standing ovation of the evening and many of us were lucky enough to shake the hand of our boyhood hero.
Tudor Owen
Link:
Guild of Air Pilots