Learjet flown by Armstrong at museum

WAPAKONETA - The prototype aircraft that Wapakoneta native Neil Armstrong piloted to five world records was taken to its new home on Monday morning.

Transportation crews, using two flatbed trucks, moved the Learjet 28 Longhorn from Neil Armstrong Airport in New Knoxville to the southwest corner of Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, said museum curator Logan Rex.

The process was delayed by rain for two hours. Officials were able to set the wings in place. However, due to strong winds, they were unable to lower the fuselage or body of the craft onto the new viewing pedestal.

They will try again this morning.

"The fuselage is very susceptible to wind," Rex said.

Armstrong is celebrated as the first person to walk on the moon, a feat accomplished on July 21, 1969.

However, many don't know about his post-NASA accomplishments, Rex pointed out.

Armstrong, when he was a professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering, and test pilot Pete Reynolds in 1979 set five Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and National Aeronautic Association class records for time to climb to an altitude and altitude while flying the Learjet prototype aircraft, according to a news release from the National Aviation Heritage Area.

The craft became part of the Armstrong Air and Space Museum's collection when it was donated by Kevin Hayward, president/CEO of Ox Industries.

About 140 people gathered at the airport in New Knoxville in August 2020 to watch the craft's final flight. It was kept at the airpot until Monday when it was taken to its new permanent home at the museum.

Museum officials at 1:30 p.m. July 20 will commemorate the museum's 50th anniversary with a ribbon cutting of the Learjet 28 outdoor exhibit.

"It's a great vehicle for history. This is actually the only vehicle that Armstrong ever set aviation world records in," Rex said. "A lot of people don't examine Armstrong's life beyond 1969, and he lived an additional 40 years after landing on the moon."

Armstrong stayed very active after his historic trip to the moon as evidenced by the world records he set in the Learjet 28, Rex said, noting the museum's latest attraction should further draw visitors from across the globe.

"If anyone is interested in getting the complete narrative of Neil Armstrong I think we are pretty much now the definitive home of that story," he said.

The museum has so far raised about $230,000 toward its goal of $300,000 for the Learjet 28 Longhorn exhibit, including the outdoor area where the craft is situated for public viewing.

"We're also trying to raise the additional funds for the long term preservation and maintenance of the craft," Rex said. "We started the platform work pretty much the first of the month in May and then from there it took about a month for it to be completed so the outdoor exhibit area is pretty much complete. We just have to get some landscaping done."

Located along Interstate 75 (exit 111), the museum is named in honor of Armstrong. The facility, which opened in 1972 at 500 S. Apollo Dr., chronicles the Ohioan's contribution to the history of flight. Visitors can see a real moon rock and the Gemini VIII spacecraft, among many other items.