Thursday, July 21st, 2022
Armstrong Museum celebrates 50 years of aviation history
Crowd marvels at native son's many achievements
By Leslie Gartrell
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Attendees inspect the Gemini VIII spacecraft used in a flight on March 16, 1966, at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta on Wednesday afternoon.
WAPAKONETA - At 2 p.m. Wednesday, Armstrong Air and Space Museum executive director Dante Centuori gave opening remarks to a crowd outside the museum.
It was 50 years ago to the minute in 1972 the museum first opened its doors to visitors from near and far.
Although much has changed in the 50 years since the museum first opened, the goal of inspiring visitors to envision themselves as tomorrow's explorers and proivding lifelong learning opportunities has stayed the same.
During Wednesday's 50th anniversary celebration at the museum, visitors were treated to festivities including a flyover of an Aeronca Champion, the same type of plane Neil Armstrong learned to fly when he received his pilot's license at 16, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Learjet 28 outdoor exhibit.
"I'm sure many people here in 1972 thought for sure in 50 years we'd have a moon base on the moon, maybe looking like the museum," Centuori said. "Those of us who were around (to watch the moon landing), we squinted at a fuzzy black and white TV image to watch Neil Armstrong. Today, we routinely pull out our phones and look for 4K, high resolution images taken from a robot on Mars this morning."
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Retired astronaut Greg Johnson addresses the public during the Armstrong Air and Space Museum's Learjet 28 ribbon cutting ceremony in Wapakoneta on Wednesday.
Greg Johnson, a retired NASA astronaut, spoke during the ribbon cutting ceremony. Johnson co-piloted the Learjet 28's final flight from Pennsylvania to the Neil Armstrong Airport in New Knoxville in August 2020, where it was stored until it could be taken to its permanent home.
After retiring from NASA, Armstrong was a professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering. In February 1979, Armstrong and test pilot Pete Reynolds 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.
When Armstrong spoke during one of his classes as an astronaut, Johnson said it was clear the first man on the moon was a pilot to his core.
"We're brand new and we're bright-eyed and bushy tailed and we want to hear from Neil, and all he did was talk about was flying," Johnson said. "For 45 minutes the man stood up there and he talked about flying as a kid, as an adult, but never once mentioned the lunar landing."
Johnson said Armstrong was his childhood hero growing up, and flying the Learjet 28 in 2020 is the greatest entry in his logbook.
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
Two launch entry suits stand on display in Wapakoneta's Armstrong Air and Space Museum.
Centuori said discussions to open a museum in honor of Armstrong's accomplishments began the same day Armstrong returned to Wapakoneta for a celebration after the moon landing.
Former Gov. James Rhodes was in attendance at the celebration and suggested a museum be constructed to honor Armstrong, his accomplishments and the achievements of the U.S. Space Program, Centuori said.
The state committed $500,000 for the museum, the director said. However, the rest of the funds would need to be raised by community members and organizations.
Those funds were matched and then some, Centuori said. In fact, more than 8,000 donors raised $528,313 for the project - about $4 million in today's money, according to curator and communications director Logan Rex.
Included in the "Fifty Years of Inspiration" exhibit at the museum in honor of the anniversary is a book containing thousands of signatures from people in the community who donated toward the museum's initial fundraising.
"People were signing their name, had their address, even if they gave 25 cents," he said. "I think it's by neighborhood because people just went around door to door. And the box the book is in is made from wood that was taken from a tree that was on Neil's grandparent's farm down in Washington Township."
Looking forward, Centuori said he's excited to work with Ohio History Connection to create conceptual renderings of a new lobby, which he noted would not be in the works for several years, as well as start talks about the museum's future.
"We're going to have a meeting next week to start thinking about… what's our roadmap? What are the stories we want to tell?" he said. "I just think (aerospace innovation) is in the DNA of this state, and the Armstrong Air & Space Museum will continue to be an inspiration to drive that sense of exploration."
Photo by Paige Sutter/The Daily Standard
A timeline of historic aviation events greets the public at the entrance of Wapakoneta's Armstrong Air and Space Museum.
