By Ed Downs

Regular readers of In Flight USA may have picked up on the fact that editorial opinions and the fun of connecting flying with space sciences come from the unsettled mind of a single person, this writer. It was planned to follow our standard two-topic format in September. But history intervened to change those plans. A remarkable person, test pilot and astronaut passed away, and those who remember when this country was proud of its scientific accomplishments took a moment to reflect. Neil Armstrong is gone. The passing of this great American connects opinion, feelings, flying and science together in a way that warrants that only one story should be written this time. Please know that the staff of In Flight USA, plus every aviator and astronomer I know extends their most heart felt sympathies and condolences to Neil’s family and friends, for their loss is unspeakable. Indeed, God speed, Neil.

This writer was in his hotel room after a long day of teaching a Flight Instructor Refresher Clinic, tired and sore from standing for more than 10 hours. But the evening was not over. Research was needed to confirm some facts and numbers before continuing with this month Skies to Stars column. With a cross country planned to the Moon, it was time to fire up the computer, unfurl a detailed Moon map, and consider how I would locate my destination, the Apollo 11 landing site. The quest for data clarification started with a search engine entry regarding Apollo 11 technical information, but I was stopped cold in my tracks. Almost every search link connected to some comment about the passing of Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11 and the first man to set foot on the moon. This was the first I had heard of this news. I fired up the TV and confirmed that a person I had never met, but considered a friend and mentor, was gone. An era was at an end, like so many “eras” of scientific adventure and courage that have come to an end in recent times.