Raymond Armstrong Raymond Armstrong Lieutenant General Raymond Fullarton Armstrong (14 December 1917 — early 1990s) was a South African Air Force officer, who served as Chief of Defence Staff. Armstrong attended Rondebosch Boy's High School before attending the South African Military College. He joined the Special Service Battalion in 1936 and soon thereafter joined the Permanent Force. He was trained as a pilot, serving in World War II and later in the Korean War. He was Armed Forces Attache in Washington. He served as "Chief of Air Staff" before being appointed acting "Chief of Defence Staff" from 1 March 1974 to 30
Neil Armstrong Armstrong's engineering ability. Milt Thompson said he was "the most technically capable of the early X-15 pilots". Bill Dana said Armstrong "had a mind that absorbed things like a sponge". Those who flew for the Air Force tended to have a different opinion, especially people like Chuck Yeager and Pete Knight, who did not have engineering degrees. Knight said that pilot-engineers flew in a way that was "more mechanical than it is flying", and gave this as the reason why some pilot-engineers got into trouble: their flying skills did not come naturally. Armstrong made seven flights in the X-15 between