Neil Armstrong and made his first flight in a jet, a Grumman F9F Panther, on January 5, 1951. He was promoted to ensign on June 5, 1951, and made his first jet carrier landing on two days later. On June 28, 1951, "Essex" had set sail for Korea, with VF-51 aboard to act as ground-attack aircraft. VF-51 flew ahead to Naval Air Station Barbers Point in Hawaii, where it conducted fighter-bomber training before rejoining the ship at the end of July. On August 29, 1951, Armstrong saw action in the Korean War as an escort for a photo reconnaissance plane over Songjin.
Neil Armstrong Airport Wapakoneta is the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, aviator, astronaut and first person to walk on the moon. Auglaize County Neil Armstrong Airport covers an area of 140 acres (57 ha) at an elevation of 913 feet (278 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 8/26 is 5,500 by 100 feet (1,676 x 30 m) with an asphalt surface; 18/36 is 2,631 by 80 feet (802 x 24 m) with a turf surface. For the 12-month period ending August 17, 2009, the airport had 29,456 aircraft operations, an average of 80 per day: 94% general aviation, 6% air taxi,