Neil Armstrong breaks his silence to give accountants moon exclusive

Guardian UK ^ | 23 May 2012 | Alok Jha

[InvisibleChurch]

As the first person to walk on the moon, he is a man whose name will be remembered for generations to come. But one of the other well-known things about Neil Armstrong is that he hardly ever gives interviews.

It was therefore something of a coup for Alex Malley, chief executive of Certified Practicing Accountants of Australia, to secure almost an hour of Armstrong’s time to discuss the astronaut’s trip to the moon.

In the illuminating conversation posted online on the CPA Australia website, Armstrong revealed how he thought his mission, Apollo 11, only had a 50% chance of landing safely on the moon’s surface and said it was “sad” that the current US government’s ambitions for Nasa were so reduced compared with the achievements of the 1960s.

“Nasa has been one of the most successful public investments in motivating students to do well and achieve all they can achieve,” said Armstrong. “It’s sad that we are turning the programme in a direction where it will reduce the amount of motivation and stimulation it provides to young people.”

As a child, Armstrong said he had “become fascinated with the world of flight...

[2001convSVT]

Great photo, thanks. The horsepower to weight ratio helps to make the Bearcat one of the fastest and most nimble propellers driven planes of all time.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

The guy was a test pilot, not a motivational speaker.