Armstrong took his first airplane ride when he was 6. At the age of 15, he took flying lessons which he paid for out of his own pocket money. Within weeks of his 16th birthday, he earned his pilot's license.
During the Gemini 8 mission, Armstrong and David Scott connected with an Agena Target Vehicle that had been positioned in orbit for docking practice. This maneuver was critical to future moon missions. Six hours and 34 minutes into the mission, Armstrong successfully docked the two spacecraft.
In school, Armstrong took part in the boys' glee club and played the baritone horn for his school's orchestra and band. Out of school, Armstrong played his horn in a local ragtime band with his friends.
On May 6, 1968,he was training on the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle (LLTV), which allowed astronauts to practice the coordination needed to land on the moon. On his 21st practice run, Armstrong's LLTV experienced a critical fuel imbalance and started rolling to the right. After he had exhausted all options, Armstrong activated his ejection seat. 2.84 seconds later, the LLTV hit the ground and exploded. Neil walked away without a scratch, though he did catch chiggers in the tall grass.
During the Apollo 11 landing, Armstrong used paper, a pen and high-school-level trigonometry to figure out the Lunar Landing Module's altitude using angles and speed.
