If you are in Manhattan this weekend, the hot spot will be the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, which will host the welcome home event for the “Legends of Aerospace Tour.”
The tour has brought famous aviators and astronauts to visit military stationed in Europe and Southeast Asia. Participants include Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, the first and last astronauts to walk the moon, Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell, SR-71 Chief Test Pilot Bob Gilliland and the last Air Force Pilot Ace Steve Ritchie.
The team most recently visited the carrier Eisenhower in the Arabian Gulf on Wednesday, where former Naval pilot Armstrong was given a pair of honorary naval astronaut wings. You can read a good story about the visit here.
The Legends tour logged more than 15,000 flight miles, met with more than 10,000 troops, gave away thousands of items and hosted numerous panel discussions. Museum visitors will be treated to a Q&A session with the legends, as well.
This once-in-a-lifetime event is open to all museum visitors with the price of admission. The legends are scheduled to arrive via helicopter on Intrepid’s flight deck at 2:30, and the event will officially begin an hour later. The museum will remain open an extra hour that evening, closing at 6 p.m.
