kelly johnson skunk works quotes kelly johnson skunk works quotes

Created by Ben Rich and Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, Skunk Works takes its name from the . The young engineers name was Clarence Johnson, but ever since hed trounced a local bully in grade school, he went by the more defiant nickname: Kelly, which suited his fierce and pugnacious personality. In 1983, Lockheed formally recognized Johnsons 50 years of service to the company. 10. Lockheed Skunk Works former CEO knew the Roswell extraterrestrial UFO influenced designs of Testor model kits for Roswell UFO models, and U.S. top secret aircraft. Customers who viewed this item also viewed Linda Thompson, It's a blessing not to be alone in your grief but it's also painful to see your parents and siblings in pain. The Lockheed Rye Canyon Research and Development Center inSanta Claritawas renamed, the Kelly Johnson Research and Development Center in his honor. We made it almost across, when I looked out the left window and saw a French Mirage III sitting ten feet off my left wing. 3. Socrates The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. The late Ben Robert Rich was the second director of Lockheed Corp.'s top-secret research and development unit known as the "Skunk Works." Founder and . 2. 1 : Inside the Skunk Works (Lockheeds secret research and development entity), we were a small, intensely cohesive group consisting of about fifty veteran engineers and designers and a hundred or so expert machinists and shop workers. He also worked on the F-104, U-2, SR-71, A-12, and F-22 among others, many of which are still classified. In 1975, Kelly Johnson retired from Lockheed as a corporate vice president, leaving his personal understudy Ben Rich to head the Skunk Works. Here, he managed to convince him that the Model 10 was unstable, with Johnson leading the tails redesign. Why did Ben Rich die of cancer if they had a device that could cure it? And, yes, we really did get some technology from them. He is an AIAA Fellow and recipient of the AIAA Aircraft Design Award, the SAE Clarence L. Kelly Johnson Aerospace Vehicle Design and Development Award, The Engineers Council Clarence L. Kelly Johnson Skunk Works Award, and the Lockheed Martin Aero Star Award. Strong but small project offices . Whilst at University, Johnson helped out on the wind tunnel testing of the Lockheed Model 10 Electra, Lockheeds answer to the Boeing 247. When I was working with the Skunkworks with Kelly Johnson, we signed an agreement with the government to keep very quiet about this. Johnson is perhaps best known for his contributions to aircraft design. I asked my backseater, who said, Dont worry about it. Dont duplicate so much inspection. Documentary History War The history of Skunk Works, the top-secret division of Lockheed that specialised in extreme, highly classified military aircraft design. Tell me in the comments! He should report to a division president or higher. Following his graduation, he enrolled at Flint Junior College (now Mott Community College) where he graduated a few years later. Barred from identifying the facility officially, insiders referred to the workplace as the "Skonk Works"after the fabled Kickapoo Joy Juice . Although amazed by the new designs precision, Air Ministry officials asked if they could entrust the future of their air force to someone so young. Push more basic inspection responsibility back to subcontractors and vendors. To overcome these defenses, Lockheed engineer Kelly Johnson proposed a glide-liker spy plane that would simply fly too high to be intercepted at over 70,000 feet. Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the military and industry. All Rights Reserved. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Johnson could have absconded with the dough and taken off on a one-way ticket to Tahiti. 2. The game changing F-117, which quickly gave the U.S. air superiority in the Gulf War, wouldn't have been possible without Ben Rich, the second director of Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works. Let's go bwaa ha ha. It is worth noting that Kelly's version of the phrase had no comma and was written "keep it . The picture was so clear you could see that guy reading a newspaper., I said, 'General, I believe in the well-known golden rule. The phrase; "keep it simple, stupid" is thought to have been coined by the late Kelly Johnson, who was the lead engineer at the Lockheed Skunk Works (a place responsible for the S-71 Blackbird spy plane amongst many other notable achievements). Ben Rich Lockheed Skunk Works CEO had admitted in his Deathbed Confession that Extraterrestrial UFO visitors are real and the U.S. Military travel among stars. Ben Rich may very well have asked for the device to cure him but They refused his request. Then he delivered the immortalConstellation, which revolutionized commercial aviation. Today, these are commonplace on almost all airliners, including those designed by both Airbus and Boeing. Many of the specialized sub-divisions in the Skunk Works that Johnson set up during the 1960s and 1970s are still going strong. One day, he got tired of being called Clara and tripped one of the other boys, breaking his leg. "Kelly Johnson and the products of his famous Skunk Works epitomize the highest and finest goal of our society, the goal of excellence. "If you want us to keep pretending that you're sorting old books whenever we come by to chat, you shouldn't slam them on the table. I can tell you personally that weve been working on them. Following his graduation from Flint Junior College, Johnson enrolled at the University of Michigan. Johnson also helped on the construction of several air bases during his time at the Skunk Works, most notably, the one atGroom Lake, Nevada, now known asArea 51. Some Navy brass who saw her clenched their teeth in disgust at the sight of the most futuristic ship ever to ply the seas. It was a throwback to a time when airplanes were created by small teams who all broke for lunch together. AND BE SURE TO JOIN OUR FORUM TOO! Personal life Moving to their anticntic and private life he married three times. For his work in the Skunk Works division, Lockheed promoted Johnson to its board of directors in 1964, where hed serve until 1980. Shortly after being hired by Lockheed six years earlier, Johnson had walked into his new bosss office, pointed to the companys promising new aircraft, the Electra, revealed a critical instability and then proceeded to correct the errors to the companys amazement. Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Projects (ADP), known officially as Skunk Works, was a secret aeronautical research facility in Burbank, California. What we have to do is find out where Einstein went wrong., 4 : When Rich was asked how UFO propulsion worked, he said, Let me ask you. Author: Shaikh Ashraf. Other boys used to gang up on him and call him Clara. 5. 6. We encouraged our people to work imaginatively, to improvise and try unconventional approaches to problem solving, and then got out of their way. He should report to a division president or higher. In their wisdom, Lockheed officials said they had complete faith in Clarence Kelly Johnson. IF YOU ENJOY THIS SITE PLEASE TELL OTHERS ABOUT USSHARING IS CARING. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson When a young engineer named Kelly Johnson came to Lockheed in 1933, one of the first things he told his new employers was that their new airplane design, the Electra, was inherently unstable. Kelly Johnson was always fanatical about security. From there the reader is taken back to 1975 where the chief of the Skunk Works, Kelly Johnson, has asked Rich to replace him as he prepares to retire. By the end of it, Johnson and his team had designed the aircraft that would become the U-2. NASA can not deny secrets discovered by UK hacker Gary McKinnon and many astronauts if it expects full funding from the Obama White House administration. This certainly helped Johnsons career and reputation in the industry. Outlets that have called him this include: International Aviation HQ, Aviation Week and Flying Magazine. We had the specks lab tested, and they turned out to be organic materialinsects that had been injected into the stratosphere and were circling in orbit around the earth with dust and debris at seventy-five thousand feet in the jet stream. That. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO REGISTER, LET'S BUILD A GREAT COMMUNITY TOGETHER, World Predictions Until 2050 by Remote Viewer E.M Nicolay. In 1940, the Society of American Engineers (now SAE) awarded Johnson theWright Brothers Medal. 2. Learn how we are strengthening the economies, industries and communities of our global partner nations. A born engineerI knew I wanted to design airplanes since I was twelve years old, he once saidKelly was offered the position of company president an unprecedented three times, but declined each time to oversee Skunk Works, where he remained a senior advisor even after his formal retirement in 1975. We decided to cross France without clearance instead of going the roundabout way. The number of people having any connection with the project must be restricted in an almost vicious manner. Many of these people subsequently became executives at Lockheed Martin. Anything you can imagine, we already know how to do., 3 : We now have the technology to take ET home. This was Lockheeds secretive division, designing the aircraft of the future. 16 results for "kelly johnson skunk works" RESULTS. Barack Obama Whilst at Lockheed, Johnson pioneered stealth technology, with some claiming he invented it. Andrews was a close personal friend of "Skunk Works" CEO Ben Rich the hand-picked successor of Skunk Works founder Kelly Johnson and the man famous for the F-117 Nighthawk "Stealth" fighter, its "half-pint" prototype the "HAVE BLUE", and the top-secret F-19 Stealth Interceptor. Johnsons work awarded him almost every major aviation award possible. Funding a program must be timely so that the contractor doesnt have to keep running to the bank to support government projects. Kelly Johnson was born on February 27 1910 in Ishpeming, Michigan, a remote mining town. He came up on our frequency and asked us for our Diplomatic Clearance Number. The oil and gas companies would not like a little device in anyones home that would provide ample energy thus eliminating the need for fossil fuels, electric grids, distribution systems and monthly income for them. Just what the F-86 pilots had asked for. That damn Swede, Hibbard said, can actually see air., 2023 Lockheed Martin Corporation. I doubt it would be pretty, as i seems to go against almost every single one of his commandments and it definitely is not quick, quiet and quality.. The checks arrived by regular mail at his Encino home, which had to be the wildest government payout in history. According to a CNI News report by Colorado resident Michael Lindemann, the design information was derived from forensic illustrations and numerous witness testimonies about the Roswell UFO, provided by William L. Bill McDonald. View the profiles of people named 'Kelly Johnson on Facebook. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. During the 1960s, the US Navy implemented something now known as the KISS principles. BE QUICK, be quiet, be on time. Rich, Ben. Kelly Johnson, Design Pioneer of Lockheed Aircraft, Dies,. Any one of his many airplane designs would have honored any individual's career." President Lyndon B. Johnson. The Blackbird had as much gliding capacity as a manhole cover, and it came barreling in over Salt Lake, just as our pilot got a restart and hit those afterburners right above the Mormon Tabernacle. In 1969, Johnson was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President for his work. In 1928, Johnson graduated from Flint Central High School. The contractor must be delegated and must assume more than normal responsibility to get good vendor bids for subcontract on the project. The Skunk Works manager must be delegated practically complete control of his program in all aspects. A few times we announced a bogus flight plan and then sat back and watched the phony complaints pour in. Rudolf Steiner, One person is always too many around me. The Skunk Works. Don Phillips, These UFOs were huge and they would just come to a stop and do a 60 degree, 45 degree, 10 degree turn, and then immediately reverse this action. Clarence Kelly Johnson is the Babe Ruth of aerospace design. , , , , , ., Dave Robertson, one of Kellys original recruits and aerospaces most intuitively smart hydraulic specialist, ridiculed our design by calling it a flying engagement ring. Dave seldom minced words; he kept a fourteen-inch blowgun he had fashioned out of a jets tailpipe on his desk and would fire clay pellets at the necks of any other designers in the big drafting room who got on his nerves. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. By that, his employees should never delay a contract, or overrun on costs, and/or never deliver a product that is subpar. If he doesnt, he rapidly loses his competency to design other vehicles. He did this in the hopes of earning a little money as well as a job after university. It was built under complete secrecy at the Lockheed Skunk Works plant in Burbank California, and . Rule Number 2. The Lockheed Electra, P-38 Lightning, Constellation, P-80 Shooting Star, F-104 Starfighter, C-130 Hercules, U-2 Dragon Lady, Jetstar, and of course the almost supernatural A-12 Oxcart and its SR-71 Blackbird successor are just a few of the nearly 50 designs Johnson worked on during his 50 year career with Lockheed. The project was highly secret, very high priority, and time was of the essence., Inside the Skunk Works, we were a small, intensely cohesive group consisting of about fifty veteran engineers and designers and a hundred or so expert machinists and shop workers., I enjoyed the goodwill of my colleagues because most of us had worked together intimately under tremendous pressures for more than a quarter century. These became known simply as Kellys Rules, which were basically operating laws for Johnson and those working on his projects. Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the military and industry. During the 1964 Presidential Election, Republican Barry Goldwater and Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson were having a televised debate. Siddiq Saunderson Moved to L.A. and Immediately Bought a Prius, Millennials and Zillennials Can't Get Enough of Manual Transmissions, Dollar Flight Club Premium Plus (Lifetime Subscription), Tesla Investor Day 2023 Was Pretty Great if You Ignored Elon. Well, if they were hostile, with their weaponry they could have destroyed us a long time ago. Before Rich died of cancer, Andrews took my . Contact the author at Tyler@jalopnik.com. 13. The venerable U-2 'Dragon Lady' is a spy plane born from Cold War necessity that soldiered on. Print length 224 pages Language English The F-104 was first introduced in 1958, and served until 2008, one of the longest of any aircraft! He lived by the motto "Be quick, be quiet, be on time." So, while in London to finalize the sale of the new Hudson bomber, the British Air Ministry requested numerous design changes, and Johnson took on the challenge over three nearly sleepless days. The inspection system as currently used by the Skunk Works, which has been approved by both the Air Force and Navy, meets the intent of existing military requirements and should be used on new projects. But it was Hall Hibbard, Kellys boss, who summed up his abilities best. Johnson delivered an aircraft that could travel faster than 400 km/h, with a superior range. In February 1937, the US Army Air Corps wanted a fighter-bomber that didnt require a fighter escort. The final thing youll need to know is dont half-heartedly wound problemskill them dead. As Tony LaVier, Lockheeds former chief test pilot and a frequent Kelly arm-wrestling opponent, said, it was Johnsons planes that kept us out of World War III.. His statements helped to give credence to reports that the U.S. military has been flying vehicles that mimic alien craft. He banked the funds through a phony company called C & J Engineering, the C & J standing for Clarence Johnson. We hit a tanker over the Pacific then turned and dashed east, accelerating to 2.6 Mach and about sixty thousand feet. The ADP offices stank of plastic- due to the nearby plastic factory. You cannot mandate it. Imperious, passionate, and demanding, Johnson was just as likely to deliver a kick to someones pants as a compliment to his face. We all know you wouldn't do that to a book that was truly ancient and fragile. The Skunk Works manager must be delegated practically complete control of his program in all aspects. However, the 1960 U-2 incident highlighted to the USAF and CIA that the U-2 wasnt invincible and needed something to prevent that. They can and must test it in the initial stages. Don't duplicate so much inspection. See the complete letter in May, 2010 MUFON UFO Journal from John Andrews and the hand written reply from Dr. Ben Rich. Kelly Johnson worked on several of Lockheeds projects between the 1930s and the 1980s. I lit the afterburners and left that Mirage standing still. Arming U-2s wasnt an option- this would decrease the service ceiling of the U-2 and make it easier for Soviet radars to detect. No reports longer than 20 pages or meetings with more than 15 people. Johnson resigned from the corporate board of directors in 1980, but continued on as a senior advisor until his death. The final thing you need to know is don't half-heartedly wound problems - kill them dead. The number of people having any connection with the project must be restricted in an almost vicious manner. When Kelly rolled up his sleeves, he became unstoppable, and the nay-sayers and doubters were simply ignored or bowled over. Search for jobs related to kelly johnson skunk works quotes or hire on the world's largest freelancing marketplace with 19m+ jobs. , : , . Meghan O'Rourke, Many a good man I have seen go under. Aircraft programs under Johnson were so cutting edge and historically influential, and his cult of personality and management strategy so effective, that he and Lockheeds Skunk Works (which he also founded) are forever enshrined in mankinds technological hall of fame. I didn`t see the craft, nor did I see the bodies, but I certainly know some of the people that did. by Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson and Maggie Smith | Dec 17, 1989. These include: Kelly Johnson had spent his entire career working for Lockheed. One of the purposes I had for founding my technology corporation in 1998 was to bring forth these technologies that can clean the air and can help get rid of the toxins, and help reduce the need for so much fossil fuel. The majority of the F-86 pilots wanted an aircraft that was much simpler, smaller and was faster than contemporary Soviet jets. In 1943, Johnson proposed the idea of Lockheed building a jet fighter and doing so in an extremely short amount of time180 daysin order to get it into service to help the war effort. "Skunk Works" is the official nickname of the Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs. What I was given was the thing you can't earn, and can't keep, and often don't even recognize at the time; I mean joy. That includes both domestic and international flights. SIGNING UP IS FAST, EASY AND FREE (TAKES LESS THAN A MINUTE AND IT'S A FREE FORUM). Kelly Johnson lived a comfortable life with his family. We know what it is. 2. Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson (February 27, 1910 - December 21, 1990) was an American aeronautical and systems engineer.He is recognized for his contributions to a series of important aircraft designs, most notably the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird.Besides the first production aircraft to exceed Mach 3, he also produced the first fighter capable of Mach 2, the United States' first . Use a small number of good people (10% to 25% compared to the so-called normal systems). 12. I just gave it to him. What he had given him was the bird with his middle finger. . Johnson borrowed the idea of the design from the German Focke-Wulf Fw 189as well as the Northrop P-61. I often wonder what Kelly Johnson would think of Americas aerospace industry today, when we have airframe design and aeronautical performance have arguably devolved, but avionics and sensors are more advanced than ever. We learned from both crash retrievals and actual hand-me-downs. The Government knew and until 1969 took an active hand in the administration of that information. During World War II, he designed the speedyP-38 Lightning, which pummeled destroyers and intercepted enemy fighters and bombers from Berlin to Tokyo; late in the war his team developed Americas first operational jet fighter, the P-80, in less than six months. Anything you can imagine, we already know how to do.. Any workernot just a supervisor or a managercould send back a part that didnt meet his or her standards. Designed to help the U.S. and allies leverage emerging technologies to create a resilient multi-domain network. We need a bill that strengthens our borders and protects this nation, but that also makes it simpler for good people to become Americans. Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the military and industry. The knowledge I have of these technologies came from the craft that were captured here. McDonnell Douglas DC-10: Your Ultimate Guide. Commercial bid procedures are often better than military ones. Upon introduction, the F-104 was used in large quantities, to supplement the North American F-100 in USAF service. Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the military and industry. The mesure of an intelligent person is the ability to change his mind." Clarence L. Johnson, Kelly: More Than My Share of It All 2 likes Like Our stealth ship might be able to blast out of the sky a sizable Soviet attack force, but in terms of an officers future status and promotion prospects, it was about as glamorous as commanding a tugboat. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. He can and must test it in the initial stages. | Sitemap |. Taking action to help you protect what matters most. Although slight variations exist, they go something like this: Kelly's Rules 1. One of these designs won him a prize of several hundred dollars. He was so powerful that simply by going along on his plans and schemes, the rest of us helped to produce miracles too. 10. Following the introduction of the U-2, both the USAF and CIA loved the aircraft. The Korean War saw first generation F-86 Sabres and MiG-15s fighting one another. Privacy Terms of Use EU and UK Data Protection Notice Cookies, Boyne, Walter J. Unfortunately, I can't. In the end, Lockheeds Skunk Works demonstrated the awesome capabilities of American inventiveness when free to operate under near ideal working conditions. CLARENCE LEONARD (KELLY) JOHNSON February 27, 1910-December 21, 1990 BY BEN R. RICH B E QUICK, be quiet, be on time. A very simple drawing and drawing release system with great flexibility for making changes must be provided. A small airplane, a bomber, an aircraft carrier, all with the same shape, will have identical radar cross sections., Frankly, I don't think you could have driven a needle up my sphincter using a sledgehammer., Viewed from head-on the ship looked like Darth Vaders helmet. It is amazing to think that one man did so much to advance mankinds aerospace capability. They should report to a division president or higher. Johnson designed the F-104 to be both faster and simpler than the previous generation of jet fighters. Above, Kelly Johnson, who founded and run Skunk Works for decades, stands beside the F-104 Starfighter in a photo taken in 1958 Kelly Johnson was the larger-than-life figure that founded and ran . The contractor must be delegated the authority to test his final product in flight. Use a small number of good people (10% to 25% compared to the so-called normal systems). Will Rogers It is vitally important that we implement immigration reform. We used a mail drop out at Sunland, a remote locale in the San Fernando Valley, for suppliers to send us parts. | Privacy Policy 14. The Skunk Works manager must be delegated near complete control of his program in all aspects. Are these ET people hostile? Kelly Johnson had designed the fly higher than the U-2, at 85,000ft (26,000m). When Kennedy was shown the site constructions, he asked, How do we know these sites are being manned? They showed Kennedy a picture taken from 72,000 feet, showing a worker taking a dump in an outdoor latrine. Johnson hand-picked a small team to attack the problem and delivered the XP-80 in only 143 days. Dont try to diminish the accomplishment of these people. And then, in August 1962, they hit pay dirt and came up with the pictures that showed the Russians were planting ballistic missiles right next door, SS-4s and SS-5s. Two minutes later, we were crossing the Channel.. The Air Tactical Service Command (ATSC) of the Army Air Force met with Lockheed Aircraft Corporation to express its need for . There are a number of lessons for technology entrepreneurs. 6. He had just seventy-two hours to design a new aircraft, one that the British Air Ministry needed to prepare for a war that looked more likely with each passing day. Friedrich Nietzsche, I'd like to say this was our worst game. I'm going to press on. As such, they wanted an aircraft that could spy on them. You could argue, that without Kelly Johnson, there might not have been stealth aircraft, and if there were, at least not to the level available today. Our design engineers had the keen experience to conceive the whole airplane in their minds-eye, doing the trade-offs in their heads between aerodynamic needs and weapons requirements. The Skunk Works manager must be delegated near complete control of his program in all aspects. After a 1969 Nixon purge, administration was handled by an international board of directors in the private sector Anti-gravitational research was going on. In 1939, TWA, at the behest of Howard Hughes, commissioned Lockheed to build an airliner that was faster than anything on the market. During one of the wind tunnel tests, Johnson discovered a flaw with the Electras directional stability. Lockheed tasked Kelly Johnson with designing an aircraft that fit the specifications laid out by the US military. Johnson worked on almost all of Lockheeds jet aircraft between the 1950s and 1970s. And, yes, we really did put it to work. This resulted in Irv Culver, answering the internal phone lines as Skonk Works in reference to a comic strip in the local newspaper. He worked on almost all of Lockheeds projects in this time, either as an engineer, consultant or was the lead engineer. Learn how we are strengthening the economies, industries and communities of our global partner nations. Lord of the Skunk Works,, Oliver, Myrna. . "The Ship that Never Was" from "Skunk Works" by Ben R. Rich Funding a program must be timely so that the contractor doesn't have to keep running to the bank to support government projects. 3. The Russians never had an inkling of how they were actually contributing to the creation of the airplane being rushed into construction to spy on their homeland., Control is the name of the game and if a Skunk Works really operates right, control is exactly what they wont get., He backed me even though he insisted that it would be a complete waste of my time. The Skunk Works practice of having a specification section stating clearly which important military specification items will not knowingly be complied with and reasons therefore is highly recommended. Following the success of the P-38, Lockheed tasked Kelly Johnson with working on a family of airliners that could replace the earlier Lockheed Model 18 Lodestars. These were based on Johnsons personal work ethics and experiences. It was Ben Richs opinion that the public should not be told [about UFOs and extraterrestrials] . There was no question that there were beings from outside the planet. Because only a few people will be used in engineering and most other areas, ways must be provided to reward good performance by pay not based on the number of personnel supervised.