kelly johnson skunk works quotes kelly johnson skunk works quotes

Thanks to the fame and fortune he has earned from his work. Explore Skunk Quotes by authors including Abraham Lincoln, G-Dragon, and Michael Paterniti at BrainyQuote. We all know you wouldn't do that to a book that was truly ancient and fragile. TIMES STAFF WRITER. Johnson delivered an aircraft that could travel faster than 400 km/h, with a superior range. 11. Today, Lockheed Martin is still at the forefront of stealth technology, mostly due to Johnsons earlier work. Kelly's Rules. 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. These are the basic operations rules enunciated by founder Kelly Johnson in 1954, as cited in his successor Ben Rich's book: The team (and its leader) must earn this trust. There must be a minimum number of reports required, but important work must be recorded thoroughly. And we have ones that can diagnose and cure cancer. Ursula K. Le Guin, She looked at him. Robertson hated having anyone look over his shoulder at his drawing and reacted by grabbing a culprits tie and cutting it off with scissors. The book Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Ben Rich and Leo Janos (1996, Little Brown & Company) covers their historic achievements in great detail. Dont come with this it was UFO technology all this time. When I was working with the Skunkworks with Kelly Johnson, we signed an agreement with the government to keep very quiet about this. Anything you can imagine, we already know how to do.. Its criminal to not have video proof of any deathbed confession at this point. "There must be a monthly cost review covering not only what has been spent and. Lisa Norato, I certainly wasn't happy. Many of the specialized sub-divisions in the Skunk Works that Johnson set up during the 1960s and 1970s are still going strong. Print length 224 pages Language English A lot of Lockheed Martins company slang has its origins with Johnson, or are about his impeccable skills. 1. Directors Jeff Cvitkovic Rory Karpf Writer Rory Karpf Stars George Bush (archive footage) The number of people having any connection with the project must be restricted in an almost vicious manner. The final thing youll need to know is dont half-heartedly wound problemskill them dead. With its premium plus plan, youll be able to browse flight deals going for up to 90% off in business, premium economy, and economy class. This was because the F-86 was more complex and larger than the MiG-15, which made it harder to operate during dogfights. 7. Our supplier, Titanium Metals Corporation, had only limited reserves of the precious alloy, so the CIA conducted a worldwide search and, using third parties and dummy companies, managed to unobtrusively purchase the base metal from one of the worlds leading exportersthe Soviet Union. Following the introduction of the U-2, both the USAF and CIA loved the aircraft. His statements helped to give credence to reports that the U.S. military has been flying vehicles that mimic alien craft. Ill teach you all you need to know about running a company in one afternoon, and well both go home early to boot. His work was instrumental in preventing a Soviet win during the Cold War. If he doesnt, he rapidly loses his competency to design other vehicles. The design for the fighter was submitted on the 26th of June, only 30 days into the project, and the first prototype was delivered to Muroc Army Airfield on the 16th of November, just 143 days later. Thats all there is to it. 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. He should report to a division president or higher. I marvel more and more at what enterprising engineers were able to do with slide rules and drafting tables so long ago. We hit a tanker over the Pacific then turned and dashed east, accelerating to 2.6 Mach and about sixty thousand feet. Some Navy brass who saw her clenched their teeth in disgust at the sight of the most futuristic ship ever to ply the seas. We cannot evangelize until we have been evangelized. The local postmaster got curious about all the crates and boxes piling up in his bins and looked up C & J in the phone book and, of course, found nothing. The Skunk Works. We got these things that are handhold scanners that scan the body and determine what the condition is. Before Rich died of cancer, Andrews took my . Well, if they were hostile, with their weaponry they could have destroyed us a long time ago. My God in heaven, he exclaimed, youre gonna blow up Burbank., The CIA had been covering Cuba with U-2 flights for years. Imperious, passionate, and demanding, Johnson was just as likely to deliver a kick to someones pants as a compliment to his face. Johnson also pushed the limits of service ceilings at the time, giving it a service ceiling of 44,000 ft, one of the highest for any aircraft. How in hell did they get lifted up there? 4.7 out of 5 stars 455. The Black Budget Anti-Gravity Craft You Are Not Supposed to Know About! "It became obvious that we would have to design better wings and tails," Johnson wrote in his autobiography, Kelly: More Than My Share of It All, "but that if we wanted higher performance we would have to get rid of the propeller." Clarence "Kelly" Johnson would have celebrated his 100th birthday three days ago if he still was with us, his name is pretty well known to anyone with an interest in aviation. 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. This airliner also had to fly 3,500mi (5,600km), well beyond the capabilities of any aircraft in 1939. He worked on almost all of Lockheeds projects in this time, either as an engineer, consultant or was the lead engineer. Kelly Johnson, the legendary founder of the Skunk Works, sought to recruit only the best person in each specialty the project required (Disney tried to do the same). 2. They should report to a division president or higher. As such, the CIA contracted Lockheed to develop a new, undetectable spy plane. Hall Hibbard told the Lockheed management about Johnsons contributions. And thus, revolutionary aircraft after revolutionary aircraftincluding perhaps Johnsons greatest achievement, the SR-71 Blackbird, still the worlds fastest aircraft fifty years after its first flightrolled off the Lockheed line under Johnsons watch. This aircraft also flew higher than any other jet before it. There are a number of lessons for technology entrepreneurs. They can and must test it in the initial stages. This subsequently became used throughout the US Navy and US military in general. We need a bill that strengthens our borders and protects this nation, but that also makes it simpler for good people to become Americans. Anne Bishop, All we do is work to maximise our consumption privileges and to be able to tell people at parties that we're a lawyer, an artist or a police officer. 12. 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. Clare Boothe Luce, The history of our spiritual life is a continuing search for the unity between ourselves and the world. We can term it black, deep black, or hidden. The Skunk Works manager must be delegated near complete control of his program in all aspects. Kelly Johnson is known for a lot of things. . However, the US military was pressured into the sale by the CIA who preferred the aircraft for their own missions. BE NOTIFIED BY EMAIL WHEN A NEW ARTICLE IS POSTED - ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE BOX BELOW AND HIT SUBSCRIBE! This also enabled the Constellation to fly higher, and therefore faster than most contemporary aircraft. That damn Swede, Hibbard said, can actually see air., 2023 Lockheed Martin Corporation. The young Kelly Johnson, a brilliant engineer, led a team of only 28 people into the top secret project. But some complaints were for real. He has tied the knot with Althea Louise Young in 1937. During the 1964 Presidential Election, Republican Barry Goldwater and Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson were having a televised debate. See the complete letter in May, 2010 MUFON UFO Journal from John Andrews and the hand written reply from Dr. Ben Rich. This principle, an acronym of Keep It Simple Stupid was pioneered by Johnson at Lockheed. Theirs is the official Lockheed Skunk Works story: . It was Ben Richs opinion that the public should not be told [about UFOs and extraterrestrials] . He was so powerful that simply by going along on his plans and schemes, the rest of us helped to produce miracles too. Benjamin Robert Rich (June 18, 1925 January 5, 1995) was the second director of Lockheeds Skunk Works from 1975 to 1991, succeeding its founder, Kelly Johnson. Barred from identifying the facility officially, insiders referred to the workplace as the "Skonk Works"after the fabled Kickapoo Joy Juice . His three principles: First, it's more important to. 2023 Lockheed Martin Corporation. The Lockheed Skunk Works, led by Kelly Johnson, was responsible for its Advanced Development Projects - everything from the P-80, the first U.S. jet fighter plane, to the U-2 and A-12 spy planes. So Kelly approved my idea of painting the airplane black, and by the time our first prototype rolled out the airplane became known as the Blackbird. Although slight variations exist, they go something like this: 1. Skunk Works Quotes Showing 1-27 of 27 "We became the most successful advanced projects company in the world by hiring talented people, paying them top dollar, and motivating them into believing that they could produce a Mach 3 airplane like the Blackbird a generation or two ahead of anybody else." He called the Hopeless Diamond Richs Folly. Some said that Eds bark was worse than his bite, but those were guys who didnt know him., That primitive Skunk Works operation set the standards for what followed. Clarence L. (Kelly) Johnson, creator of Lockheed's secret "Skunk Works" research and development division and legendary designer of aircraft, died . The specifications applying to the hardware, including rationale for each point, must be agreed upon well in advance of contracting. Top Kelly Johnson Skunkworks Quotes That's what a Congressman or a Senator is for to see that too much money don't accumulate in the national Treasury. Jack London The future rewards those who press on. Restrict access to outsiders. He founded the legendary 'Skunk Works' department for Lockheed that designed under his command innovative and revolutionary aircraft like the U-2, F-104, SR-71 (photo . 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. By that, his employees should never delay a contract, or overrun on costs, and/or never deliver a product that is subpar. , : , . Since his death, Johnson has frequently been called one of the most influential aviators of the 20th century. However, the 1960 U-2 incident highlighted to the USAF and CIA that the U-2 wasnt invincible and needed something to prevent that. 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. We knew each other from what we call an unseen industry. In 1975, Kelly Johnson retired from Lockheed as a corporate vice president, leaving his personal understudy Ben Rich to head the Skunk Works. This resulted in Irv Culver, answering the internal phone lines as Skonk Works in reference to a comic strip in the local newspaper. Instead, Johnson was tasked with developing new military aircraft. That way we reduced rework and scrap waste. Honest to God, there will never be another like him., We became the most successful advanced projects company in the world by hiring talented people, paying them top dollar, and motivating them into believing that they could produce a Mach 3 airplane like the Blackbird a generation or two ahead of anybody else. Lockheed wanted to find out what pilots wanted for a second generation jet fighter. This taught Johnson to be hard working as well as to conserve cash- both things that would serve him well at Lockheed. Now you can run this goddam place. He believed they could not handle the truth ever. The Fort Robertson complex was located less than a thousand yards from the Municipal Airports in-bound runway. Today's Skunk Works employs 3,700 employees at facilities in Palmdale, California, Marietta, Georgia, and Fort Worth, Texas. The Skunk Works manager must be delegated practically complete control of his program in all aspects. Two minutes later, we were crossing the Channel.. Commercial bid procedures are very often better than military ones. Johnsons work on the Constellation was stored for several years, until Lockheed decided to develop the L-1011 TriStar. And if the ship was totally invisible, it looked like a blank spotlike a hole in the doughnutthat was a dead giveaway, Kelly began receiving all kinds of complaints and threats of lawsuits from communities claiming the Blackbird had shattered windows for miles around. His record of design achievement in aviation is both incomparable and virtually incredible. Personal life Moving to their anticntic and private life he married three times. By 1955, Johnson and his secret division of engineersdubbedSkunk Workslaunched the worlds first dedicated spy plane, theU-2, just nine months after receiving an official contract. 6. Will Rogers It is vitally important that we implement immigration reform. Dec. 22, 1990 12 AM PT. This cuts down misunderstanding and correspondence to an absolute minimum. 2. However, he didnt remain as a tool designer for long. 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. A very simple drawing and drawing release system with great flexibility for making changes must be provided. The contractor must be delegated and must assume more than normal responsibility to get good vendor bids for subcontract on the project. Rule Number 3. He was the lead designer on several of Lockheeds greatest aircraft in the Cold War, as well as being the first leader of Lockheeds infamous Skunk Works division. We encouraged our people to work imaginatively, to improvise and try unconventional approaches to problem solving, and then got out of their way. These were so successful that Skunk Works still use them today. In 1983, Lockheed formally recognized Johnsons 50 years of service to the company. No, it wont take someones lifetime to do it. 10. Call it whatever you want., We completed our pass over Beirut and turned toward Malta, when I got a warning low-oil-pressure light on my right engine. Even his few dead-ends and failures had key technologies that would lead to wins or lessons learned down the road. Johnson and his team developed the A-12 for the CIA. In the later years, many of these aircraft were to do with the concept of stealth. Johnson soon realized that arming the aircraft was nearly impossible, so chose another route: speed. There was hell to pay., Another weird thing was that after a flight the windshields often were pitted with tiny black dots, like burn specks. Then she looked at the table stacked with books. From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, Skunk Works is the true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. Push more basic inspection responsibility back to subcontractors and vendors. CLARENCE LEONARD (KELLY) JOHNSON. If it looks ugly, it will fly the same. It is worth noting that Kelly's version of the phrase had no comma and was written "keep it . Whilst this works out at just over one a year for his entire career, naturally, some years were better than others. His professor told him it was negligible and chose to only report the positives to Lockheed. This item: Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed $2375 Kelly: More Than My Share of It All $2495 Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond $2178 Total price: $70.48 Add all three to Cart Some of these items ship sooner than the others. As such, by the end of 1933, Lockheed promoted Johnson to Aeronautical Engineer, before becoming the chief research engineer in 1938. Any one of his many airplane designs would have honored any individual's career." President Lyndon B. Johnson. He declared his intention, then pushed through while his subordinates followed in his wake. Too few to do anyones career much good in terms of power or prestige. As such, they wanted an aircraft that could spy on them. 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. International Aviation HQ. Kelly Johnson had three simple management principles supporting a single fundamental belief: don't build something you don't believe in. 1. You cannot mandate it. SIGNING UP IS FAST, EASY AND FREE (TAKES LESS THAN A MINUTE AND IT'S A FREE FORUM). How did he achieve such amazing success? Now you can run this goddamn place. We develop laser weapon systems, radio frequency and other directed energy technologies for air, ground and sea platforms to provide an affordable countermeasure alternative. Kelly Johnson's 14 Rules & Practices 1. Lockheed tasked Johnson with creating the perfect fighter-bomber that would decimate the German and Japanese forces. During one of the wind tunnel tests, Johnson discovered a flaw with the Electras directional stability. Unfortunately, I can't. This certainly helped Johnsons career and reputation in the industry. Robert Wringham, The main thing is to get what little happiness there is out of life in this wartorn world because 'these are the good old days' now. "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. This was Lockheeds secretive division, designing the aircraft of the future. 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. AND BE SURE TO JOIN OUR FORUM TOO! 1. The contractor must be delegated the authority to test their final product in flight. That includes both domestic and international flights. 2. 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. Skunk Works produced such revolutionary planes as the U-2, SR-71 Blackbird and FB-117 Nighthawk. 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. The Constellation was the first aircraft with pressurization, which made the cabin much quieter. 2. Dr. Ben R. Rich former Lockheed Skunk Works CEO confirmed: 1. 4. Upon introduction, the F-104 was used in large quantities, to supplement the North American F-100 in USAF service. Only in the last months of his decline did he begin to feel that the international corporate board of directors dealing with the Subject could represent a bigger problem to citizens personal freedoms under the United States Constitution than the presence of off-world visitors themselves.. 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. Kelly Johnson was always fanatical about security. He can and must test it in the initial stages. 2. Whilst at Lockheed, Johnson pioneered stealth technology, with some claiming he invented it. Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Projects (ADP), known officially as Skunk Works, was a secret aeronautical research facility in Burbank, California. 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. Beyond being a brilliant aerospace engineer and larger-than-life character, he was able to successfully navigate the pitfalls of the Pentagons crushing bureaucracy and the military brasss need to meddle in every good design. They are still familiar with the inborn vocabulary of myth Madeleine L'Engle, I wonder why people wanted someone very badly, I wonder why someone comes in your life and life begins to change, every good happens to you, and you just want that person to never go from your life, remain there for you" Strong but small project offices must be provided both by the military and industry. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO REGISTER, LET'S BUILD A GREAT COMMUNITY TOGETHER, World Predictions Until 2050 by Remote Viewer E.M Nicolay. Access by outsiders to the project and its personnel must be strictly controlled by appropriate security measures. After WWII, the Germans were no longer the enemy, but the US was skeptical of the Soviets. His father, ran a construction company and his mother was a homemaker. We have invested in developing and demonstrating hypersonic technology for over 30 years. I can tell you personally that weve been working on them. Kelly johnson, the founder of the lockheed skunk works, established fourteen basic operating principles to govern his talented personnel and top secret projects. 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. The Skunk Works manager must be delegated practically complete control of their program in all aspects. Happiness has to do with reason, and only reason earns it. 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. , , , , . 17. In the video, Speed Racer launches from a Beech 1900, a civilian aircraft the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps fly as the C-12 Huron. Johnson found that most F-86 pilots believed that the MiG-15 was superior. 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. 5 Best Aviation Games You Can Download Today! Use a small number of good people (10% to 25% compared to the so-called normal systems). Kelly also had a unofficial 15th, 16th, and 17th rules, which he is known to have stated repeatedly to his subordinates: 16. Although, he contributed the most to: During the 1930s, Lockheed, as with most other aircraft manufacturers, strived to make faster and more agile aircraft. In 1928, Johnson graduated from Flint Central High School. Second, we have to devise a new propulsion technology. "There must be a minimum number of reports required, but important work must be recorded thoroughly," Johnson wrote. Funding a program must be timely so that the contractor doesn't have to keep running to the bank to support government projects. A moment later we were directly over central California, with the Blackbirds continual sonic boom serving as an early wake-up call to the millions sleeping below on this special day. Johnson is perhaps best known for his contributions to aircraft design. , Skunk Works, , . The history of Skunk Works, the top-secret division of Lockheed that specialised in extreme, highly classified military aircraft design. Johnson hand-picked a small team to attack the problem and delivered the XP-80 in only 143 days. 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. Socrates The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. His work thrust the aviation industry several decades into the future, going from traveling only a couple of hundred miles per hour to several times the speed of sound! Shortly following this, Kelly Johnson met Hall Hibbard. 13. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO REGISTER, LET'S BUILD A GREAT COMMUNITY TOGETHER His parents were Swedish immigrants from Malmo. Johnson borrowed the idea of the design from the German Focke-Wulf Fw 189as well as the Northrop P-61. At the age of only 13, Johnson was designing his own aircraft. IT WASNT. To this day, Kelly Johnsons resume of accomplishments reads like a list of the most iconic airplanes in aviation history. We develop laser weapon systems, radio frequency and other directed energy technologies for air, ground and sea platforms to provide an affordable countermeasure alternative. The shock wave thudded against a huge hangar under construction about five hundred yards away and nearly knocked four workers off the scaffolding, while Davey and I huddled out of sight behind the cement wall, giggling like schoolboys.