The Genius Behind Skunk Works: Kelly Johnson's Top Secret Airplane Designs That Will Blow Your Mind
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2022
- An historical documentary about Kelly Johnson and Skunk Works, a division of Lockheed and the makers of many American iconic aircraft, such as the SR-71 Blackbird, U-2 Dragonlady, F-104 Starfighter.
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 operational jet fighter, as well as the first fighter to exceed 400 mph, and many other contributions to various aircraft.
As a member and first team leader of the Lockheed Skunk Works, Johnson worked for more than four decades and is said to have been an "organizing genius". He played a leading role in the design of over forty aircraft, including several honored with the prestigious Collier Trophy, acquiring a reputation as one of the most talented and prolific aircraft design engineers in the history of aviation.
In 2003, as part of its commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' flight, Aviation Week & Space Technology ranked Johnson eighth on its list of the top 100 "most important, most interesting, and most influential people" in the first century of aerospace. Hall Hibbard, Johnson's Lockheed boss, referring to Johnson's Swedish ancestry, once remarked to Ben Rich: "That damned Swede can actually see air."
At the University of Michigan, Johnson conducted wind tunnel tests of Lockheed's proposed Model 10 airliner. He found the aircraft did not have adequate directional stability, but his professor felt it did and told Lockheed so. Upon completing his master's degree in 1933, Johnson joined Lockheed as a tool designer on a salary of $83 a month. Shortly after starting, Johnson convinced Hall Hibbard, the chief engineer, the Model 10 was unstable.
Hibbard sent Johnson back to Michigan to conduct more tests. Johnson eventually made multiple changes to the wind tunnel model, including adding an "H" tail, to address the problem. Lockheed accepted Johnson's suggestions and the Model 10 went on to be a success. This brought Johnson to the attention of company management, and he was promoted to aeronautical engineer.
After assignments as flight test engineer, stress analyst, aerodynamicist, and weight engineer, he became chief research engineer in 1938. In 1952, he was appointed chief engineer of Lockheed's Burbank, California plant, which later became the Lockheed-California Company. In 1956 he became Vice President of Research and Development there.
A design of the Lockheed A-3 (Mach 3 ramjet), sketch from Johnson's notebook
Johnson became Vice President of Advanced Development Projects (ADP) in 1958. The first ADP offices were nearly uninhabitable; a smelly former bourbon distillery was the first ADP location, the site where his secretive team built the first P-38 Lightning prototype. Moving from the distillery to a larger building, the stench from a nearby plastic factory was so vile that Irv Culver, one of the engineers, began answering the intra-Lockheed "house" phone "Skonk Works!"
Skunk Works is an official pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, beginning with the P-38 Lightning in 1939 and the P-80 Shooting Star in 1943. Skunk Works engineers subsequently developed the U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, F-117 Nighthawk, F-22 Raptor, and F-35 Lightning II, the latter being used in the air forces of several countries.
The Skunk Works name was taken from the moonshine factory in the comic strip Li'l Abner. The designation "skunk works" or "skunkworks" is widely used in business, engineering, and technical fields to describe a group within an organization given a high degree of autonomy and unhampered by bureaucracy, with the task of working on advanced or secret projects.
Aircraft:
A modern Skunk Works project leverages an older one: LASRE atop the SR-71 Blackbird.
Lockheed P-38 Lightning (unofficial)
Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
Lockheed XF-90
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
Lockheed U-2
Lockheed X-26 Frigate
Lockheed YO-3
Lockheed A-12
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Lockheed D-21
Lockheed XST (Have Blue)
Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
Lockheed Martin X-35 and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
Lockheed X-27
Lockheed Martin Polecat
Quiet Supersonic Transport
Lockheed Martin Cormorant
Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk
Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel
Lockheed Martin X-55
Lockheed Martin SR-72
Lockheed Martin X-59 QueSST
#KellyJohnson #skunkworks #sr71 
Наука
Click the link to watch more aircraft, heroes and their stories, missions: ruclips.net/p/PLBI4gRjPKfnNx3Mp4xzYTtVARDWEr6nrT
The first 400 mph plus fighter was the F4U Corsair.
"The most remarkable thing about Kelly Johnson was the way he did it.". True words. Amazing legacy. Very well-done documentary.
An absolute legend, and a true American original.
A trailblazing pioneer from an era when the USA didn’t know the meaning of the word “impossible”
👍
My father had worked very hard to achieve the position of senior design specialist at the Lockheed Skunk Works. Working with the many developmental pioneers as well as Ben Rich, and Kelley Johnson, was a great honor to say the least. He would tell me that they achieved the impossible each and every day, and that there was no such word as "can't". This is a fantastic documentary to say the least.
While on duty at a radar site in Southern Okinawa, I tracked an incoming SR-71, returning to Kadena, AFB, from an over flight of Vietnam, about mid 1972. It popped up from an unexpected vector, 090, and was moving at a breath taking speed, compared to other aircraft. Each sweep of the radar brought it closer, an the I.D. tech had nothing on his flight board. I thought, it might be a missile, then I saw it turn. Some of us went out the back door, and watched it descend looking like a metorite. It headed North towards Kadena to land. When on the ground, Kadena called us to let us know and SR-71 had landed. I went back to my scope, and calculated my grease pencil marks on the scope, with the sweep rotation. I calculated over Mach 3. I reported it to my Captain, who reminded me, that they only go Mach 2 ! And a finger to his lips in a shushing motion. Light dawned on Marblehead, and I said " Yes sir, I must have made a mistake ! He nodded, I saluted, and went back to scope duty to finish up my over night shift.
Great story!
Well at top speed, the subsonic U-2C flew 12 kilometers/minute while the Mach 3+ SR-71 did almost 55 kilometers/minute !
Marblehead?
Nice cocktails quote lol
That’s a great story. Thank you for sharing.
I watched an interview with Kelly's handpicked test pilot, Tony Lavere, in which he shared the fact that he was given the task of finding a place to start U-2 and A-12/ SR71 program. Tony is the pilot who picked Area 51 on the Atomic Energy range. Before he died, he asked to be able to go see what Area 51 had become. They refused him entry. You could tell in the interview that kinda broke his heart. That always made me mad, to disrespect one of the men responsible for that "base" to begin with.
I think I recall seeing him talk about it, when you lose your security clearance there’s nothing anyone can do. People were stripped of their clearance when they were forced retired, or sometimes people would lose it in a few days, and they’d never disclose why, only they weren’t on a need to know
In 2003, as part of its celebration of the 100th anniversary of the first flight of the Wright Brothers, Aviation Week & Space Technology ranked KellyJohnson eighth on its list of the top 100 most influential people in the 20th century of aerospace engineering. He should have been ranked number one. .
Number one is probably debatable, but he should definitely be higher than eighth on that list.
Definitely in the top three.
I want to know who the other 7 were, although no doubt Orville and Wilbur are the top two.
@@dukecraig2402 top 3 for sure, Johnson was a aircraft design wizard.
Wow
Getting a plane to fly is one thing, getting it beyond the envelopes of smaller faster radar guided missles with mulit manned aircraft the size of the SR-71... that is mind bogling even by todays standards...
There was a time when America absolutely refused to believe in limits, that stuff wasn’t possible, that it couldn’t be done. Mr Johnson and his team somehow made a plane from the distant future fly in the sixties. If that SR71 had been debuted in 2022 instead of 1966 it would still be an astounding marvel of technology, futuristic and just as staggering.
I’m pretty sure there’s classified tech out there that would astound you.
@@reginaldbowls7180 But behind schedule and way over budget.
@@georgew2014 there is no budget. Print more money.
Kelly Johnson was A Fucking Legend!! And this documentary did him real justice!!!👍🏻
GREAT JOB!!
👍
A beautiful tribute to one of aviation's greatest innovators. Fine job.
Mr Johnson, one of the most respected people in aviation and truly a father figure in my career... Thank you.
"Be quick, be quiet, be on time."
-- Kelly's motto for Skunk Works
SR-71 is the most beautiful aircraft of the history !
There isn’t enough information on this man that I can ever be sick of learning about. I can absorb endless hours of history on him. He was one of the most accomplished human beings we’ll ever know. God he was amazing
A trully gifted man, leading a trully gifted team, serving a great Nation.
👍🇺🇸❤
The man was a genius. He was lucky enough to have a team people listen to him.
So refreshing to see a competent senior manager who actually knows what's going on and ISN'T focused on bonus/promotion/arse-saving/blame-dispensing. Kelly and Sully - 'nuff said. Thank you for the upload - really interesting.
I love that they nailed his genius. He did not personally design any of these aircraft, tho he was capable and understood the targets well (a task in itself, if you want to agree to make it work). His genius was putting together and managing the teams that made it happen. I am an engineer by trade and work at a competitive company, and let's just say 'herding cats' does not begin to describe what it takes to bring a bunch of Type-A's together and have it work. And he clearly had type A+++'s based on the outcome. I have worked with one leader like this (initials C.V.), and it is remarkable what one person can do with the right vision and the right team. This is a much more valuable skill than any single engineer or designer can provide.
Type asshole can create
Snag is - there's usually a (braindead) more senior manager whos focus is pissin' on the plans....
Le principe est très simple : pour jouer une grande symphonie il ne suffit pas d'avoir les meilleurs instruments il faut non seulement de très bons musiciens mais avant tout un grand chef d'orchestre !!!C'est ce qu'était Kelly Johnson , un grand chef d'orchestre doublé d'un magicien.
I highly recommend the book "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich who worked for Kelly and was groomed by him and eventually took over after Kelly' retired. Great narrative from the building of the U-2, the SR-71 and eventually the F-117 Nighthawk.
Amazing book!!
Good book got it the week it came out ! Old skunk .
Absolutely... A friend of mine gave his copy a number of years ago to read. I couldn't put it down. Very interesting information in it you have never heard about. Like how Gary Powers got shot down and how Ben Rich developed the "spikes" at the engine intakes. Yes... Get a copy and enjoy!
I agree.
More Than My Share, Kelly Johnson, currently working through Ben Rich’s book but More Than My Share was Kelly’s. What an amazing life he live.
Old school stand up fellow shame we don’t have enough of his type with us today
Elon Musk....
Yes there is, there's engineers out there that innovate every single day.
Johnson just happened to be there when aircraft technology was busting wide open and all kinds of innovations were happening, after the 60's aircraft technology hit a plateau not because the world ran out of Kelly Johnson's, it hit a plateau because technology had milked just about everything it could out of something made out of the materials at hand and the limits of jet engine's.
Mankind made it to the moon without Kelly Johnson being involved, there was plenty of innovations happened there without him, there were engineers involved with that who were every bit as smart and innovative as he was, there was just so many of them involved with that that no one gets singled out.
Imagine starting a project like the SR-71 with today's societal standards. First, all of the white men would be automatically excluded (because, you know, they're all supremacists...), then half the worker would have to be women or LGBQTRPJIDA* genders, and let's make sure we work "equity" in there, too. You can't design a paper airplane today with these clowns at the helm.
We didn't 'have enough of them' then either. But naturally the pussification of America in recent decades has further discouraged and punished the existence of real men.
@@robburnett2672 Johnson met or came in under his promised delivery times. And often exceeded performance targets. Can't say the same about Musk.
What a great engineer , designer and manager.
Well said David 👍🙏
Grew up in La, near the Northrop and North American plants, learned to fly at the Hawthorne Northrop field, first Solo August 1972. Used to hear the sonic booms in the '60s from aircraft returning to Muroc. Saw the SR 71 take off at the Abbotsford air show, Abbotsford Canada in 1986, that show also featured the Concorde, for a thousand bucks you could go supersonic over the Pacific, and return to Abbotsford, that show was also the first to feature the MIG 29 in a western Airshow. F 16 and Mig 29, like watching a Mike Tyson fight. Always admired Kelly Johnson and his creations. Loved the P 38 and the Connie, and the Superconnie, there used to be a Superconnie parked at the Burbank Airport in the '80s. Great show.
For anyone interested in Military Aviation history, Kelly Johnson IS the Engineer that more than any other advanced the state of the art.
The SR-71 is the fastest air breathing jet that we know of that Kelly Johnson built. I wonder if the public will ever find out about any other of Kelly Johnson’s top secret projects?
Kelly Johnson’s “Skunk Works” accomplishments have been the subject of many management skills studies over the years, particularly his rules and more with less philosophy. The man detested bureaucracy with a passion seeing it only as an interruption to getting things done.
One of the best sources of information and footage of Kelly Johnson out there. Thanks!!!
I worked at the FAA enroute ATC radar facility (ARTCC) in Palmdale, CA in the early 80's. While the speed of the SR71 was classified, there was a way we could get the computer to tell us the speed, always over 2000 MPH. One day we were given a tour of SR71 facility at Palmdale on a day they were flying. We got to see the plane at various states of maintenance and talk to the pilot while he was suiting up in his pressure suit. We saw the inside of various structures and an engine on a maintenance stand. After all that, we went out to the departure end of the runway as it took off. With hands over ears we felt the ground shake as it flew overhead at full afterburner. What a day that was!
Kelly Johnson was a genius who not only was the best aircraft designer that ever lived long before computer aided design but knew how to deal with Govt bureaucracy and his best trait how to treat people. Everyone who worked with Kelly felt important and they loved him for it.
♥️👍😎
The SR-71's stationed at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa Japan, were nicknamed the "Habu". The Habu is relation to the cobra, and is one nasty pit viper. It can strike without warning, without coiling, and can also strike ANYWHERE in a 360 degree arc. So, just because it wasn't looking at you... didn't mean it couldn't get you. It is responsible for a number of deaths every year on Okinawa, even in the largest city of Naha. The pilots and maintenance crews even had a shoulder patch made up and approved by the brass to wear on their uniform. It was a drawing of the snake coming at you mouth open and fangs out. Very impressive.
The SR-71 actually first became "public" on Kadena. During Vietnam, a number of aircraft would take-off at night. After a few took-off two-abreast on parallel runways, the SR-71 would taxi out of its hanger on the opposite side of the runways, taxi immediately to the end of the runway... and take-off. It was followed by several more aircraft two-abreast on parallel runways. The FOUR aircraft at once, with TWO engines on each one, partially mimicked the immense exhaust of the SR-71. The SR-71 got to the end of the runway as usual one night, except a bomb fell off (fell off... just fell F'ing off) the aircraft on take-off roll in front of it. The aircraft stopped immediately, but with more aircraft stacking up behind SR-71... it got "stuck" there on the runway overrun... right where anyone traveling down the highway off-base could see it. EOD had to be called out, since the bomb was technically "live", and it took the rest of the night to clear the runway. Come daylight, everyone was like, what the sam hell is THAT thing??? The Japanese, and others from "questionable countries", were instantly on top of step ladders on top of vans (oh yeah... every fricking day they were out there) with 35mm cameras with 1000 shot roll film and motor drives not even available supposedly. WE, as members of the USAF could NOT take pictures of the aircraft landing and taking-off on-base. But the civilians could off base with lens' long enough to snap pictures of the rivets of the aircraft.
These Electras look crafted like jewels. SOLID AND ASSEMBLED PRISTINE
Worth the watch. I suggest people who liked this read Leo Janos' book "Skunk works", a great read about Ben Rich and Clarence "Kelly" Johnson.
Great book.
Kelly Johnson born in Ishpeming Michigan he had Yooper smarts! Certainly is the most intelligent person to ever come out of our upper peninsula!
Love the channel, love the videos. Proud subscriber! Thanks for the amazing documentaries. As a kid I built the P-38 model kit several times. The SR-71 was always a fascinating aircraft to me. Kelly Johnson was indeed a genius! God bless you and yours always and thanks again for everything you do!
Thanks for watching Martin!
Kelly Johnson should be given the United States Highest Honor, the The Medal of Honor.
Mais um excelente documentário! Muito obrigado por compartilhar!
Excellent documentary of Kelly Johnson. I would love to see on on his successor.. Ben Rich too!
Wonderful, wonderful video, thank you.
What made him so good was the now days unheard of combination of intelligence and common sense.
👍👍
a lot like Elon Musk.
WHAT A GUY. HE HAS MY FULL RESPECT.
Fantastic video! Clarence has been my aviation idol for decades - 25+ years as an Aircraft Mechanic (mostly Military Programs - wing-tip-to-wing-tip, nose to tail, systems (flight surfaces, fuel, hydraulics, gear...etc.), airframe (structure and sheet metal), engine mechanic (R&R mostly)...etc.). I 'may have' had that KC-135 in the above video in pieces before me (Pemco Aeroplex, Inc.). I have to often consider viewing videos of this length and have found myself declining them for their length. Mr. Johnson is always worth the time 💯%. I have become to refer to #MikePatey as the child Clarence never had! 😉 Thank you for your efforts, #DroneScapes! 👍
👍👍👍
Kelly Johnson was a true genius whose mind would not be harnessed by convention. As a former college instructor in the sciences, I find that this type of individual is extremely rare and the best method for instructing these people is to simply remove obstacles to their learning and encourage them to "free-think" on seemingly insoluble problems.
Very interesting Tom. Perhaps people are not as 'exposed' anymore (or choose not to be). The ability to connect the dots only happens if you are actually passionate and you have the ability to be curious about many subjects. Perhaps, rather than absorbing a million data points a day from all sources, it would be wise to be able to digest relevant information. Being bombarded 24/7 by mere data is not useful. Being able to process important information requires time and the ability to reflect and bounce ideas off another human being as well. In an age of text messages, that is not an easy task. I give you one example: "The average age of NASA engineers at the time of Apollo 11 was 28 In 2009, the average age was 47"...Makes you wonder. Apple made great products when there was a small dedicated team and a leader. After Steve Jobs passed, we mostly get new colors. I am assuming the small team is gone now. Ferrari is becoming more and more corporate, Ferrari is not innovating anymore, they are just adding more and more carbon fiber and looking more and more like everyone else (but they are selling more and more). The same example can be applied left and right. You should check a guy named Rimac. He is an interesting example of a brilliant kid that chased a dream with little resources, but a lot of passion.
@@Dronescapes Excellent summary of the simplicity of learning that we've somehow abandoned in the last couple of decades. Public education needs a complete overhaul, although I'm not sure how it could be accomplished with the present administration in all aspects of life......from NASA to universities to the medical industry, etc, etc. As one would say in Las Vegas, "I'd like a new deck, please." I see no other way to do it. Thank you for the kind words.
The world of aviation misses Kelly Johnson. They especially miss his emphasis on simplicity of design. It seems modern design is obsessed with complexity.
👍❤
Not just that, he returned money to the gov't because he came in under budget. Imagine doing that in these days of pork projects (ie. Artemis/SLS) lol.
Simple designs work for simple tasks.
@@shadow7037932 How about those defense "cost plus" contracts - with no penalty for cost over-runs, and additional funding for when they inevitably happen ...
Great documentary thanks so much for sharing. Live near HARS Museum here south of Wollongong Australia. One of the museum’s most graceful aircraft is the Lockheed constellation a plane that I’ve not only seen fly but I’ve got to see both inside and out. Have heard many stories about Kelly Johnson and the Skunk Works so this video was a nice addition.
I’ve always been a big fan of Lockheed aircraft and Kelly Johnson. He’s a legend! R.I.P. MR.JOHNSON 👍
👍
Greatest admiration for this man
I knew him already and is of utmost relevance his opportunity to give his ability to U.S. air dominance.
On the way back over to Vietnam, the flight I was on did a refueling stop on some island. We were not allowed off the aircraft. Looking out the window however I watched a huge black jet take off and virtually go straight up out of sight. Some years later I seen a picture of the SR71. That was what I seen taking off years before. It was breathtaking to say the least.
Amazing documentary about an amazing pioneer of Skunk 🦨 Works and Lockheed!
👍
This makes me very proud to be American. Nice work.
🇺🇸❤❤
My father worked at Skunk Works during the 1960s on the SR71. Whenever we asked him what he did at work, he would reply "Do you have a need to know?" We only found out years later that he had worked on the SR71.
❤👍
“Climbs like a homesick angel.”
(I love that)
It’s a work of art that should still be in service
This guy is my roll model, he cared about his projects as well as the people he worked with! If only it was like that now a days. It's a bygone era.
All with a slide rule !!! Amazing 👍👍👍
😎
Thank You.
Wonderful Story!
I remember the first time I saw the SR-71. It was nothing short of being absolutely epic. I almost joined the military and the only reason I regret being a coward was that maybe they might have taught me to officially fly a plane. I can unofficially fly one and I've flown one before with a certified pilot, but I would have been able to be an official pilot. I chickened out because I didn't think I would be able to kill anyone even though there wasn't a war (at least not one I knew about) at that time. To this very day, I don't think I could kill anyone, not as a matter of physically not being able to do so or not knowing how to do so, but because I know I couldn't live with myself because I know I would never be able to unsee it.
My deepest respects and moral pardon to those who went and did have to kill people. War is more disgusting than a person beef but, unlike a personal beef, killing people in a war ought to be a moral burden born by the society which sends its young and its poor to fight and kill people with whom them have no personal beef. To those soldiers, you all were and are braver than I will ever be.
That's one way of self justification and shirking your responsibilities to your nation.
@@colvinator1611
If you're going to troll you need to improve your baiting game. @Who Ever referred to himself as "being a coward" and having "regret" for that because he "chickened out" "even though there wasn't a war". He then goes on to further explain AND berate himself for his perceived notion that knowing one's self and having the option of using that knowledge in making a life-long decision based it. He laid bare a large "open wound" or "soft spot" that exposed, offered up, provided, and soon fed you a plethora of items to dig into, kick, and then pile-on in an attempt to further drag him out, and down, over the following days, potentially weeks.
The best YOU came up with was your feeble attempt based on "shirking your responsibilities". YOU perceived that he felt responsible for "shirking" his nation. He provided YOU a wide-open 6-lane highway to meander around due to his own perceived shirking of himself. You suck at sucking the life out of someone even when they hand it to you on a silver platter. YOU FAILED.
@Who Ever -- you became a pilot of your own life because you were wise enough to realize that following your dream of becoming a certified aircraft pilot was subordinate to the reality of being able to live with yourself if you had to follow through with the reason the needed training was provided. YOU WON!!! (Don't beat yourself up over your decision to not receive training in that manner; trolls suck and you, sir, do not.)
Your confession is accepted wholeheartedly. May G-d Bless You. Warmest Regards. PS I'm sure others Are joining Me.
@@colvinator1611 I bet you aren't signed up to fight in your own army either. I have protested against war but our fucking protests fall on deaf ears because they're learned how to blow us off from Vietnam. I have no disrespect for you nor do I take any from you. We're all stuck in the country into which we were born for good or for bad but, more likely, for an awkward and squishy middle ground for regular ass people.
@@lt1nut Thanks! I don't beat myself up because I am the one who sits and talks to war vets and I've talked to numerous ones from many different wars. I don't think anyone actually wins a war, particularly not the citizens of any of the countries involved.
this was a well done documentary
👍🙂
Incredibly good documentary thank you. Jeff Moore
Awesome stuff great engineering.I love the century series especially the F-104 Star fighter.
Outstanding!
Great vid , luv'd every bit of it , a great insight into a Genius .
Glad you enjoyed it
What a great video..... thnaks
So nice of you
I always said he was the John Moses Browning of aircraft
KELLY JOHNSON, IS ONE HELL OF A MAN...GOD BLESS YOU...
👍♥️🙂
Its Insane for me the SR-71 Looks more modern than many Military Aircraft of today ¡ Skunk Works Rule¡ ✌
@@deantait8326 ❤✌
@@deantait8326 Back in 1995 i went on vacation with my Family to N.Y.C. and went to the Intrepid and Nautilus Exhibition and in the Deck of the Carrier was an SR-71 on Display¡ Out of this world i love Military Aircraft ¡ so You were super Lucky to see those machines in Flight. ¡ Awesome ✌
the hidden speed secret was wildroot hair tonic or Brylcreem. Seriously a great story of a great man.
Thanks Kelly...!!!
Inspiring bit of information about the great designer and engineer, Kelly Johnson. Thank you for you efforts!
Thanks for watching!
REMARKABLE COLOUR JET FOOTAGE. AMAZING. Never have seen this and I have seen plenty
An engineer's engineer. That scene of him sitting at his desk, with the models of both the U2 and SR71, that's an accomplishment of the century.
👍👌🇺🇸
I was USAF 67-71 and was an Autopilot Specialist (E-5 SSgt) on every fighter in the USAF inventory at the time except for the SR71. At Kadena AFB on Okinawa I had the pleasure of see the Haubu go out on missions. What a sight to see that aircraft lift off or land. One of the only "fighters" at the time I didn't get to wrench on.
👍♥️
It was not a fighter
BUILT A FACILITY WITH SHIPPING CRATES AND A TENT. EVERY ENGINEER SHOULD STUDY HOW HE WORKED AND DID THINGS.
Excellent documentary and much appreciated. Listening in headphones, I can hear major audio compression artifacts, so there is something wrong in your settings.
I just wanna say the video is fantastic, but if I could make one suggestion, I think your audio could really benefit from a little processing to clear up your vocals and reduce that tinny/echo-y effect that sometimes happens when recording depending on mic quality/room characteristics. I’d suggest Audacity. It’s free open-source audio processing software and works very well👍🏻
Very awesome and very good job on making this documentary! Go Kelly !
📐🇺🇸👍
Granted that Kelly Johnson was a brilliant mind ,but the Canadians were doing some pretty cutting edge stuff in the same era as the Skunk Works, when Avro Canada shut it's doors a lot of their engineers ended up in the USAF, Skunk Works and NASA
From the P-38,, aka "the admiral yamamoto special"....to the SR-71....very innovative company...
👍💪
Thank you, now I know how Skunk Works got it’s name.
It was a great time for aviation
Kelly Johnson was impressed by Leveirs saving the airplane. Double the bonus so Leveirs would do it again.
Was Mr. Johnson maybe the reincarnation of Leonardo da Vinci.....
Seriously, an amazing documentation! Thank You!
God bless Kelly Johnson.
Thanks
Welcome
Beautiful U2 model on this fellows desk
Indeed it is!
Legend
👍
It's the story's about who where there I respect!
When I was at Scott AFB, the Technicians there called the C-140 the Junkstar.
The FX-90, first time I'm hearing about it. What a sleek and elegant aircraft. Too bad there weren't more powerful engines available. Even the intakes made it look cool but deadly, to me anyway. I believe Kelly Johnson was besides a technical genius, but an intuitive one also
You can see the F-104 in the FX-90.
@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 Yes, you're right it does.
A great man
👍👍👍
A Real Genius¡ ¡✌
So, Kelly Johnson did actually pilot his aircraft. I've been told repeatedly that he was not a pilot. I can't imagine being so totally immersed in aviation without flying aircraft himself.
Cool
👍❤
Great documentary, the narrator is good, but the audio quality could use some remix... Sounds like he has a microphone hooked up to an old Fender amp with the spring reverb on 🙂
#LEGEND
They succeeded with the U-2 only because they didn't have to newly design most vital, hard to design components that they simply took from other aircraft which is totally fine. National Security archives, quote: 'Only the wings and tail were unique; Lockheed manufactured the other portions of the aircraft using the F-104's jigs and dies.'
Lockheed sticks to that senior trend successfully like for example in the F-117, quote: "These subscale aircraft (Have Blue prototype) incorporated jet engines of the Northrop T-38A, fly-by-wire systems of the F-16, landing gear of the A-10, and environmental systems of the C-130."
If I remember right, the stick of an F-16 was also used since it being a part of the fly-by-wire system and most of all that remained in the production aircraft too. These were some of the smartest decisions I've ever heard of! Why make it complicated when you have a simple, smart and working solution? All of those other aircraft except the C-130 were from other companies and they still somehow were able to use their components. We every-day, none aircraft-engineer people can't even imagine what goes into designing those small, detailed, complicated parts like a stick, landing gear, electronics, weapon systems from ground up... All by themselves already a complex problem and feat of high-end, high-tech engineering.
Wow, didn't even know that some of the A-12 type aircraft were weapons capable!
Kelly Johnson is to airplanes as John Browning is to firearms.
This is a fantastic video! That's it. That's the comment.
Glad you liked it!
Even though it's Kelly Johnson it's really weird seeing someone sitting in the cockpit of something like that with a suit and tie on, it's one of those "What's wrong with this picture" moments in life.
A little off topic, but an early (60s) Outer Limits show, all the guys "relaxing" at a weekend BBQ in a back yard, all had jackets and ties.
His book was a great read
I´m glad this aviation engineer is recognized in his own documentary; however, I make the quibble that KJ specifically did _not_ “change aviation“ as your video title asserts.
Strangely, while I am going to assert that all the “important“ engineering design attributes of each aircraft you specifically mention, was _not_ the work of KJ himself; nevertheless, his _true_ genius was the ability to delegate these tasks to just the right engineer -- which is the quality that truly made him great.
For instance, the true innovation of the SR-71 _Blackbird_ was its engine induction system, designed by Ben Rich, not Johnson. If BR had failed (and he kind of did), KJ was entirely capable of having completed the work himself -- and that is also why he was great.
I recommend to all BR´s autobiography, a major part of which was recounting his work on the SR-71, as referenced above.
There was a lot more to that aircraft than just the engine's, yes without them it wouldn't have been but there's also plenty in the airframe that without those innovations it also wouldn't have been, the engine's weren't the only thing that went well beyond the tech of that era.
Sorry, but without brilliant leadership and knowledge, none of that happens. His brilliance, knowledge, and leadership allowed him to choose and lead a team that changed aviation, from 1937 and the P-38 Lighting, through the F-117 project, and beyond. What he lead in creating in the Skunk Works is still cutting edge today, it's an enduring legacy. Those who worked for/with him say that.
@@AlanRoehrich9651 Which is exactly what I said. Why are you saying this to me?