Talk:Clarence Johnson

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Contents 1 Anecdote 2 Design contributions 3 Rule 15 4 Wages 5 Design Contributions - II

[edit] Anecdote

The anecdote about the origin of the Skunk Works' name -- did the nameless engineer answer the phone "skonk works" (as the article says) or "skunk works"? Normally I'd figure this for a typo, but knowing Al Capp's passion for dialect in Lil Abner, I wanted to check that the original may not have spelled it with an "O". -- Paul Drye

It is Skonk Works. Source: Rich, Ben R. Skunk Works p.111.

---

It would be nice to get the list of aircraft that Johnson designed into chronological order. -- Rcingham

[edit] Design contributions

I'm dubious about the aircraft included on the list. This seems like a laundry list of famous Lockheed aircraft. I know for certain that Mr. Johnson was not involved in the original design of the C-130 Hercules, because he did not approve of the design by Willis Hawkins' team. I suggest paring down the list to only the more famous aircraft or those in which he had a clear leading role. Skunk Works aircraft are in. Every single other Lockheed aircraft built during his career need not be included. Any thoughts? Willy Logan 04:18, 13 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rule 15

Management Rule 15 doesn't show up in the referenced source. Does anyone have a reference for this? Otherwise it should be removed

>> (Unspoken rule) Never, ever, make a contract with the Navy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.36.162.230 (talk) 06:27, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Wages

It seems unlikely to me that his actual wages were $83 a month, considering that the average retail worker in 1930 was making $109/month. I know the great depression was in full swing, but it still seems quite low.

The $83/month figure comes straight out of his auto-biography, so I doubt it's false. Also, Lockheed was in serious trouble at the time, and at one point had to fire all personnel, except for the engineers (Kelly included) until they could fix a landing gear flaw in the Electra. However, he does stay he used to make much more money working with the University of Michigan's wind-tunnel, and he states that it was 10 years before he ever made as much money as he made at the university at the time. So, in my guess, it is probably true. mjuarez 05:23, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Design Contributions - II

Kelly Johnson made design contributions to many of the Lockheed airplanes produced during his career timespan of 1933 through 1980, but he is mainly remembered and associated with the following:

• Hudson maritime patrol bomber of WW II (developed from Model 14 Super Electra airliner)
• P-38 Lightning twin-engine, twin-boom fighter (almost 10,000 delivered in WW II)
• P-80 (later F-80) Shooting Star, the United States' first operational jet fighter (world speed record of 623.7 mph set in 1947)
• F-104 Starfighter, Mach 2 capability, (world closed-course speed record of 1,404.2 mph in 1958)
• U-2 ultrahigh altitude, long-range,subsonic reconnaissance
• YF-12/SR-71 Blackbird family, Mach 3, stealthy, ultrahigh altitude,long range reconnaissance (current holder of world speed and altitude records of 2,193 mph and 85,069 ft., set in 1976)

Elywill 21:09, 25 November 2006 (UTC)