Kelly Johnson participated in the design of the Lockheed L-10 Electra, testing a model of the design in the wind tunnel of the University of Michigan.

Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson (February 27, 1910 - December 21, 1990) was an aircraft engineer and aeronautical innovator—with Burt Rutan, widely considered one of the most talented and prolific aircraft design-engineers. Johnson worked for Lockheed for more than four decades, playing a leading role in the design of over forty aircraft. The Lockheed L-10 Electra was built Lockheed by Lockheed to compete with the Ford Trimotor. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is about the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. ... February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... -1... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Airbus A380 An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... Look up engineer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Elbert Leander Burt Rutan (born June 17, 1943 in Estacada, Oregon) is an American aerospace engineer, noted for originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft. ... The Lockheed SR-71, remarkably advanced for its time and unsurpassed in many areas of performance The Lockheed U-2 first flew in 1955 providing much needed intelligence on Soviet bloc countries Lockheed Corporation was an aerospace company founded in 1912 which merged with Martin Marietta in 1995 to form...

Born to immigrant Swedish parents in the remote mining town of Ishpeming, Michigan, Johnson designed his first aircraft, for which he won a prize, before he was thirteen. He worked his way through school, first at Flint Junior College, and then at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Ishpeming is a city located in Marquette County, Michigan. ... This article is about the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. ...

With a master's degree under his belt, Johnson joined the Lockheed Company in 1933 as a tool designer at a salary of $83 a month. After assignments as flight test engineer, stress analyst, aerodynamicist, and weight engineer, he became chief research engineer in 1938. In 1952 Johnson was appointed chief engineer of Lockheed's Burbank, California plant, which later became the Lockheed-California Company. In 1956 he was chosen for the post of Vice President of Research and Development. This article or section should be merged with Burbank, Los Angeles County, California This article is about the Burbank in Southern California. ...

Johnson became Vice President of Advanced Development Projects (ADP) in 1958. The first ADP offices were nearly uninhabitable; the stench from a nearby plastic factory was so vile one of the engineers began answering the phone "skonk works!" (Big Barnsmell's Skonk Works – spelled with an "o" – was where Kickapoo Joy Juice was brewed in the comic strip "L'il Abner" by Al Capp.) Lil Abner was a comic strip in United States newspapers, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the town of Dogpatch. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Johnson's famed 'down-to-brass-tacks' management style was summed up by his motto, "Be quick, be quiet, and be on time."

He joined Lockheed's board of directors in 1964, becoming a senior vice president of the corporation in 1969. He officially retired from Lockheed in 1975 but continued as a consultant at the Skunk Works. He was eventually succeeded by Ben Rich, and left the Lockheed Board of Directors in 1980. In June of 1983 the Lockheed Rye Canyon Research facility was renamed Kelly Johnson Research and Development Center, Lockheed-California Company, in honor of Johnson's 50 years of service to the company. Ben Rich was director of Lockheeds Skunk Works from 1975 to 1991. ...

Kelly Johnson was first married to Althea Louise Young in 1937, who died in December 1969. His second marriage was in May 1971 to MaryEllen Elberta Meade of New York, who died on October 13, 1980, at 38 years of age. Johnson then married Nancy Powers Horrigan in November 1980. October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Johnson wrote an autobiography titled Kelly: More Than My Share of it All, ISBN 0874744911, first published in 1985. An Autobiography is an account of a persons life written by that person For music albums named Autobiography, see Autobiography (album) An autobiography (from the Greek auton, self, bios, life and graphein, write) is a biography written by the subject or composed conjointly with a collaborative writer (styled as...

Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson died at the age of 80 at St Joseph Medical Center, after an illness that lasted for several years. He is buried at Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California.

Aircraft contributions

Kelly Johnson contributed to the design of the following Lockheed aircraft:

Kelly Johnson with a variant of the U-2.

• Orion 9D
• Model 10 and Model 12 Electra/XC-35/C-36/Y1C-37
• Model 14 Super Electra
• Model 18 Lodestar
• PV-1 Ventura/B-37
• P-38 Lightning
• Constellation/Super Constellation
• F-80 Shooting Star
• T-33/TV-2 trainers
• P2V Neptune
• XF-90
• F-94 Starfire
• X-7
• F-104 Starfighter
• C-130 Hercules
• U-2
• Blackbird family: A-11, A-12, YF-12, SR-71, M-21, and D-21
• JetStar/C-140
• AH-56 Cheyenne

The Lockheed L-10 Electra was built Lockheed by Lockheed to compete with the Ford Trimotor. ... The Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by American and British forces in several guises. ... P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was one of the most important American fighters of the Second World War. ... President Dwight Eisenhower flew in two Constellations, named Columbine II and Columbine III. The Lockheed Constellation, affectionately known as the “Connie”, was a four-engine propeller-driven airliner built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. ... The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first operational jet fighter used by the United States Army Air Force. ... Categories: Aircraft stubs | U.S. military trainer aircraft 1940-1949 ... The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (until 1963 the P2V Neptune) was a naval patrol bomber and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy between 1947 and 1978, replacing the PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon and being replaced in turn with the P-3 Orion. ... XF-90 The Lockheed XF-90 was built as a long-range penetration fighter and bomber escort, in response to the same U. S. Air Force requirement that produced the XF-88 Voodoo. ... The Lockheed F-94 was the United States Air Forces first operational jet-powered all-weather interceptor aircraft. ... Lockheed X-7 undergoing maintainence The Lockheed X-7 (dubbed the Flying Stove Pipe) was an unmanned test bed for ramjet engines and missile guidance technology. ... The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was a high-performance supersonic interceptor aircraft, capable of high speeds and climb rates. ... Lockheed C-130H Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop aircraft that serves as the main tactical airlifter for military forces worldwide. ... The Lockheed U-2R/TR-1 in flight The U-2, nicknamed Dragon Lady, is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude Surveillance aircraft flown by the United States Air Force. ... This aircraft article has not been updated to WikiProject Aircrafts current standards. ... A-12 Oxcart aircraft on an airbase ramp. ... The Lockheed YF-12 was a prototype interceptor aircraft that formed the basis for the SR-71 Blackbird. ... The Lockheed SR-71, unofficially known as the Blackbird, is a long-range, advanced, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft by Lockheeds Skunk works, which was also responsible for the U-2 and many other advanced aircraft. ... M21 can refer to various things, including: Messier object 21, see Messier 21 The M21 sniper rifle, see M21 (rifle) The M-21 variant of the SR-71 Blackbird This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Lockheed D-21 Tagboard was a Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone that began development in October 1962. ... The Lockheed L-1329 JetStar is a business jet produced in the 1960s and 1970s. ... The AH-56 was designed as a replacement for the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter. ... This is an incomplete list of aircraft produced by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation from its founding as the Lockheed Aircraft Company in 1926 to its merging with Martin Marietta to form the Lockheed Martin Corporation in 1995. ...

Further reading

• Johnson, Clarence L. "Kelly"; Maggie Smith. (1985) Kelly: More Than My Share of It All. Smithsonian Institution Press, ISBN 0874745640
• Rich, Ben; Leo Janos. (1996) Skunk Works. Little, Brown & Company, ISBN 0316743003

External links

• Clarence Leonard (Kelly) Johnson
• Kelly Johnson's rules for Skunkworks aircraft
• "Lord of the Skunk Works" article from Air Force Magazine
• Clarence Johnson on Find-A-Grave