We are reaching the end of our ranking list and today comes to visit us at number two, the American Clarence Leonard “Kelly” Johnson (1910 – 1990), one of the best aeronautic designers that has ever existed. His list of designs astonishes everybody. From the P-38 Lightning (the double engine fighter of WWII) up to the SR-71 Blackbird (which still holds the speed record for an aircraft taking off from the ground, at more than 3500 km/h), including also the P-80 Shooting Star, the F-104 Starfighter and the U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft. One of his greatest achievements was the creation in Lockheed (the company where he worked almost all his life) a legendary engineering group known as “Skunk Works” which is still today the benchmark for any “Black Nailed” engineer. His credo was condensed into the so called ‘14 rules’ that you can find in the Internet and are a paradigm of how engineering can be understood in a different way.
Therefore I put “Kelly” Johnson in the second position.
Some weeks ago I promised to explain to you how the leading people are. I mean those who lead small engineering groups which, in big companies, are strongholds of wisdom, activity and know how. Today, the day when “Kelly Johnson” enters our ranking list, is the best time to do it and that’s what this entry is all about.
