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All right! I am very pleased to introduce our first evening keynote for RailsConf this year, Nicholas Means. He gave a talk at RubyConf last year titled 'How to Crash an Airplane'. At first, I thought this was going to be the most depressing talk ever, considering it was about an airplane crash in 1989 in which 111 out of 239 people were killed. The amazing part, of course, being that not all 239 were killed. But it turned out to be a fascinating meditation on how people and computers interact with each other. So, when I saw this talk come through the CFP for RailsConf this year, I thought it deserved a wider audience. I was very pleased when they agreed to let him present this as a keynote. Please join me in welcoming Nicholas Means.
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I hope you have seen a lot of great talks today and met many interesting people. Like Sarah said, I gave a talk at RubyConf this fall about United Flight 232 and in the introduction, I mentioned that I was a student of plane crashes. I am indeed very fascinated by what goes on in the cockpit and what chain of events causes a plane to crash.
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That's not the whole story of my interaction with aviation; I am actually a huge aviation buff and have been ever since I can remember. I became fascinated with planes at around 8 or 9 years old when my parents took me to an airshow at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. The featured attraction that day was the Thunderbirds, the Air Force's F-16 demonstration team, who performed all sorts of high-speed acrobatics in tight formations. It was incredibly impressive. But as great as they were, they weren't what captivated my imagination that day. What really stuck in my young mind was standing nose to nose with the amazing machine that was the SR-71 Blackbird. It's my favorite plane. I'm sure there are plenty of people in the audience who share that sentiment. You can just look at it and tell how fast it wants to go, with its razor-sharp leading edges and smooth curves.
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Seeing this plane up close and hearing about what it could do ignited a lifelong obsession with aircraft for me. After that experience, I went back home to elementary school (this was before the Internet) and asked my librarian to pull every book that mentioned the SR-71. I started reading about this plane, and I haven't stopped since. Years later, my career took a decidedly non-aviation turn; I am now the VP of Engineering at iTriage, where I lead teams of software engineers. However, I am still fascinated by airplanes and stories from the world of aviation. Sometimes I even find wisdom in these stories about how we practice our craft and how we lead our teams.
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The story of United 232 was very much one of those insights for me, as is the following story. If you see an SR-71 in a museum, you should look for this logo on the tail. It's not always there, but sometimes it is. The name 'Skunk Works' comes from the fact that the SR-71 was designed by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Projects Division, better known as Skunk Works. Companies use the term 'skunk works' for all sorts of things, usually referring to top-secret projects where they need a lot of innovation quickly. But Lockheed's Skunk Works is the original, and today I want to tell you the story of some of Skunk Works' most iconic planes and the remarkable engineers who built them.
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To do that, I have to start with Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson. Without him, there would be no Skunk Works. Kelly graduated from the University of Michigan in 1932 but was initially turned down for a job at Lockheed. He went back to Michigan to earn his master's degree in aeronautical engineering, and after obtaining his degree, he returned to Lockheed. He was hired, interestingly enough, not as an aeronautical engineer but as a tool designer for $83 a month. Slowly but surely, Kelly worked his way up the ranks. The first plane he designed that you might know is the P-38 Lightning. If you've studied World War II aviation or visited a World War II aviation museum, you've seen this aircraft; it's one of the most famous planes of that era and a favorite among pilots for dogfighting.
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After working on the P-38, Kelly kept himself busy until intelligence reports indicated that the Germans had developed a new aircraft: the Messerschmitt Me-262. This plane was remarkable as it was the first jet fighter to be placed into service and was much faster than anything the Allies had at that time. The Germans had invested in jet propulsion far ahead of anyone else. The British offered the de Havilland H1B Goblin engine to the United States, and the Air Force arranged a meeting with Lockheed to inquire if they would be interested in designing a plane around this engine. The Air Force proposed that Lockheed build a single prototype, designated the XP-80.
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However, all along, Kelly Johnson had been pressing his bosses to establish an experimental aircraft division where engineers, designers, and mechanics could work closely together without going through all the bureaucratic channels at Lockheed. The higher-ups at Lockheed saw this as a perfect opportunity to give Kelly that freedom, but there was just one problem: Lockheed had no factory space available. This was in the middle of World War II, and all their facilities were busy manufacturing P-38 Lightnings.
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Kelly Johnson’s first order of business was to rent a circus tent. He set this tent up next to an existing building on the Lockheed grounds, equipping it with phones, air-conditioning, and everything necessary to make it an office. The adjacent building housed a plastic factory, which apparently emitted terrible smells. The XP-80 team was sworn to secrecy and briefed to not reveal what they were working on, even when answering the phone. Due to the odor issue, structural engineer Irv Culver, known for his playful spirit, began answering the phone as "Skunk Works, how can I help you?" and the name stuck.
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The contract for the XP-80 was signed on June 24, 1943, giving the team 180 days to build the plane. The only concrete information they had was the engine dimensions; they did not even have a mock-up. They had to build one themselves from blueprints and design the plane around the engine. Normally, they would have mocked up the entire plane ahead of production, but this time, Kelly Johnson decided the plane itself would serve as the mock-up. His engineers would design and manufacture parts on-the-spot, altering designs as they worked.
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Additionally, Kelly decided to eliminate Lockheed's standard drawing approval process, advocating for them to work quickly and efficiently. This radical approach worked; by November 13, they had completed the plane in just 143 days. They disassembled it, crated it, and transported it 70 miles east to Maroc Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert. Why this location? They needed adequate space in case the aircraft crashed. They had no idea how it would perform. Luckily, it performed beautifully when it took flight for the first time after New Year. The prototype would go on to become the first American plane to fly at 500 miles per hour in level flight—the fastest plane built up to that point.
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The production version, the P-80 Shooting Star, became the first jet deployed by the Air Force and flew well into the 1980s. They accomplished what many considered an unrealistic goal, completing their mission on time. However, it looked like that might be the end for Skunk Works, as this was the conclusion of World War II, and there wasn’t much funding for developing new aircraft. The Pentagon initially believed they wouldn't need new airplanes with peacetime coming.
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But that stance didn't last long. This picture shows Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, where they discussed post-war Europe. The alliance formed during World War II dissolved quickly afterwards as American and Russian ambitions clashed. Military spending began to ramp up again, leading into the Cold War. During that time, reconnaissance activity also intensified. At that point, 55% of the American public believed they were more at risk of dying from thermonuclear war than from old age, and those fears were not unfounded.
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Both sides needed to monitor each other's activities and were willing to invest vast amounts of money to do so. The CIA was especially eager for information about Kapusta Yar, Russia’s primary secret missile development area, which was akin to Area 51 in the U.S. The Air Force considered an overflight of Kapusta Yar to be too dangerous with the available aircraft due to the heavy defenses. With their intelligence indicating that Russian radar couldn't see above 65,000 feet, they specified a plane capable of flying at 70,000 feet.
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Lockheed proposed to modify the F-104 Starfighter— the first plane built that could go Mach 2— by removing excess weight, extending the wings, and modifying the engine to function at 70,000 feet, since nothing had ever flown that high before. Because their proposal was based on the existing plane and they had a proven capability with the P-80 and F-104, they won the contract over competitors proposing new designs. Thus, they began work on the U-2.
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They reduced the U-2’s weight by making the fuselage as thin as possible, using wafer-thin aluminum. The structure was so light that when an engineer accidentally bumped into the plane with a toolbox, it left a four-inch dent in the side. Concerns arose about whether this plane would withstand flight. Nevertheless, right on schedule, in July 1955, the U-2 was ready. They transported it to a newly constructed airfield in a dried-out lakebed in the Nevada desert, where it would have plenty of room to land.
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This picture, taken by Kelly Johnson himself, captures the very first flight of the U-2. The pilots began breaking altitude records almost daily over the Nevada desert; by the end of testing, this plane had soared to 74,500 feet, well above its operational ceiling, and had flown over 5,000 miles without refueling. Despite its remarkable capabilities, the U-2 was a very simple design. The aircraft weighted everything carefully; every pound reduced its operational ceiling by about a foot, leading them to cut weight wherever possible. This is an image of the U-2's internal wing structure, weighing about four pounds per square foot— considerably lighter than traditional aircraft wings.
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The U-2 was also designed with tandem bicycle landing gear, which is why there are no visible wheels under the wings, only two sets under the fuselage. This configuration meant the weight of the landing gear was just 200 pounds, making it the lightest landing gear ever deployed on a jet. During landings, the pilots relied on chase cars to communicate altitude, as they couldn’t see the ground due to their bulky pressure suits.
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When landing the U-2, pilots had to stall it down onto the runway, essentially balancing it on two wheels until they reduced enough speed to tip it over onto its wing. After landing, they installed a pogo gear under the wings to facilitate taxiing away from the runway, a clever hack that ensured every component served a defined purpose, specifically to get the payload to 70,000 feet over Russia. The payload, now housed in the National Air and Space Museum, was a high-resolution camera with a 36-inch focal length capable of resolving an object as small as two-and-a-half feet from 70,000 feet.
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The U-2 represented the cutting edge of 1950s technology, being the highest resolution camera built at the time. Due to this focus, they let other aspects slide, such as the rigidity of the wings that would flap like a seagull when hit by turbulence, although they never broke off. The U-2's landing gear also had flaws; it couldn't even start its engines independently. A complicated system involving two Buick engines was used just to turn the turbines up to 4,500 RPM for startup.
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On April 30, 1962, Skunk Works delivered the A-12, intended as a replacement for the U-2, with ambitions to fly at 100,000 feet and achieve speeds of Mach 2. The A-12 is a remarkable aircraft designed for high-altitude flight and incredible speed. The aircraft construction utilized titanium to withstand the extreme temperatures encountered at high altitudes, leading to the involvement of CIA assistance in establishing the supply chain for titanium from the Soviet Union in secrecy. The advanced operating environment posed unique challenges; for example, the A-12 would stretch two to three inches during flight due to its speed, requiring adaptations throughout the design.
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One significant innovation was the propulsion system which utilized Pratt & Whitney's turbojet engine initially designed for a Mach 2 Navy fighter that was canceled. This engine's successful modification for sustained afterburning at high altitudes was crucial. The major breakthrough came in the engine design with a cone that moved back into the body as the aircraft achieved cruise velocity, converting from standard jet engine to ramjet, allowing it to function effectively at the extreme altitude and speed.
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Despite all these innovations, some challenges persisted, such as the plane still leaking fuel while on the tarmac due to issues with fuel tank seals. The A-12 also couldn’t start properly by itself for lack of weight-efficient systems to aid in starting its large jet engines, necessitating the use of an improvised start cart that connected two Buick V8 engines to get the turbines spinning at the necessary RPM.
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The A-12 held significant advantages in speed and altitude over the U-2, achieving Mach 3.25 at 90,000 feet and performing reconnaissance missions without being shot down after 3,500 sorties over hostile territories. After delivering 15 A-12s, the Air Force sought a two-seater variant with double the payload, leading to the even more renowned SR-71, which has set several speed and altitude records, including a sustained altitude of 85,969 feet.
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The SR-71 is still celebrated for its speed, having achieved Mach 3.3. It's often discussed in stories of high-stakes missions, including one where a pilot outpaced surface-to-air missiles while flying over Libya. The SR-71's capability to fly faster than a speeding bullet is a testament to its engineering prowess.
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In 1975, Kelly Johnson passed the reins to his protégé, Ben Rich, at a time of dwindling defense budgets post-Vietnam. The Soviet Union's technological advancements posed new challenges in aerial surveillance, leading to the need for innovative solutions to evade surface-to-air missiles while developing stealth technologies. The emergence of the F-117 stealth fighter utilized principles discovered during earlier designs, leading to significant breakthroughs.
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Dennis Overholser's insights into radar performance and surface visibility spurred the development of a stealthy aircraft, yielding surprising successes, including the F-117's unmatched performance during Operation Desert Storm. Stealth strategies relied on an efficiently flat design that drastically reduced radar visibility, proving the necessity of innovative thinking in aircraft design.
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Lockheed's adaptation of surplus technology allowed the engineering team to achieve groundbreaking aircraft designs rapidly, though initial concepts seemed improbable due to unconventional shapes. The overall design approach revolved around practicality and performance over aesthetics, which proved successful. Kelly Johnson's methods and principles persist in modern engineering, especially in terms of project focus, team trust, and operational clarity.
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Throughout his career, Kelly emphasized the value of reduction in project scope and staffing, advocating for a focus on quality over quantity, trusting capable teams for efficiency in project outputs. Applying these principles ensures the successful delivery of advanced technological solutions across the aviation industry. This philosophy should resonate with modern technologies, as organizations seek flexible methods to align with evolving industry standards.
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In conclusion, the critical takeaway from the stories of Kelly Johnson and Ben Rich is about trust and collaboration—using freedoms wisely to innovate while delivering excellence in solution development. Striving to balance creativity with operational demands leads to remarkable achievements, reflecting the legacy of Skunk Works in aviation history, where ingenuity prevailed against logistical hurdles and innovative solutions shaped the future.
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Encouragement to embrace innovative thinking and fluid collaboration principles in all tech fields, as these lessons learned in aviation translate well into modern-day software engineering practices. By empowering diverse talents, we can achieve extraordinary accomplishments, extending the proud legacy of both the aircraft and the individuals whose ideas revolutionized human flight.
