Clarence L. 'Kelley' Johnson cover art

Clarence L. 'Kelley' Johnson

From Skunk Works to the Edge of Space

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Clarence L. 'Kelley' Johnson

By: Danie Alef
Narrated by: Baron Ron Herron
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About this listen

Kelly Johnson designed the Blackbird, a plane that flew non-stop from London to Los Angeles in less than four hours, outracing the sun and landing four hours before it had taken off, a remarkable feat - and this was more than 35 years ago. Johnson was the innovative genius behind Lockheed's "Skunk Works", and played a leading role in the development of more than forty aircraft, including some of America's most sophisticated planes such as the Constellation, Shooting Star, F-104, U-2, and the SR-71 Blackbird. In 2003, as part of its commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' flight, an Aviation Week & Space Technology poll ranked him eighth on its list of the "Top 100 Stars of Aerospace" in the first century of flight, just behind the Wright brothers, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Charles Lindbergh. The president of Lockheed once said: "That damned Swede can actually see air." Award-winning author Daniel Alef tells the remarkable tale of the man who garnered 35 major awards for his aviation feats, including the Medal of Freedom, and brought us to the edge of space.

©2014 Daniel Alef (P)2014 Daniel Alef
Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering Military Military Science Science & Technology Transportation Aviation Air Force US Air Force

What listeners say about Clarence L. 'Kelley' Johnson

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Intriguing story, bad narration

The story is short sweet and gripping but the narrator shows no emotion for the written word. Seems, at times, like a text to speech bot. No pauses(especially dramatic ones) and a bit too fast to follow. I tried to slow it down manually but that just sounded drunk.

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talented man Kelley was

loved it, amazing man,gave us flight,speed of sound and greater.the outa limits of space cool

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ridiculously short.

technically barren. just for train spotters. could have chronicled design developments in much greater detail

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