Summary of Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos' Skunk Works

By IRB Media

Get the Summary of Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos' Skunk Works in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, Skunk Works is the true story of America's most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation's brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works is a drama of Cold War confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds. Here are up-close portraits of the maverick band of scientists and engineers who made the Skunk Works so renowned. Filled with telling personal anecdotes and high adventure, with narratives from the CIA and from Air Force pilots who flew the many classified, risky missions, this book is a riveting portrait of the most spectacular aviation triumphs of the twentieth century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Dec 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781669344629

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos's Skunk Works

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

On January 17, 1975, the day he was promoted to chief engineer at the age of 50, the author parked his car for the first time in front of an unmarked two-story windowless building that resembled a concrete blockhouse. This was Lockheed’s Skunk Works.

#2

The Skunk Works was a top-secret research and development facility within Lockheed Martin that created many of the company’s most popular aircraft.

#3

The Skunk Works was a top-secret project within Lockheed Martin that created many innovative and secret aircrafts. Many of these planes were never declassified, even after the Cold War ended.

#4

The author began by loosening the leash on his department heads, telling them that he was not a genius like Kelly, who knew by experience and instinct how to solve the most complex technical problems. He would instead be decisive in informing them what he wanted, after which they would be free to implement it.

#5

When Rich took over, the company was in a terrible situation. It was losing money, and it was facing corruption charges.

#6

The U-2 was a plane that the US government had spent a lot of money on, and it was still in use fifty years later. But it needed to be updated with a more powerful engine and fitted with advanced avionics to become even more effective flying its tactical missions around the world.

#7

The author left the Pentagon after meeting with the general in charge of the Air Force’s U-2 program. The TR-1, or U-2, was renamed by the Pentagon.

#8

The author was given a stealth technology plane to complete, which he named the Blackbird. It was a gift from the gods assigned to take care of beleaguered executives.

#9

The US was losing the non-nuclear arms race, as the Soviets were exporting their advanced SAM systems around the world, making American aircraft and crews increasingly vulnerable.

#10

The author was given a gift in the form of a radar formula that made it possible to calculate the lowest possible radar cross section, which would make future stealth aircraft possible.

#11

The Skunk Works would be the first to try and design an airplane composed entirely of flat, angular surfaces. They called the program Echo I, as in