John

“Over the years we had developed the concept of using existing hardware developed and paid for by other programs to save time and money and reduce the risks of failures in prototype projects.”
― Ben R. Rich, Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed

“freedom to take risks—and fail—define the heart of a Skunk Works operation.”
― Ben R. Rich, Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed

“Of course I would do it again, but I know it would never be quite the same. Despite the best laid plans of the BBC, we ended up bustling, hurrying, rushing, improvising to get ourselves home only by the skin of our teeth. And that's what made it worth doing. The smoother the journey the duller it would have been.”
― Michael Palin, Around the World in 80 Days: Companion to the Pbs Series

“There’s no nondestructive test for indestructibility.”
― Randall Munroe, How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems