Origin of 'Johnson bar'?
Allen Johnson
I have heard the term 'Johnson bar' applied to the mechanical
levers used to actuate the gear on old Mooneys and the flaps on
old Cherokees (presumably there are other applications as
well). I was just curious about its origin, being a Johnson
myself <G>.
--
Allen Johnson PP-ASEL ......... Remove the NOSPAM. to respond
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haven't accessed the right piece of code yet.
Corollary: Working code is simply so many malfunctioning bugs.
Daniel C. Hawkins
Allen Johnson (a...@NOSPAM.intrex.net) wrote:
> I have heard the term 'Johnson bar' applied to the mechanical
> levers used to actuate the gear on old Mooneys and the flaps on
> old Cherokees (presumably there are other applications as
> well). I was just curious about its origin, being a Johnson
> myself <G>.
>
I can only add a piece to the puzzle, rather than a solution. But,
when i have heard the term 'Johnson Bar' it was usually applied
to a crow bar (Wrecking bar). I sure hope someone has the whole
story.
--
______________________________________
|
| To fly a kite is to hold God's hand.
| Dan Hawkins
| dHaw...@one.net
|______________________________________
Mike Brown
> > I have heard the term 'Johnson bar' applied to the mechanical
> > levers used to actuate the gear on old Mooneys and the flaps on
> > old Cherokees (presumably there are other applications as
> > well). I was just curious about its origin, being a Johnson
> > myself <G>.
The term dates back to steam railroading. The Johnson bar was the big
bar used to apply the steam to the cylinders - think of the old movies
with the engineer hauling back on a big lever running across the cab.
As to who THAT Johnson was, I haven't a clue.
Mike Brown
Vincent Norris
>I have heard the term 'Johnson bar' applied to the mechanical
>levers used to actuate the gear on old Mooneys and the flaps on
>old Cherokees (presumably there are other applications as
>well). I was just curious about its origin, being a Johnson
>myself <G>.
>Allen Johnson PP-ASEL
I've read that in the Ford Trimotor, a "Johnson Bar" between the pilot seats
had to be pulled upward to brake the airplane. To turn the airplane, one
rudder pedal was pushed and the bar was raised. To come to a stop, both
pedals were pushed and the bar was raised.
vince norris
John Kunkel
Allen Johnson wrote:
>
> I have heard the term 'Johnson bar' applied to the mechanical
> levers used to actuate the gear on old Mooneys and the flaps on
> old Cherokees (presumably there are other applications as
> well). I was just curious about its origin, being a Johnson
> myself <G>.
At the risk of sounding crude I believe the use of the term "Johnson"
to describe a certain male appendage predates it's use in locomotives
and airplanes. Therefore any lever that resembles said appendage is
referred to as a Johnson Bar especially if the lever has an enlarged
handgrip at the tip.
John
Patrick Flowers
On 3 Dec 1997 15:12:27 GMT, dhaw...@shell.one.net (Daniel C. Hawkins)
wrote:
>Allen Johnson (a...@NOSPAM.intrex.net) wrote:
>> I have heard the term 'Johnson bar' applied to the mechanical
>> levers used to actuate the gear on old Mooneys and the flaps on
>> old Cherokees (presumably there are other applications as
>> well). I was just curious about its origin, being a Johnson
>> myself <G>.
My father referred to the big emergency brake handle in a 1948 bus as
a "Johnson bar". He drove military trucks during the Korean
unpleasantries of the late 40's. I think the term probably predates
it's use in aircraft.
>I can only add a piece to the puzzle, rather than a solution. But,
>when i have heard the term 'Johnson Bar' it was usually applied
>to a crow bar (Wrecking bar). I sure hope someone has the whole
>story.
Never heard this term applied to a wrecking bar, but the similarity
with trying to stop a bus with bad brakes using a "Johnson bar" is
there<g>.
Patrick
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John Mazor
John Kunkel <JohnL...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in article
<6678hn$p...@bgtnsc01.worldnet.att.net>...
> Allen Johnson wrote:
> >
> > I have heard the term 'Johnson bar' applied to the mechanical
> > levers used to actuate the gear on old Mooneys and the flaps on
> > old Cherokees (presumably there are other applications as
> > well). I was just curious about its origin, being a Johnson
> > myself <G>.
>
> At the risk of sounding crude I believe the use of the term "Johnson"
> to describe a certain male appendage predates it's use in locomotives
> and airplanes. Therefore any lever that resembles said appendage is
> referred to as a Johnson Bar especially if the lever has an enlarged
> handgrip at the tip.
> John
>
Looking through a couple of dictionaries of slang, I found quite a few
references:
* The male organ, as mentioned above.
* A hobo.
* A U.S. merchant seaman.
* A prostitute's bully (early 20th century).
* Johnson rod -- a mythical, fragile machine part, often used to send
apprentices on a wild goose chase as in "Hey, kid, go find me another
Johnson rod -- the one on this machine is about to break."
It would seem that some of these are related, but it would be hard to show
the exact sequence of development.
Reece R. Pollack
On Wed, 3 Dec 1997 19:08:34, vp...@psu.edu (Vincent Norris) wrote:
>>I have heard the term 'Johnson bar' applied to the mechanical
>>levers used to actuate the gear on old Mooneys and the flaps on
>>old Cherokees (presumably there are other applications as
>>well). I was just curious about its origin, being a Johnson
>>myself <G>.
>
>>Allen Johnson PP-ASEL
>
>I've read that in the Ford Trimotor, a "Johnson Bar" between the pilot seats
>had to be pulled upward to brake the airplane. To turn the airplane, one
>rudder pedal was pushed and the bar was raised. To come to a stop, both
>pedals were pushed and the bar was raised.
We did this thread a couple of years ago.
A "Johnson bar" is a control lever that can be locked into position.
The flap lever on a Cherokee is a Johnson bar, as is the parking brake
lever on many cars. The term predates aviation by at least a hundred
years, as the valve position control on steam locomotives were Johnson
bars by both design and name.
--
Reece R. Pollack
CP-ASMEL-IA -- N1707H Piper Arrow III (based GAI)
John Kunkel
> * Johnson rod -- a mythical, fragile machine part, often used to send
> apprentices on a wild goose chase as in "Hey, kid, go find me another
> Johnson rod -- the one on this machine is about to break."
Kinda like a bucket of prop wash, huh?
Beverly Wilcox
I think it's an actual control on locomotives -- perhaps the big lever
for the brakes?
Chris and Judy Matras
Or a spool of Flight Line. Or the time a new line boy was told to go
"chock that chopper that just landed". Of course the helicopter only
had skids, no wheels.
This reminds me of another practical joke played on a brand spanking new
A&P. The new A&P just completed his first Annual, and was watching the
pilot fly the plane around the patch. Upon assurance of making the
runway, he pulls the mixture, and the prop stops. The new A&P was
needless to say, beside himself.
trevfenn
John Mazor wrote:
> * Johnson rod -- a mythical, fragile machine part, often used to send
> apprentices on a wild goose chase as in "Hey, kid, go find me another
> Johnson rod -- the one on this machine is about to break."
>
> It would seem that some of these are related, but it would be hard to show
> the exact sequence of development.
I always preferred sending trainees in search of a concave rat tail file
myself :)
Trevor Fenn
trev...@erols.com
Gary Rinsem
trevfenn wrote:
And if anyone's really interested, a Johnson Bar is found in the cab of
a steam locomotive. It sets the "cut-off" on the valve gear which
controls the amount of steam that's admitted to the cylinder on each
stroke, resulting in a trade of efficiency for speed/power.
Cliff Claven
Michael
Back in the boy scout days we used to send the new scouts off for a
"Left Handed Smoke Shifter" to keep the fire smoke from blowing
the wrong way. We usually sent them to some far off farmhouse or
ranger station somewhere.
Well, one day one of our new scouts actually came back with
one! It was an elaborate device made of several long sticks,
some rope (lashings) and a piece of light canvas. Apparently,
the ranger he visited knew of the ruse and made him this
contraption to bring back to camp! He was beeming. I didn't have
the heart to tell him that it was all a joke...
Michael
-----------------------------------------------
Because light travels faster than sound, some
people appear bright until you hear them speak.
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On Mon, 8 Dec 1997, trevfenn wrote:
>John Mazor wrote:
>> * Johnson rod -- a mythical, fragile machine part, often used to send
>> apprentices on a wild goose chase as in "Hey, kid, go find me another
>> Johnson rod -- the one on this machine is about to break."
>>
>> It would seem that some of these are related, but it would be hard to show
>> the exact sequence of development.
>
>I always preferred sending trainees in search of a concave rat tail file
>myself :)
>
>Trevor Fenn
>trev...@erols.com
Joiner Cartwright, Jr.
Michael wrote:
>
> Back in the boy scout days we used to send the new scouts off for a
> "Left Handed Smoke Shifter" to keep the fire smoke from blowing
> the wrong way.
> On Mon, 8 Dec 1997, trevfenn wrote:
> >John Mazor wrote:
> >> * Johnson rod -- a mythical, fragile machine part, often used to send
> >> apprentices on a wild goose chase as in "Hey, kid, go find me another
> >> Johnson rod -- the one on this machine is about to break."
> >>
> >
> >I always preferred sending trainees in search of a concave rat tail file
> >myself :)
> >
> >Trevor Fenn
> >trev...@erols.com
*********************
The summer between highschool and college I worked in the oil fields
down near Winnie, Texas. The roughnecks loved to send us "school boys"
after left handed monkey wrenches. When that failed, we were told to go
"bring us 'bout a gallon of striped paint". By the way, there was quite
a crop dusting outfit there in Winnie and for a long time they had one
of the largest concentrations of Stearmans in the country.
Joiner
Houston, TX