Sharing our Links to the Past
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AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY FIRMAN C. GRAY I joined the R.F.C. in June 1917 as a 3rd class air mechanic. After spending some time in various camps in Ontario we were shipped in the winter of 1917 to Fort Worth, Texas where we spent the winter months training pilots for overseas. All our equipment consisted of JN-4's and during this time I was promoted to 2nd class and eventually 1st class air mechanic. We returned to Camp Bordon, Ontario, in the spring of 1918 and continued with our flying activities. In June I was assigned to early morning flying and in the process of a first flight of a day crashed and subsequently was confined to a hospital at Toronto for a period of four months. I spent various times in convalescent homes in and around Toronto and in the spring of 1919 I was discharged from the R.A.F. and returned to my home in Seattle, Washington. I went to work for Boeing Aircraft in Seattle on the tail end of a Navy contract for a short period of time as a cable splicer and rigger. I returned to Vancouver and took a thirteen months course in engineering drafting. During my spare time I serviced and took care of various aircraft that were then in existence in Vancouver. I serviced and maintained the aircraft that flew the first airmail between Vancouver and Calgary. At the end of my training I joined the Canadian Air Board and worked for them for a twelve month period at Camp Borden, Ontario. We had six hangars of all the various aircraft that were then in existence and used by the British Air Force. They consisted of Spads, SE-5's, Avros, DH-4's, DH-6's and miscellaneous equipment. At this time the Royal Canadian Air Force was formed and I refused a request to enlist with them and returned to my home which was then in Vancouver, B.C. In the fall of 1921 I came to California and worked at various jobs before joining Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica in 1922. I worked on Navy torpedo planes and on the development and completion of the around the world cruisers. This was a period of approximately 4 1/2 years. In 1927 I went to work for Lockheed Aircraft Company and worked on all the aircraft built by the original company with the exception of the Golden Eagle. I worked mostly in the service department and was at one time the sole field representative [where I] took care of repairs and maintenance of everything that was built at that time. I worked with such people as Sir Kingsford Smith, Roscoe Turner, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Laura Ingalls, Wiley Post, Ruth Nichols and a good many more that were then notable fliers. At this time the only airplane that could compete in the Bendix Trophy Race were Lockheed and each year we would have at least five in our shop to have tanks installed or to be overhauled, and serviced ready for this flight. On the morning of takeoff these five competitive pilots would have their individual crews and it was quite a hassle. At the time that the old company disbanded I set up shop at Van Nuys airport in partnership with Todd Oviatt and for a period of a year or more serviced all the Lockheed airplanes that were then flying. In 1933 I rejoined Lockheed and after six months received an application and was hired as a forman in wood final assembly. In 1938 Rudy Thoren came to Lockheed. I joined with him in establishing the Flight Test unit of engineering. At that time I still worked the experimental department but later was taken into the engineering division. I have been present and had a great deal to do with every first at Lockheed with the exception of the secret developments of Kelly Johnson. Home Page
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