by Jan K.
According to my dad, in 1934, he walked
into the employment office at Lockheed Burbank and announced the company was
about to hire the best machinist it ever had. However true or embellished that
story (you had to know him), Andy (A. J.) Kunsa went on to become the Superintendent
of Special Projects, Plant C1. He earned the nickname “Prototype Papa” and
worked there until his death in 1956. (As I understand, Special Projects was a precursor
to Skunk Works, but I’ll let others attest to that.)
A trade school graduate, Dad enjoyed
having engineers seek his advice. He would often say, “Well, it looks good on paper, but will it fly?” Yes, he had an
ego.
Through Dad’s influence I was hired by the
template shop in May 1956 and worked there until August 1966. I had a short
stint in the new field of plastics, working for Scrubby Seboigian under John
Kidder.
Ironically perhaps, I ended my tenure at
Skunk Works working on the first of the Blackbirds.
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| It looked good on paper and it flew! |
