 Gran became a skilled pilot at Louis Blériot's aviation school in Paris, and on 30 July 1914, Gran became the first pilot to cross the North Sea.Taking off in his Blériot XI-2 monoplane, "Ca Flotte", from Cruden Bay, Scotland, Gran landed 4 hours 10 minutes later at Jæren, near Stavanger, Norway, after a flight of .The restored, but complete and original plane is on display at the Norwegian Technical Museum in Oslo, Norway.Only five days later, the United Kingdom entered the First World War.