Wilbur Rounding Franks
Birthdate: March 4, 1901
Birth Place:Weston, Ontario
Year Inducted: 1983
Death Date:January 3, 1986
Awards: OBE CD*
"His invention of the Franks Flying Suit and the Human Centrifuge, which
have been accepted throughout the aerospace industry, and his
significant contributions to research in aerospace medicine have been of
outstanding benefit to Canadian aviation."
Wilbur Franks became involved in the aviation field because of his
medical research. Commissioned into the Royal Canadian Air Medical
Corp, he began active medical research into solving the problems related
to pilot blackout from acceleration in high G-manoeuvres. He eventually
designed the Franks Flying
Suit, which he personally tested, and was the first person to be
successfully protected from radial acceleration in an aircraft. He also
helped design the RCAF human centrifuge which was used to reproduce
various G-forces at high speeds, simulating the effects of manoeuvres in
combat aircraft.
Canada's Aviation Hall of
Fame
Glossary
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