This Official First Day Cover celebrates Canada’s rich aviation history. It depicts Wilbur R. Franks who is featured in 1 of 5 stamp designs from our Canadians in Flight (Part 2) issue.

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Official First Day Cover, cancelled in Weston, Ontario
Celebrates the historic contributions Wilbur R. Franks (1901-86)
Part of the 2022 Canadians in Flight issue

About the Canadians in Flight issue

Brave Canadians took to the skies when airplane flight was still in its early stages. As a result, Canada has enjoyed many “firsts” in aviation and aeronautics, with several Canadians making significant and far-reaching contributions to the field. This second edition of the Canadians in Flight series honours the people, planes and technology that have allowed Canada’s reputation for innovation to soar.

About Wilbur Rounding Franks

Dr. Wilbur Rounding Franks (1901-86) was born in Weston, Ontario. In 1939 he joined Dr. Frederick Banting’s aviation medicine research team to investigate the risks of strong gravitational (G) forces, which prevent the heart from pumping enough blood to the brain and were causing pilots to lose consciousness during high-speed manoeuvres. Franks developed a flying suit lined with water-filled pockets that created enough hydrostatic pressure to counter the G-forces. He personally tested the suit – known as the Franks Flying Suit – and it became the world’s first anti-gravity suit used in combat, during the World War II. The foundational underpinnings of his G-suit are still in use today. Franks was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, awarded the United States Armed Forces’ Legion of Merit, and inducted into Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.

About the cancellation site

This OFDC features a greyscale photograph of Wilbur R. Frank in his engineering lab. Patent drawings of the Franks Flying Suit are superimposed over the image. The affixed stamp was cancelled in Weston, Ontario, Frank's birthplace and features bright red text and a greyscale collage of the engineer.

Product # 414207131

Canadians in Flight – Wilbur R. Franks: Official First Day Cover