The Next Big Idea 10 concepts that could - University of Toronto ...

Time Capsule
photo: university of toronto archives/a1978-0041/007(35)
1962
Defying Gravity
Professor Wilbur Rounding Franks
developed the first G-suit used in combat
Given the airborne talents of astronauts and fighter pilots,
it’s easy to overlook the role of their high-tech uniforms. This
picture from 1962 shows Wilbur Rounding Franks, a professor
in U of T’s Banting and Best Department of Medical Research,
posing with the Franks Flying Suit. It is the first anti-gravity or
G-suit used in combat, and is still the foundational design for
contemporary fighter-pilot and astronaut pressure suits.
Franks earned his BA at Victoria College in 1924, graduated
from medical school at U of T in 1928 and worked in
cancer research. After the death of his mentor Frederick
Banting in 1941, Franks continued Banting’s research into
aviation medicine and the problem of Allied fighter pilots
losing consciousness during high-speed exercises. The pilots
were subject to immense gravitational forces, making it
difficult for the heart to pump blood to the brain.
Franks initially came up with the idea of a water-filled
G-suit. By filling an outer layer with water that pressed on the
legs and abdomen to prevent blood from pooling in the lower
parts of the body, Franks could keep the pilots’ blood circulating
normally. His preliminary tests were on mice surrounded
by condoms filled with water, and Franks eventually subjected
himself to a barrage of successful tests in real aircraft. Later
designs used air pressure instead of water pressure, and
included an inflatable bladder. The Franks Flying Suit was first
used in combat by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm in an invasion
of North Africa in November 1942. – Sarah Treleaven
64 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA