Franklin Inglee Young (August 7, 1909–October 11, 1973) was a Canadian pilot and pioneer of early

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

in Canada. He was born and educated in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. In 1927, he began flying with Elliot Air Service

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and barnstormed on a trans-Canada tour, then later piloted with such charter companies as Aircraft Limited, Century Airways, and National Air Transport until 1932. In 1933 he joined Dominion Skyways at

Rouyn, Quebec Rouyn-Noranda (; 2021 population 42,313) is a city on Osisko Lake in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec, Canada. The city of Rouyn-Noranda is coextensive with a territory equivalent to a regional county municipality (TE) and census d ...

as a

bush pilot Bush flying refers to aircraft operations carried out in the bush. Bush flying involves operations in rough terrain where there are often no prepared landing strips or runways, frequently necessitating that bush planes be equipped with abnormal ...

and accepted a job as a pilot for

Trans-Canada Air Lines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGregor. ...

(TCA) in 1937. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he acted in a key role with TCA's Atlantic Ocean ferrying operations. Young flew several inaugural continental and transcontinental flights while with TCA/

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

and also acted as a check pilot for Americans applying to fly with Trans-Atlantic Ferry Command. Later in his career, Young became general manager of operations for the line's eastern Canada region, playing a major role in shortening the flight path of TCA aircraft on the transcontinental route along what is now known as the Great Lakes Airway. He retired in 1970. Young was then appointed to the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

in 1970 and was elected Chairman by his fellow Commissioners in 1972, following the retirement of Ralph Day. Young was a member of the TTC during the critical period when the TTC voted to retain

streetcars A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

in Toronto, which led to the rebuilding of 173

PCC streetcars The Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where ...

and the development of the

Canadian Light Rail Vehicle The Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) and Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV) were types of streetcars used by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) from the late 1970s until they were scrapped in the late 2010s. They were built following t ...

as the new streetcar for Toronto. Young died in Toronto on October 11, 1973 and was inducted into

Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, based in The Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, commemorates and honours those whose accomplishments in aviation contributed so much to Canada's development as a nation. Founded in 1973, the Hall of ...

in 1974. "His aviation knowledge, applied to pilots of Canada's national airline during its formative years, and as an instrument flight instructor of RCAF pilots, provided an increased safety factor for both civilian passengers and military aircrew alike and substantially benefited Canadian aviation."

References

Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame

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