
Frank Piasecki, the aviation pioneer who
invented the big twin-rotor helicopter that has carried soldiers
into battle and rescued thousands from disaster, died February
11th 2008 at the age of 88.
Frank Piasecki was one of the
original pioneers of the U.S. helicopter industry with over 60
years experience as an aeronautical / mechanical engineer, test
pilot, entrepreneur and industrialist.
Mr. Piasecki married his wife, Vivian, in December 1958.
They have two daughters,
Lynn and Nicole, and five sons Frederick, Frank, John, Michael,
and Gregory, and a total of nine grandchildren.
Daughter Nicole is president of Boeing
Commercial Sales in Japan.
Frederick and John are vice presidents of his company and
carry on his work.
Frank Piasecki was born in Lansdowne,
Pennsylvania October 24th1919 and became the second
American to build and fly a helicopter, after Igor Sikorsky.
Mr. Piasecki studied mechanical
engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and received a
B.S. Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Guggenheim
School of Aeronautics of New York University in 1940.
In 1940 Mr. Piasecki founded the PV-Engineering Forum
and in 1943 flew the second successful helicopter in America,
the
PV-2. The Navy awarded Mr.
Piasecki a contract for development of the first U.S. Naval
helicopter, the XHRP-1 "Dog Ship” in 1944.
This was the first successful tandem helicopter.
Designed, built and flown
within thirteen months, the XHRP-1 had a useful load 3 times
greater than any helicopter at the time.
Mr. Piasecki's tandem
helicopter design led to the first practical application of the
helicopter to critical Navy missions such as: search & rescue,
anti-submarine warfare, vertical replenishment and pioneered the
use of the helicopter for aerial minesweeping and vertical
assault.
The Company name changed to Piasecki Helicopter
Corporation in 1946.
In addition to over 300
HRP and
HUP
models built for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, Piasecki Helicopter
produced 750 H-25 and
H-21 (“Flying Banana”) tandem rotor helicopters for the U.S. Army and Air
Force, as well as the Canadian, German, and French armed forces.
Mr. Piasecki also designed the world's first twin turbine helicopter, the
40 passenger YH-16, which flew in 1953 and was the world's largest transport helicopter at
the time and contributed to the development of today's modern
tandem helicopters; the CH-46 Sea Knight and the CH-47 Chinook.
Beginning with the French Algerian campaign in 1956 and
subsequently in Vietnam, helicopters using Mr. Piasecki's tandem
rotor technology have played critical roles in all major
military conflicts since that time.
New models of the Army Chinook have modern, state of the art
transport & special operations capability for Air Force search &
rescue missions.
Boeing says Mr. Piasecki's creations, which flew soldiers to
remote parts of Vietnam in the 1960s, will keep flying well
beyond 2030.
In 1955, Mr. Piasecki left Piasecki Helicopter to
form Piasecki Aircraft Corporation to continue research and
development of advanced Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL)
technologies and went on to achieve a long list of
firsts in expanding the capabilities of vertical-takeoff
aircraft:
These
efforts resulted in the successful development and flight
testing of many innovative experimental aircraft, such as the
"Sea-Bat" VTOL Drone, the "Aerial Jeep" flying car, the
"Ring-Tail" high speed compound helicopter, and hybrid heavy
lift aircraft. Mr.
Piasecki has been awarded over 25 patents in the aerospace
field. He
was chief executive of Piasecki Aircraft when he died.
In recognition of Mr. Piasecki's contributions to the
development of the U.S. helicopter industry, President Reagan in
1986 awarded Mr. Piasecki the country's highest technical honor,
the National Medal of Technology.
Mr. Piasecki was a long standing Fellow of the American
Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics, an honorary Fellow and
past President of AHS and member of the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics. Mr. Piasecki lectured
before leading U.S. and international technical societies, and
gave expert testimony before U.S. House and Senate Committees.
Most recently, Mr. Piasecki focused his efforts on
development and flight demonstration of the Vectored Thrust
Ducted Propeller (VTDP) “Speed Hawk”
compound helicopter technology as an affordable means of upgrading existing
helicopter performance, improving survivability, and reducing
operational costs.
Boeing Rotorcraft said “Mr. Piasecki is
the father of Boeing Rotorcraft, a visionary and an amazing
designer; he will always be remembered as a pillar of American
aerospace history. His daring and courageous approach to
vertical flight inspired years of advancements."
Classic Rotors
honors the memory of Frank Piasecki and proudly fly or display
many of his rotorcraft at our museum.