Frank Piasecki

Frank Nicolas Piasecki (/piːəˈsɛki/ pee-ə-SEK-ee; Polish: [pjaˈsɛtski]; October 24, 1919 – February 11, 2008) was an American engineer and helicopter aviation pioneer. Piasecki pioneered tandem rotor helicopter designs and created the compound helicopter concept of vectored thrust using a ducted propeller.[2]

Frank Nicolas Piasecki
Piasecki in the early 1950s
Born(1919-10-24)October 24, 1919
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedFebruary 11, 2008(2008-02-11) (aged 88)
Haverford, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNew York University
OccupationHelicopter designer
Known forDesigning tandem rotor helicopters
SpouseVivian Weyerhaeuser Piasecki
ChildrenNicole, Frederick, John, Lynn, Frank, Michael, and Gregory

Early life and education

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an immigrant Polish tailor, Piasecki worked for autogyro manufacturers while still attending Overbrook High School,[3] then studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania before graduating with a bachelor's degree from New York University. He was employed by the Platt-LePage Aircraft Company as a control engineer on their XR-1 twin-rotor project.[4] In 1940, he formed PV Engineering Forum with former Pennsylvania classmate Harold Venzie.[5] He built a single-person, single-rotor helicopter designated the PV-2 and flew it on April 11, 1943. This helicopter impressed the United States Navy sufficiently to win Piasecki a development contract.[6]

Career
Piasecki (L) receives the National Medal of Technology from U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.
A Piasecki H-21 showing the tandem rotor design

The name PV Engineering was changed to Piasecki Helicopter Corporation in 1946. After a boardroom dispute, Piasecki was forced out of Piasecki Helicopter in 1955, and formed the Piasecki Aircraft Company.[7]

At Piasecki Aircraft, he participated in the development of the Piasecki 16H-1 the world's first shaft driven compound helicopter, the PA-59K/VZ-8P Flying Geep (also known as the AirGeep) the Piasecki PA-97 Helistat heavy vertical airlifter and the Piasecki X-49 experimental compound helicopter.

Personal life

Piasecki married Vivian Weyerhaeuser on December 20, 1958.[8] They had seven children: Nicole, Frederick, John, Lynn, Frank, Michael, and Gregory.[7]

His son John W. Piasecki is now President and CEO of Piasecki Aircraft. His son Fred W. Piasecki is Chairman of the Board and Chief Technology Officer of Piasecki Aircraft.[9] His daughter Nicole Piasecki was the vice president and general manager of Propulsion Systems for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.[10][11]

Later life and death

Piasecki died at his home on February 11, 2008, of a heart attack after a series of strokes. He was 88.

Awards

See also

References
  1. Helicopter pioneer Piasecki dies
  2. Spenser, Jay P. Whirlybirds, A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers. University of Washington Press, 1998. ISBN 0-295-97699-3.
  3. "Piasecki Aircraft Corporation >> About >> PiAC". Piasecki Aircraft Corporation. Archived from the original on 28 November 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  4. "Platt-LePage XR-1". Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  5. P-V Engineering Forum PV-2 Archived 2012-01-03 at the Wayback Machine - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
  6. Wall Street Journal, February 16–17, 2008, p. A6
  7. HEVESI, Dennis (15 February 2008). "Frank Piasecki, a Pioneer in Helicopters, Is Dead at 88". New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  8. Twining, Charles E. F.K. Weyerhaeuser: A Biography. St. Paul, Minn: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1997. p. 289. ISBN 0-87351-356-8
  9. "Company Overview of Piasecki Aircraft Corporation". Bloomberg. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  10. "Nicole Piasecki retires from Boeing after 25 years". The Seattle Times. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
  11. "All Female Flight"
  12. "Enshrinee Frank Piasecki". nationalaviation.org. National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
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