Frank Piasecki
| Frank Piasecki | |
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Frank Piasecki (L) receives the National Medal of Technology from President Ronald Reagan
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| Born | October 24, 1919 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Haverford, Pennsylvania[1] |
| Ethnicity | Polish |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Occupation | Helicopter designer |
| Known for | tandem rotor helicopters |
| Spouse(s) | Vivian O'Gara Weyerhaeuser |
| Children | Nicole, Frederick, John, Lynn, Frank, Michael, and Gregory |
Frank 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.
Contents
Biography
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an immigrant Polish tailor, Piasecki worked for autogyro manufacturers while still attending Overbrook High School,[2] then studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania before graduating with a bachelor's degree from New York University. In 1940, he formed PV Engineering Forum with former Pennsylvania classmate Harold Venzie.[3] 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.[4]
The name PV Engineering was changed to Piasecki Helicopter Corporation in 1946. After a boardroom dispute, Piasecki left Piasecki Helicopter in 1955 and formed the Piasecki Aircraft Company.
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, the Piasecki PA-97 Helistat heavy vertical airlifter and the Piasecki X-49 experimental compound helicopter.
Marriage and children
Piasecki was married to Vivian O'Gara Weyerhaeuser on December 20, 1958.[5] They had seven children, Nicole, Frederick, John, Lynn, Frank, Michael, and Gregory.
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. His daughter Nicole Piasecki is vice president of Business Development & Strategic Integration for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.[6]
Death
Piasecki died at his home on February 11, 2008 after a series of strokes. He was 88.
Awards
- Philip H. Ward, Jr. Medal from The Franklin Institute in 1979.
- National Medal of Technology - President Ronald Reagan presented Piasecki with the country's highest technical honor in 1986.
- Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Lifetime Achievement award - awarded in 2005
See also
References
- ↑ Helicopter pioneer Piasecki dies
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ P-V Engineering Forum PV-2 - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, February 16–17, 2008, p. A6
- ↑ Twining, Charles E. F.K. Weyerhaeuser: A Biography. St. Paul, Minn: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1997. p. 289. ISBN 0-87351-356-8
- ↑ Boeing Executive Biography page
- Spenser, Jay P. Whirlybirds, A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers. University of Washington Press, 1998. ISBN 0-295-97699-3.
External links
- Piasecki Aircraft Corporation web site
- The Boy Who Grew Flying Bananas by L.B. White 1951 article on Piasecki at age 31 and his early helicopters. Rare photos.
- Frank Piasecki biography on National Aviation Hall of Fame site
- Summary of Frank's aviation legacy from AIN online
- Frank Piasecki at Find a Grave
- Pages using infobox person with unknown parameters
- Infobox person using ethnicity
- Articles with hCards
- 1919 births
- 2008 deaths
- People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- American people of Polish descent
- American aerospace engineers
- Aviation pioneers
- Aviation inventors
- Businesspeople in aviation
- American inventors
- National Medal of Technology recipients
- Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
