Ethnicity Polish Name Frank Piasecki Citizenship United States Role Engineer | Spouse Vivian O'Gara (m. 1958) Occupation Helicopter designer | |
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Known for tandem rotor helicopters Children Nicole, Frederick, John, Lynn, Frank, Michael, and Gregory Awards National Medal of Technology and Innovation Aircraft designed Piasecki H-21, Piasecki HRP Rescuer, Piasecki H-16 Transporter | ||
Straight up frank piasecki s flying machine
Frank Piasecki ( ; [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
- Straight up frank piasecki s flying machine
- Frank piasecki in early test flights of the pv 2
- Early life and education
- Career
- Personal life
- Later life and death
- Awards
- References
Frank piasecki in early test flights of the pv 2
Early life and education
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to an immigrant Polish tailor, Piasecki worked for autogyro manufacturers while still attending Overbrook High School, 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. 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.
Career
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.
Personal life
Piasecki married Vivian O'Gara Weyerhaeuser on December 20, 1958. 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 and general manager of Propulsion Systems for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Later life and death
Piasecki died at his home on February 11, 2008 after a series of strokes. He was 88.