Frank Piasecki
{{Short description|American aerospace engineer (1919–2008)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Frank Nicolas Piasecki
| image = Frank Piasecki, 1951.png
| caption = Piasecki in the early 1950s
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|10|24|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2008|02|11|1919|10|24|mf=yes}}
| death_place = Haverford, Pennsylvania, U.S.[http://www.philly.com/philly/business/homepage/15528637.html Helicopter pioneer Piasecki dies]
| death_cause =
| known_for = Designing tandem rotor helicopters
| education =
| alma_mater = New York University
| occupation = Helicopter designer
| spouse = Vivian Weyerhaeuser Piasecki
| children = Nicole, Frederick, John, Lynn, Frank, Michael, and Gregory
}}
Frank Nicolas Piasecki ({{IPAc-en|p|iː|ə|ˈ|s|ɛ|k|i}} {{respell|pee-ə|SEK|ee}}; {{IPA|pl|pjaˈsɛtski|lang}}; 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.Spenser, Jay P. Whirlybirds, A History of the U.S. Helicopter Pioneers. University of Washington Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-295-97699-3}}.
Early life and education
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an immigrant Polish tailor, Piasecki worked for autogyro manufacturers while still attending Overbrook High School,{{cite web|title=Piasecki Aircraft Corporation >> About >> PiAC|url=http://www.piasecki.com/frank.php|publisher=Piasecki Aircraft Corporation|access-date=2 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128055746/http://www.piasecki.com/frank.php|archive-date=28 November 2011|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} 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.{{cite web |title=Platt-LePage XR-1 |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/platt-lepage-xr-1/nasm_A19600305000 |website=Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum |access-date=28 March 2020}} In 1940, he formed PV Engineering Forum with former Pennsylvania classmate Harold Venzie.[http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19650241000 P-V Engineering Forum PV-2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103223027/http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/artifact.cfm?id=A19650241000 |date=2012-01-03 }} - Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum 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.Wall Street Journal, February 16–17, 2008, p. A6
Career
File:Vertol CH-21B Workhorse USAF.jpg 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.
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.Twining, Charles E. F.K. Weyerhaeuser: A Biography. St. Paul, Minn: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1997. p. 289. {{ISBN|0-87351-356-8}} They had seven children: Nicole, Frederick, John, Lynn, Frank, Michael, and Gregory.{{cite web|last1=HEVESI|first1=Dennis|title=Frank Piasecki, a Pioneer in Helicopters, Is Dead at 88|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/business/15piasecki.html?_r=0|work=New York Times|access-date=24 January 2016|date=15 February 2008}}
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.{{cite web|title=Company Overview of Piasecki Aircraft Corporation|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=4016111|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=24 January 2016}} His daughter Nicole Piasecki was the vice president and general manager of Propulsion Systems for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.{{Cite web |date=2017-10-11 |title=Nicole Piasecki retires from Boeing after 25 years |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/piasecki-retires-from-boeing-after-25-years/ |access-date=2023-01-20 |website=The Seattle Times |language=en-US}}[http://www.boeing.com/features/2015/05/bca-all-female-flight_05-15.page "All Female Flight"]
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
- 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
- National Aviation Hall of Fame Inducted 2002.{{cite web |title=Enshrinee Frank Piasecki |url=https://nationalaviation.org/enshrinee/frank-nicholas-piasecki/ |website=nationalaviation.org |publisher=National Aviation Hall of Fame |access-date=27 February 2023}}
See also
{{Portal|Biography}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://piasecki.com/history/ Founder Origins: Frank Nicholas Piasecki]
- [http://web.archive.org/web/20230607220410/https://www.boeing.com/history/pioneers/frank-n-piasecki.page Exclutive Biography of Frank N. Piasecki]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=lyEDAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA29 The Boy Who Grew Flying Bananas by L.B. White] 1951 article on Piasecki at age 31 and his early helicopters. Rare photos.
- [http://www.nationalaviation.org/piasecki-frank/ Frank Piasecki biography on National Aviation Hall of Fame site]
- [https://archive.today/20110518042202/http://www.ainonline.com/news/single-news-page/article/piasecki-passes-on-but-his-pioneering-work-lives/?no_cache=1&cHash=107a736b5d Summary of Frank's aviation legacy from AIN online]
- {{Find a Grave|81577707}}
{{Boeing Vertol}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piasecki, Frank}}
Category:Businesspeople from Philadelphia
Category:American people of Polish descent
Category:American aerospace engineers
Category:American aviation pioneers
Category:Businesspeople in aviation
Category:20th-century American inventors
Category:National Medal of Technology recipients
Category:Commanders of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland
Category:20th-century American businesspeople