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Piasecki Team
Frank Nicholas
Piasecki, President and Chairman
Frank Piasecki is
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.
Born in Philadelphia on 24 Oct. 1919, Mr.
Piasecki studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and in 1940
received a B.S. Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Guggenheim School of
Aeronautics of New York University.
In 1940, Mr. Piasecki founded the
PV-Engineering Forum and in 1943 flew the second successful helicopter in America, the
PV-2. The Navy, under significant
pressure from Congress because of its failure to investigate the benefits of emerging
helicopter technology, awarded Mr. Piasecki a contract for the development of the first
U.S. Navy helicopter, the XHRP-1 "Dog Ship" in
1944. This was the first successful tandem helicopter (i.e. twin main rotors)
in the world. Designed, built and flown within thirteen months, the XHRP-1 had a useful
load three times greater than any existing helicopter at the time. Mr. Piasecki's tandem
helicopter design led to the first practical application of the helicopter to critical
Naval missions such as: search and rescue, anti-submarine warfare, vertical replenishment,
and pioneered the use of the helicopter for aerial minesweeping and vertical assault.
The Company name was changed to the Piasecki
Helicopter Corporation in 1946. In addition to over 300 HRP
and HUP production models built for the U.S. Navy and Marine
Corps, Piasecki Helicopter produced 750 H-25 and H-21 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. The World's
largest transport helicopter at the time, this technology 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.
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. These efforts resulted in
the successful development and flight testing of many innovative experimental aircraft,
such as: the "Sea-Bat" VTOL Drone, the "Aerial Geep" 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.
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 is a long standing Fellow of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, an honorary Fellow and past President of the
American Helicopter Society and former member of the National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics. Mr. Piasecki has lectured before leading U.S. and International
technical societies, and has given expert testimony before U.S. House and Senate
Committees. Many of the aircraft designed by Mr. Piasecki are in the Smithsonian's
National Air & Space Museum helicopter exhibit, now on loan to the American Helicopter
Museum.
Presently, Mr. Piasecki is focusing his efforts
on development and flight demonstration of the Vectored Thrust Ducted Propeller (VTDP)
compound helicopter technology as an affordable means of upgrading existing helicopter
performance, improving survivability, and reducing operational costs.
Mr. Piasecki married in December 1958 to the
former Vivian O'Gara Weyerhaeuser, settling in Haverford, Pennsylvania. They have two
daughters, Lynn and Nicole, and five sons Frederick, Frank, John, Michael, and Gregory,
and a total of nine grandchildren.
Frederick
Weyerhaeuser Piasecki, Vice President, Technology
Fred Piasecki received a B.S. degree in
Aerospace Engineering from Boston University in 1987.
While in school and subsequently, he served the
company as a design engineer, aerodynamicist, flight test engineer and project engineer,
culminating in his designation as Vice President, Technology in 1991. He is also the
Program Manager for the current VTDP Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD ) program.
He is the author of a substantial number of
technical papers and an extremely active executive with the American Helicopter Society.
Married to the former Catherine Wolferth, he
resides in Haverford, Pennsylvania, and is the father of three children, Frederick
Nicholas, Christina, and Vivian Zofia.
John Weyerhaeuser Piasecki, Vice President, Contracts and
Administration
John Piasecki received a B.A. degree in Political Science (with Distinction) from Yale
University in 1989.
Upon graduation, he joined Piasecki Aircraft in
Contracts Administration. In the ensuing years his responsibilities have been
expanded to include all contracts management, oversight of the financial aspects of the
company, purchasing, human resources, business development, public and government
relations.
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