18 February 2008

Piasecki's Helicopters

Hi all,

Frank Piasecki passed last week.

Perhaps not as well known as Sikorsky, Frank Piasecki was one of the founding fathers of helicopter technology in the United States. Some of his designs include:

"The Flying Banana"



(Source: United States Coast Guard)


The H-21 "Shawnee"


(Source: Wikipedia)


His designs focused on heavy-lift capabilities as well as the dual-rotor concept. This can be seen by one of the airframes still in use by the US Army that he helped design:

The "Chinook"



In the recent past, his new designs included:

  • The Heli-Stat, development of heavy lift capability by marrying multiple helicopters with airship technology.
  • X49 developmental vehicle. This includes a propeller at the rear of the aircraft to increase forward speed as well as reduce the torque effect coming from the main rotor.

For more details and in-depth history, try the links below and see you tomorrow!


Boeing's link to Piasecki

Marines & Helicopters (Google link to full book)
(Background on the H-21)

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