Piasecki

Frank Piasecki and 5 of his colleagues from the university of Pennsylvania formed the p-v engineering forum in 1936. never conventional, this group has made significant contributions to vertical flight through two commercial ventures.

The P-V Engineering Forum became the Piasecki helicopter corporation in 1946 and produced NOTAR and tandem rotor designs including the famous flying banana series. a large order backlog in the mid-1950s required investment to satisfy and fund further development. it sold to the Vertol Vorporation in 1956, which was eventually acquired by Boeing in April 1960.

In 1994, Polish W-3 Sokol is the first eastern european helicopter to be certified by the FAA.

In 2017, first flight of Piasecki X-49A SpeedHawk

Visit Boeing Timeline

Piasecki and most of his original team left Vertol, to form the Piasecki Aircraft Corporation (PiAC) in June 1955. these contributions continued the characteristically innovative and unconventional approach of the earlier years. most notable have been the compound helicopters - which in addition to rotors, have some other system for forward propulsion - UAVs, several heavy lift projects and flying cars, such as the PA-59 that inspired a generation of science fiction writers and TV series like the Jetsons. as well as conducting further research and work for the us marine corps, PAC also markets the PZL-Swidnik in the Americas and the pacific rim.