50 years of Chinook. Remembering Frank Piasecki

Boeing, August 23, 2012 - The first Boeing Chinook helicopter was delivered to the U.S. Army in 1962.

Nicole Piasecki, daughter of Frank Piasecki, who created the tandem rotor design, talks about her father's contribution to the aviation world.

Frank Piasecki

Born in Philadelphia, PA 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. The name PV Engineering was changed to Piasecki Helicopter Corp in 1946. After a boardroom dispute, Piasecki left Piasecki Helicopter in 1955 and formed the Piasecki Aircraft Company where he participated in the development of the 16H-1 the world's first shaft driven compound helicopter, the PA-59K/VZ-8P Flying Geep, the PA-97 Helistat heavy vertical airlifter and the X-49 experimental compound helicopter.

He died on February 11, 2008 aged 88.

Read about Frank Piasecki helicopters in our Boeing timeline section