Piasecki Aircraft
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Piasecki Aircraft Corporation (PiAC) was founded by the American vertical flight pioneer Frank Piasecki to continue pursuing the development of compound helicopters and other advanced rotorcraft.
Today, Piasecki continues with its heritage of innovation and new ideas by continuing to develop and perform flight-testing supporting the X-49 compound helicopter.
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[edit] History
The company's origins dated back to 1936 with the formation of the P-V Engineering Forum in 1940 and renamed the Piasecki Helicopter Corporation in 1946. After a falling out with other owners, Frank Piasecki and some of his design team left to form Piasecki Aircraft Corporation in 1955. Piasecki Helicopter Corporation eventual became Vertol Aircraft Corporation (merged with Boeing to formBoeing Vertol and now called Boeing IDS Rotorcraft Division).
In 2005, the company was selected as prime contractor for two United States Army FCS UAV systems. The FCS Class III UAV system was awarded to the company in late 2006 following a competetive downselect of four competing technologies. As part of that effort, the company flew the world's first autonomous autogyro.
[edit] Products
- PV-1 Fan Jet Tail Reactor 1940
- PV-2 First US helicopter with dynamically balanced blades and cyclic control 1943
- XHRP-X World's first successful tandem rotor helicopter 1945
- HRP-1 World's first transport helicopter in production 1947
- HRP-2 Improved version of HRP-1 and aerodynamically streamlined all-metal fuselage 1949
- XHJP-1 (HUPs) First overlapped tandem rotor helicopter 1948
- Piasecki H-21 "Workhorse" 1952
- YH-16 1953
- YH-16A World's largest helicopter 1955
- PA-2C First "Ring-Wing" VTOL concept 1956
- PA-4 "Sea Bat" - first unmanned omnidirectional drone VTOL 1958
- Piasecki 16H-1 World's first shaft driven compound helicopter 1962
- Piasecki 16H-1A Modified 16H-1 to attain speed over 200 mph (record of 225 mph) 1965
- Piasecki 16H-3 Study of next generation of compound helicopter
- PA-59K/VZ-8P First successful Flying Geep 1958
- PA-59N "Seageep" 1961
- PA-59H Airgeep II 1962
- PA-39 Multiple helicopter heavy lift system 1980s
- Piasecki PA-97 Helistat heavy vertical airlifter 1986
[edit] Operators
- United States Navy
- United States Marine Corps
- United States Air Force
- United States Army
- Royal Canadian Air Force operated H-21A and Model 44A helicopters.
- French Army operated H-21C helicopters.
- German Air Force operated H-21C helicopters.
- German Army operated H-21C helicopters.
- Swedish Air Force operated HKP-1 helicopters.
- Swedish Navy operated HKP-1 helicopters.
- United States Coast Guard operated HRP-1, HRP-1G and HRP-2 helicopters.
[edit] Civil Operators
- Dominion Helicopters
[edit] See also
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[edit] External links
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