Frank Piasecki

Frank Nicolas Piasecki (/piːəˈsɛki/ pee-ə-SEK-ee; Polish: [pjaˈsɛtski]; October 24, 1919 – February 11, 2008) was an American engineer and helicopter aviation pioneer.

[2] Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an immigrant Polish tailor, Piasecki worked for autogyro manufacturers while still attending Overbrook High School,[3] then studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pennsylvania before graduating with a bachelor's degree from New York University.

[4] In 1940, he formed PV Engineering Forum with former Pennsylvania classmate Harold Venzie.

This helicopter impressed the United States Navy sufficiently to win Piasecki a development contract.

[9] His daughter Nicole Piasecki was the vice president and general manager of Propulsion Systems for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Piasecki (L) receives the National Medal of Technology from U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.
A Piasecki H-21 showing the tandem rotor design