The Piasecki Helicopter Corporation was founded in 1940 by Frank Piasecki as the P-V Engineering Forum, first becoming known as Piasecki Helicopter in 1946. The PV-2 was the second helicopter flown in the United States (following Igor Sikorsky's VS-300) and was designed and flown by Frank Piasecki in 1943. In 1949, Piasecki provided the CH-21 Shawnee to the USAF. This is a list of aviation-related events from 1940: Events March March 16 - Britain suffers its first civilian air-raid casualties of the war after a raid by KG 26 on Scapa Flow March 25 - the US government grants permission to the countrys aircraft manufacturers to sell advanced... Frank Piasecki was born in Philadelphia in 1919, the son of an immigrant Polish tailor. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1946: // Events January January 1 - a British South American Airways Avro Lancastrian becomes the first commercial flight to depart Heathrow Airport January 10 - a Sikorsky R5 sets an unofficial helicopter altitude record of 6,400 m (21,000 ft) at Stratford... The Bell 206 of Canadian Helicopters Robinson Helicopter Company (USA) R44, a four seat development of the R22 A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors (propellers). ... Igor Sikorsky Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (Russian: Игорь Иванович Сикорский, Ukrainian: Ігор Іванович Сікорський) Igor Sikorsky (25 May 1889 – 26 October 1972) was a (Ukrainian-)Russian-American pioneer of aviation who designed the first four-engine aeroplanes and the first successful helicopter of the most common configuration (single main rotor with tail rotor). ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1943: Events January January 27 - the USAAF makes its first daylight raid on Germany January 30 - Royal Air Force de Havilland Mosquitos make the first daylight air-raid on Berlin January 30-31 – the H2S radar is used by RAF bombers... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... The H-21 Shawnee was the fourth of a line of tandem rotor helicopters designed and built by Piasecki (later Boeing Vertol). ...

Piasecki designed and successfully sold to the US Navy a series of tandem rotor helicopters, starting with the HRP-1 of 1944. The HRP-1 was nicknamed the "flying banana" because of the upward angle of the aft fuselage that ensured the large rotors did not hit each other in flight. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... Tandem rotor helicopters have two large horizontal rotor assemblies instead of one main assembly and a smaller tail rotor. ... This is a list of aviation-related events from 1944: Events January January 11 - in one of the largest air raids to date, 570 USAAF bombers strike Brunswick, Halberstadt, and Oschersleben. ...

Piasecki Helicotor Corporation was acquired by The Boeing Company in 1960 and renamed to Boeing Vertol, it has become the Boeing Helicoptor Division (Boeing Helicopters) The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA)(TYO: 7661 ) is the worlds leading aircraft and aerospace manufacturer, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with its largest production facilities in Everett, Washington, about 30 miles north of Seattle, Washington. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is a leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with its largest production facilities near Seattle, Washington. ... Boeing Vertol CH-47 Chinook Boeing Helicopters is a US aircraft manufacturer, part of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. ...

After the Boeing acquisition, Frank Piasecki reformed his company as Piasecki Aircraft Corporation (PiAC) to persue the development of compound helicopters and other rotorcraft. PiAC has been selected as prime contractor for several Army Future Combat Systems UAV systems. US Army Seal HHC, US Army Distinctive Unit Insignia The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces that has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The abbreviation FCS can stand for: Federal Commonwealth Society Federation of Conservative Students, student arm of the United Kingdoms Conservative Party. ... Pioneer UAV flying over Iraq UAVs in a hangar A Boeing 720 being flown under remote control as part of NASAs Controlled Impact Demonstration An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), also called a drone, is a self-descriptive term used by the US military, the Israeli Defence Forces and others...

See also:

Sikorsky Piasecki X-49, UAV, Future Combat Systems The X-49A is an experimental helicopter currently under development. ... Pioneer UAV flying over Iraq UAVs in a hangar A Boeing 720 being flown under remote control as part of NASAs Controlled Impact Demonstration An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), also called a drone, is a self-descriptive term used by the US military, the Israeli Defence Forces and others... Future Combat Systems (FCS) is the core building block of the US Army’s Future Force. ...

External Links

PiAC Web Site

PiAC FCS Entries