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Piasecki Aircraft President and CEO, John Piasecki, is one of a group of aerospace industry leaders briefing at this week’s inaugural Agility Prime, Virtual Meeting.  Agility Prime is a US Air Force event designed to  accelerate the growth of the transformative vertical flight market for subsequent government use.  Mr. Piasecki is speaking at 1150AM on Wednesday, April 29. See John’s presentation live atwww.AgilityPrime.com The Speaking schedule is as follows: Date: Wednesday, April 29Module Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm ETModule Topic: Leading the Charge /// Who’s flying now and what’s next for the Industry Hear from industry leaders partnered with the Air Force through Small Business Innovation Research contracts and see how these innovators are considering broadened markets as part of their long-term commercialization strategy. Agenda: 11:10: Kick Off with Mr. Michael Brown 11:20: Firestarters: Each speaker has about 5 minutes to give a short pitch for their company. Please use just one slide to support your pitch – the more interesting, the better! 11:50: Breakout Rooms: split into 6 rooms, one for each speaker. Each room will have 10 minutes of Q&A and an interactive assignment for participants (more information to come). An experienced facilitator will be in each room to support. Room 1: Paul Sciarra, Executive Chairman of the Board, Joby Aviation and Co-founder Pinterest Room 2: Kyle Clark, CEO, Beta TechnologiesRoom 3: Ed De Reyes, CEO, Sabrewing AircraftRoom 4: Dave Merrill, CEO, Elroy AirRoom 5: John Piasecki, CEO, Piasecki AircraftRoom 6: Matt Chasen, CEO, LIFT Aircraft 12:25: Debrief and Panel: Debrief the 6 rooms and live Q&A moderated panel. 12:55: Closing Dr. Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, will officially launch Agility Prime.  According to Mr. Roper, “now is the perfect time to make Jetsons cars real.”  He will kick […]

Fred Piasecki, PiAC Chairman of the Board and Chief Technology Officer, honored Bud with comments at the dinner. Bud received his Charles Taylor award plaque from Robert Kain of the FAA’s Philadelphia Office FF00-17. Piasecki’s Bud Leonard was Awarded the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award by representatives of the FAA on January 10th at a dinner at the Corinthian Yacht Club.  To be eligible for this award a person must meet these criteria: ·        Have 50 years in aviation maintenance as an accredited mechanic or repairman. ·        Be an FAA-certified mechanic or repairman for a minimum of 30 years. Mr. Leonard was presented the award by Mr. Joseph Kain from the FAA.  Piasecki Aircraft Corporation’s Board Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, Fred Piasecki spoke at a January 10, 2020 dinner at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Essington, recalling Mr. Leonard’s nearly 40 years with Piasecki Aircraft. He is the first Piasecki Aircraft employee to earn this honor. Mr. Leonard received significant recognition for this award, including a cover story in D.O.M. (Director of Maintenance) magazine (www.DOMmagazine.com). (Piasecki Aircraft has been given permission by D.O.M. to reprint this story and is very grateful to them and their editor Joe Escobar.  Thank you very much!) “On behalf of Piasecki Aircraft Corporation we were very pleased that Bud Leonard was awarded the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award in mid-January from the FAA.  This was quite appropriate in our view.  Bud received this award celebrating his “over 50 years of violation free work in aircraft maintenance,” said Fred Piasecki. “We know Bud is proud to join many others in gaining this prestigious recognition. At Piasecki, Bud is both an institution and an inspiration.  He is always one of the hardest working, but most determined employees we have.  He has been the mentor for me […]

The annual Piasecki Aircraft Corporation Holiday party took place on December 11th at the Corinthian Yacht Club in Essington, PA.  It was a time to celebrate another year with coworkers, friends, and family. As usual there was lots of good food and refreshments mixed with conversation and photos of all.  Plenty of gifts were passed out with the Yankee Swap keeping all engaged as gifts were selected with some being swamped several times. The night ended with seasonal warm memories on cold December night.

It’s that time of year again! All Piasecki footballers, wearing their school colors, were out for an annual intramural football game.  Rumor is the best team won!

(left to right–Josh Nastarowicz, a rising junior in Mechanical Engineering from Rowan University in New Jersey; Edward Klapper, a rising Senior in the University of Maryland Honors program in College Park, MD; Ashley Hoback, a recent graduate from Widener University in Chester, PA with a dual degree in Physics and Engineering; David Stilwell, a recent graduate from Villanova University in Radnor Township, PA; and Jake Berkowitz, a rising junior at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.) The 2019 group of Piasecki Aircraft summer technical interns has an impressive array of technical and  academic credentials. They represent five different universities along the mid-Atlantic coast. In becoming part of the Piasecki team, the interns fired up the company grill, leading the annual summer employee bar-be-cue. “Back to the days of my father, Frank N. Piasecki, our company has always had a tradition of nurturing next-generation technical talent.  It is important for us as we gain access to creativity and insight and they gain much-needed practical experience. Our summer intern program at Piasecki Aircraft is designed around that dual principle. We work hard to attract the best, most talented people possible and we put them to work on important projects for customers. We have always had a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to the ongoing development of our employees skills,” said Fred W. Piasecki, Piasecki Aircraft Board Chairman and Chief Technical Officer.

The Vertical Flight Society (VFS) held its 75th annual forum in Philadelphia May 13-16, 2019.  It was a sold-out event highlighting the best in rotorcraft technology.  The show featured displays from over 100 companies but as usual the backbone of the event were the several dozen technical presentations made about all things vertical flight. PiAC was a prominent player in the VFS’s 75th annual Forum ceremonial first night historic “commemoration of the founder’s” event.  Board Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, Fred Piasecki, spoke offering multiple remembrances of his father, the late Frank N. Piasecki.  Fred was joined on the panel along with (left to right); Mr. Ed Hey, a personal friend of the late Maitland Bleeker, who was an inventor and instrumental in early rotorcraft design; Duncan Pitcairn, nephew of Harold F. Pitcairn who developed The Pitcairn PCA-2 an autogyro developed in the US in the early 1930s and first to sell in quantity;  Dan Kurkjian, representing the families of Burke Wilford and Arthur Young, early helicopter pioneers; Sergei Sikorsky, son of rotorcraft industry legend Igor Sikorsky; and, Mr. Fred Piasecki, son of Frank N. Piasecki, the founder of Piasecki Aircraft Corporation and a prominent early rotorcraft inventor and developer. A ceremonial kickoff reception took place following the Historical Commemoration with PiAC President John Piasecki speaking, He noted “Philly is the indeed America’s cradle of rotorcraft innovation.”  John Piasecki referenced that autogyro’s, ducted fan, compound and tandem rotorcraft and tiltrotors were all developed in the Philly region.  He stated at present over 9,000 people are currently employed locally in rotorcraft resulting in a $1.3B annual payroll and $1.5B in annual supplier purchases.  All told this translates to a $9B+ annual local economic benefit.  Mr. Neil Weaver, “executive deputy secretary” of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development also spoke representing […]

Piasecki Aircraft Corporation (PiAC) is preparing to offer several versions of the Air Scout, a competitive next-generation Unmanned Air System (UAS) for use by military and commercial customers. PiAC envisions a combination of offers including all electric, hybrid and Jet-A powered UAS. PiAC plans to integrate the SNC—Kutta ground control station in combination with long range communications and a Klear-Path™ sensor suite.  Air Scout is a Commercial Off-the Shelf (COTS) design to meet emerging cargo logistics requirements consistent with UAS Classification Group 3. Air Scout is sized at 300lbs, with payload potential of 50-150 lbs. PiAC anticipates developmental testing beginning in early 2019.