The Piasecki family has been driving


innovation since the dawn of rotorcraft


flight. The prototype PV-3 “Dogship” (top


right) was developed in 1945 for the US


Navy and produced as the HRP-1,


popularly called the


“Flying Banana.” The first US military aircraft with


significant transport capabilities, it could


carry up to 12 people. While the German- produced CoAX 2D (bottom right) is not a Piasecki design, the


company plans to use the aircraft to


complete, in 2023, the first crewed helicopter flight powered by a


hydrogen fuel cell.


outside of nuclear fuels.” John Piasecki agrees. “Hydrogen is well on its way to


becoming another major player in the fuel arena. I don’t know if it’s going to replace fossil fuels, but it’s going to be a big player.” Universal Hydrogen has developed lightweight, aviation-grade


modular hydrogen capsules that can be used to ship hydrogen to airports. Te company formed a partnership in March


42 ROTOR SEPTEMBER 2022


with fuel-cell power-train developer H3 Dynamics to develop zero-emission propulsion systems for uncrewed aircraft, air taxis, and regional aircraft. Te Piasecki team believes hydrogen-powered eVTOL


aircraft can add the most value initially in the existing light-helicopter market. Helicopter operators are always looking for ways to reduce operating costs, including main- tenance, and this is one area where electric vehicles are


PIASECKI PHOTOS


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76