Longtime Rotorcraft and UAV Developer Acquires Former Sikorsky Plant

Pennsylvania facility to reopen as VTOL, UAS research and development center in the fall.

Wednesday, May 31, 2023 at 02:30 PM ET

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A digital rendering of Piasecki’s PA-890 hydrogen fuel cell eVTOL helicopter, expected to begin test flights this year. [Courtesy: Piasecki Aircraft Corp.]

Key Takeaways:

Piasecki Aircraft Corp. (PiAC) has acquired Sikorsky's former 219,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
The facility will be transformed into a state-of-the-art research, development, and testing site for advanced vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and other emerging aviation technologies.
A key project at the site will be the development and testing of PiAC's PA-890, an eVTOL helicopter aiming to be the world's first zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell rotorcraft.
The plant is slated to reopen this fall, expected to attract around 400 workers within five years and continue the region's legacy of aviation innovation.

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In the 1940s, Russian-born engineer Igor Sikorsky designed the R-4, the first large-scale, mass-produced helicopter in history. Shortly after Sikorsky became the first American to successfully fly a helicopter of his own design, Frank Piasecki became the second, flying his PV-2 in 1943.

Today, both men’s legacies live on: The former’s Sikorsky Aircraft is now the vertical lift subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, while the latter’s Piasecki Aircraft Corp. (PiAC) continues to manufacture rotorcraft and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft.