Harold Frederick Pitcairn
Harold Frederick Pitcairn | |
---|---|
![]() Pitcairn in 1930 with the Collier Trophy at the White House | |
Born | June 20, 1897 |
Died | April 23, 1960 | (aged 62)
Occupation | Aviation designer |
Spouse | Clara Davis |
Children | Joel, John, Charis, Stephen, Robert, Judith, Bruce, Edward |
Parents |
|
Official name | Harold F. Pitcairn |
Type | Roadside |
Designated | April 29, 1972[1] |
Location | Buck & Tomlinson Rds., Bryn Athyn |
Harold Frederick Pitcairn (June 20, 1897 – April 23, 1960) was an
Biography
He was born on 20 December 1897 in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, and started attending the Academy of the New Church at the age of six.[2][3]
Pitcairn's start in aviation was as an apprentice at
After the death of his father, Harold enrolled in the
Pitcairn founded
His
After test flying a
On 12 June 1929, Pitcairn sold Pitcairn Aviation, Inc. to the
He was awarded the
On 1 March 1932, the Pitcairn PA-18 was ready for flight testing. Then on 19 October 1932, Pitcairn introduced the largest autogyro ever built, the Pitcairn PA-19, complete with cabin. Pitcairn then began testing his Pitcairn PA-22, with direct control of lateral and longitude movement. According to Frank Kingston Smith Sr., "For the first time, a Pitcairn Autogiro would have no stubby wings, no ailerons, no elevators, just a rudder. All pitch and roll control would be provided by the 'orientable hub,' a swivelling spindle controlled by an upside-down stick hanging from the cabin ceiling."[3]: 205–216
At the end of 1933, Pitcairn was forced to close his Willow Grove factory, end all commercial operations, and terminate his work force, keeping only a small research and development staff. On 26 October 1936, Pitcairn delivered his
In a failed attempt to win funds available from the Dorsey-Logan Act for rotorcraft development, Pitcairn developed the PA-36. He subcontracted the
During
On 22 July 1943 offered the Army Air Forces Materiel Command a reduced royalty "on machines and equipment supplied to the United States Government by our licensees, we will reduce our royalty from 5% on the basis of fully-equipped machines to eighty-five one-hundredths of one per cent (.85%) of the [government] contract price." The arrangement included the period of the war plus six months. At the time, the Autogiro Company of America held 164 patents, including the key patent 2,380,582 for fixed-spindle cyclic and collective pitch conjoint-systems in one rotor hub. Licensees included United Aircraft's Sikorsky R-4 supplied to the army in May 1942.[3]: 306–307
In 1943, Pitcairn sold Pitcairn Field to the U.S. Navy, which converted it into the
Pitcairn, and Autogiro Company of America engineers, helped Firestone build their Firestone XR-9 single seat helicopter, and the subsequent two seat XR-9B.[3]: 310–313
Noting that
In 1967, the United States Court of Claims found the government liable for patent infringement.[8] It took 10 more years of litigation before the court computed the compensation to be paid by the government.[9] Finally, in 1978, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of that ruling.[10] The U.S. had to pay $32,048,738 in compensation.[3]: 323–335
On April 23, 1960 he died from a gunshot to the head at his home CairnCrest in Bryn Athyn Pennsylvania, shortly after a birthday celebration for his brother, Raymond Pitcairn.[6][2][11][3]: 332–333
Legacy
More sympathetic sources and the police report said the death was accidental and was caused by a faulty Savage Model 1907 0.32 automatic pistol.[12] Pitcairn was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1995.[5] In 1977, 17 years after his death, the Supreme Court of the United States awarded Pitcairn $32 million from the US government for rotorcraft control surfaces patents used by military rotorcraft.[6][13]
References
- ^ "PHMC Harold F. Pitcairn". Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ New York Times. April 24, 1960.
Harold F. Pitcairn, noted aviation pioneer, took his life with a single pistol shot early today. Only a few hours before he had been notably gay at a party celebrating the seventy-fifth birthday of his brother Raymond. ...
- ^ ISBN 0876684851.
- ^ Pattillo, Donald M. (1998). A history in the making: 80 turbulent years in the American general aviation Industry (1st ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional.
- ^ a b "Harold Pitcairn". The National Aviation Hall of Fame. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d Charnov, Bruce H. Cierva, Pitcairn and the Legacy of Rotary-Wing Flight Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Hofstra University. Accessed: 22 November 2011.
- ^ "Collier Trophy". Retrieved 2007-10-11.
- ^ Autogiro Company of America v. United States, 384 F.2d 391 (Ct. Cl. 1967-10-13).
- ^ Stephen Pitcairn, Agent v. United States, 547 F.2d 1106 (Ct. Cl. 1976-12-15).
- ^ Weaver, Warren Jr. (1978-01-24). "Record $39 Million Award Upheld In Infringement of Autogiro Patents". The New York Times. p. 43. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ Charnov, Bruce H. (5–8 October 2020). The Life and Mysterious Death of Harold F. Pitcairn: Was it Suicide?. Vertical Flight Society's 76th Annual Forum. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
- ^ Frank K. Smith. Legacy of Wings, The Harold Pitcairn Story.
- ^ "Rotorcraft pioneers". Retrieved 23 January 2011.